Clemson Tigers vs. Georgia Bulldogs | College Football Week 1 | Game Preview 🏈

after a long offseason week one is officially here guys we made it to help us break down one of the biggest games on Saturday are our friends Jordan Hill from dogs 247 and Austin Hannon from Clemson 247 you can guess which game we're going to break down that is Georgia and Clemson in Atlanta let's go ahead and show you this matchup because they've played this game before the dogs won the last meeting between these two teams back in 2021 on their way to their first national title in 41 years years now Georgia walks into this one as the number one team in the nation but not so fast Clemson has won two of their last three meetings against top ranked teams let's start off by talking quarterbacks guys Austin what steps do you need to see Kate kumnick take in his second year as a starter yeah it's that's the big question this offseason it's a huge season for Kate kumnick um obviously the fans the first time they got to see him in action was that you know ACC championship against North carinaa a couple years ago he won the MVP of the game and that kind of forced you know DJ out of town and then so he took the Reigns last year and the expectation was Garett Ry was just going to come in and things were just going to work out um on offense and that's not the way it went obviously starting week one so uh steps for him this year he's got to be a better decision maker uh he looked a little bit flustered in the pocket at times his first two years uh he's got to make the easy throws sometimes it seems like he tried to do a little bit too much uh when things were there for him um and then like you said it's year two in the system we've seen quarterbacks in the past and I think Greg maroy made a great point on ESPN the other day he'll actually be doing the game this weekend saying we we've seen this before like you can't really throw away what a guy's done through one year with an offensive coordinator because there's there's just so much you have to learn in terms of making checks and reads and uh really just learning how to become a better college football quarterback it's not that easy uh some guys can do it as a freshman some guys can't so I think that's huge uh he's got a lot more weapons this year at least right now that are healthy that are healthy so that's another big step in the right direction and I think a lot of Clemson fans want to see him use his legs a little more this year I mean this is a guy that's very athletic he did it a lot in high school um you know out in Texas and he really hasn't been a runner as much in the offense as we kind of would expect uh so I think those are a lot of things that he's worked on and has gotten better at and of course the leadership thing's huge for a quarterback too so winning that team over I think he's done that uh this offseason Sweeney said multiple times that he's taken the steps they want him to it's just about putting it together on game day now yeah on the other side Carson back has a few more years on Kade kumnick but it's his second year as the true starter too so how has he managed those increased expectations as he heads into the season I think Carson understands that he's got a real opportunity this season and I think based on everything we've heard from Carson from Kirby Smart from his other coaches from his teammates that he's taken it really seriously I think that Carson not only has done a good job this offseason of really honing in on his deep ball which I would say is very clearly the weakest part of his game but also just stepping up as a leader and Carson was really candid with us back in the spring saying you know I didn't really feel comfortable speaking up last year you know it's my first year as a starter you know I'm I'm kind of learning as I go he say it's not really an issue this year and he's talked about you know earlier this week getting ready for this Clemson game being able to help his teammates being able to help the defense you know being able to to help everybody around him I think Carson understands that there are a lot of expectations not only on himself but also on this team and you know talking to him back at SEC media days he made it clear that he doesn't really get caught up in the outside noise you know he knows that he's a Heisman favorite going into the season but he understands that you know that doesn't mean a whole lot if the team doesn't go out there and doesn't take care of business so Carson understands that he's got a big opportunity um that the bar is really high but he knew that when he first signed with Georgia he stuck around and I think he's looking to make the most this season all right so we started with quarterbacks which I know everybody wants to hear about but for both of these programs the lines of scrimmage are so important and really a calling card uh for both of these teams so I'll start with you Jordan from your point of view how do these teams Stack Up on the lines of scrimmage well I think if you look from the Georgia offensive line versus the Clemson defensive line to me that's the battle to watch because Georgia feels really good about its offensive line got four of five starters back from last season and the one new starter is Center Jared Wilson who we're hearing about him being a total freak athlete at the center position I mean Kirby spart don't know if he's backed this up but he said he's faster than some of the DBS I'd have to see the numbers on that one but no and then you look on the climpson side with some of the defensive linemen particularly some of those young guys TJ Parker Peter Woods you know I think that's a battle to watch but honestly what intrigues me probably more than that is on the other side Georgia's defensive line to me is the biggest question mark of this entire team and and then they go through fall camp and Jordan Hall gets hurt Warren Bron's been banged up though they expect him to be back uh they need guys to step up alongside Nazir stack house and you're playing a Clemson offensive line that's really experienced and and just to add to it Matt Luke's leading that group and he was at Georgia for a couple years so everyone I think is going to pay attention to the Georgia offensive line Clemson defensive line don't lose track of what it looks like on the other side of the ball I think that's going to be a very important battle as well yeah looks like Jordan did his homework he knows he knows kind of what's coming up front there I think based off what he said you know the same thing these these are two programs that over the years you know especially on the defensive line uh these are two programs that is where their strength has been and I I don't think for Clemson it's really that different this year uh like like Jordan mentioned Peter Woods back for his sophomore year same for TJ Parker I think the concern with them is can they can they continue it right they were greatest freshman they got in there uh due to injuries due to guys leaving and they they played great football but can they do it as sophomores now because we all know about the sophomore slump uh Damonte Kart not a guy that's been talked about a lot this offseason but he's going to be starting at defensive tackle uh because Clemson moved Peter Woods out to out out to Edge at 320 pounds which sounds crazy on paper but I I've seen this guy in practice he does not look like he's 320 pounds this guy's a game wrecker and he's goingon to be giving George all can handle up front but just like Georgia Clemson's got a little bit of question mark at center right now Ryan lycom is the projected starter there but there's kind of been a battle after will putam exit the team after last season and of course Nair stack house is going to be lined up straight across from him so that that's that's quite your uh first matchup to start the season if you got a question mark at Center is playing a guy like that that's been around that Georgia program for so long but like Jordan said I think Clemson is very confident in the other four guys on that offensive line which is Tristan lay out at left tackle uh Blake Miller at right tackle and then you've got Walker parks and Marcus Tate on the inside at guard so uh and like you mentioned Matt Luke this is is really his second game he got to coach in that bowl game last December but uh you know turning to the sport he's he's really really um talked about in in a positive way by everybody that knows him all the players that have played for him so um I think Clemson's looking in the right direction on the offensive line see this is why we talk about it with this matchup yeah they're not quarterbacks but both of you laid out just the freaky athletes that are on both sides both lines of scrimmage uh that we're going to see in this matchup and and that could be a big difference in this game Austin there will be the second longest Underdog spread under Dabo at plus 13 a half I know that the coach is well aware of that stat that's the type of thing that he keeps track of for sure um but the reason I'm saying it is because this is the longest in 12 years so beside just winning this game outright what can Clemson do to you know make fans and the general college football public feel better about the trajectory of this program in this game yeah yeah I I think this this game kind of sets up nicely for them but at the same time it can also be one that you know if things don't go well you and you play like Georgia did I mean against like Oregon did against Georgia a few years ago in that Stadium you don't feel good and so it's more of a barometer game I think for Clemson obviously not a lot of people in the in the National sphere or the people that turn their TV on on Saturday are going to say Clemson's going to win this game uh but if they can hang around keep it a one- score game uh show a little bit more explosivity on offense hold its own up front against a team like Georgia uh and most importantly something they didn't do the last two years is protect the football on offense if they can do those things and and show that maybe they can hang around with a team like Georgia in week one uh for for three or four quarters I I think that's going to have the fans feeling great about how the rest of the season can go um obviously last weekend after Florida State lost Clemson I believe is the odds on favorite uh to win the ACC at this point so um if they can go out and show that they've made strides over the off season and they and they can look more like that team that that fans got accustomed to for that six straight years of playoff appearances uh then then this could shave up to be a good season and if you don't do those things and you turn the ball over and you get dominated up front by Georgia then it's going to be a lot of the same old same old from the national audience yeah no moral victories necessarily but this thing can go horribly wrong or perfectly right and we'll see what happens in this game that's why we play it that's why we're so excited finally real football um Jordan I have to ask because there's been a lot of speculation with a suspension or no suspension so can you tell us what you know about the status of running back Trevor etn well that's the million-dollar question going into Saturday it's something that Kirby Smart hasn't talked about he was asked multiple times on Monday about etn status and this goes back to a March arrest that uh included charges of DUI that case was resolved but obviously that was still a very serious situation you know again I think it's going to be a situation that leads all the way up to Saturday and it's going to be us trying to piece together if he's warming up I wouldn't be surprised if he warms up and still doesn't wind up playing so I think that you know we don't have a clear answer yet I haven't gotten confirmation for anyone that a decision has even been made um but if I were to make a prediction I would be surprised if we see Trevor etn but again just a prediction and we've got several days left before this game is played um we'll just have to keep watching it and again probably out there with binoculars seeing if number one is warming up and if he ever takes the field once this game gets going what's the plan if he doesn't go well it's a big question because not only is he up in the air but Rodi Robinson another running back who probably would have started if Trevor etn didn't play had toe surgery last week and he's out for uh the foreseeable future Kirby Smart said he's weak to we so this could wind up being an outstanding story where Branson Robinson a guy who tore his preller tendon in Fall Camp last August makes his return and gets the start and and gets probably the line share of the carry so it's definitely a big question mark if they don't have Trevor etn and they do have options Branson Robinson uh Nate Fraser a true freshman has really impressed but if they don't have Trevor etn that's going to be a significant blow to this Georgia offense based on history you tend to not worry too much about the running back position at Georgia but the way you laid it out it's it's going to be interesting to see what happens on Saturday I said we were excited about real football but we got a little eager here at 24/7 Sports so guys we actually simulated this game 20 times on EA college football 25 and Clemson finished with 11 wins to Georgia's nine which means that that's exactly what's going to happen on Saturday because video game is real life uh but so for each team though let's just go ahead and lay out starting with Austin what is the biggest key to victory in this very real game yeah yeah those highlights are showing them playing at Sanford Stadium so I mean that's even more impressive that Clemson was able to go into a true Road game and win that uh the keys to Victory are pretty simple I laid it out in a piece last week I think they got to do the little things well uh and coaches harp on that kind of stuff all the time but this is when you when you're when you have to punt uh make good punts when you have to kick a field goal make your field goals uh do those little things because you can't beat a team like Georgia if you don't uh and I think maybe the most important thing is winning that turnover battle uh those last two losses Georgia had to Alabama I believe they lost the turnover battle in both of them um and and made a couple uncharacteristic turnovers late in games that that sealed wins for Alabama in those SEC championships uh and I think Phil mfa's got to have a huge game uh because we we've talked about kid Club Nick on here but you can't really pass the ball well if you can't open up a running game and George is obviously tough up front but uh Phil mafa is going to be one of the best backs they see all year defensively so um I I think those are three and then of course I I just mentioned him again but Cade Kick's the big answer here he he's got to keep that Georgia defense honest uh he's got to make the short throws he's got to take a couple shots and like I said I really think he needs to try to use his legs to his Advantage as much as he can because we've seen in the past you know defenses from Kirby Smart and Nick Sabin they've struggled at times with a quarterback that can maybe hurt them with the legs a little bit so if you can keep that defense honest uh don't don't give in what they're good at and let them Blitz you and when you're you know in for sure passing situations in third and long because things can get pretty ugly there looking from the Georgia perspective I mean Austin hit on it you know the turnover margin is going to be huge and for me I'm gonna be watching this Georgia secondary they're breaking in three new starters they lost three guys that are in the NFL right now and a couple of them really impressing so I think that it's going to come down to if Clemson is going to make this game close or outright win it I think Kade Club Nick's got to have a big day so the Georgia secondary's got to show up ready to play if there's opportunities to make and force turnovers they have to take advantage you look at K kumnick last last year he averaged an interception per game when they played ranked opponents uh so I I think that's huge and this Georgia secondary again got guys that have proven themselves really well Malachi Starks an All-American dalen Everett who had an up and down first year as a starter but really came through uh toward the end and I thought had an outstanding off season I think that they understand that there's big questions about the secondary but they've got the talent K kumnick is going to test them they got to show that they're ready for it I am ready for this game that is an understatement thank you both for breaking it down for us you can catch out or catch up with their coverage on dogs 247 that's for all things George football and of course Clemson 247 for everything that you need to know about the Clemson Tigers these two writers and their whole crew have you covered all season long [Music]