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Much of the offseason chatter surrounding the Georgia-Clemson game has been framed around it being a College Football Playoff matchup. Both teams will start the season in the top 5 and have the talent to make a serious run at a national championship in 2021.

While the winner stands to benefit greatly, many have wondered what kind of impact losing this game might have on Georgia and Clemson’s season. Neither has all that daunting of a regular-season schedule following the opener, and both teams could very easily win out.

So which team might be better able to withstand a loss in the first game of the season? According to ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, he thinks it is in fact the Bulldogs.

“If Georgia loses this game, their task is very difficult. However they have a great path for this reason,” Finebaum said while appearing on an episode of Get Up. “They run the table and they beat Alabama, they are in. You can’t leave them home if they have one loss and it’s at the beginning of the season and they’d just beaten the best team in the country.”

Georgia did make the College Football Playoff in 2017 when it avenged a regular-season loss to Auburn by beating the Tigers in the SEC championship game. The Bulldogs then went on to beat Oklahoma before losing to Alabama in the national title game.

Georgia only has one other ranked team on its schedule, with the Bulldogs playing No. 13 Florida on Oct. 30.

The emotional boost that winning a game like this would provide would be substantial in the eyes of ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.

Appearing on a conference call to preview the game, Herbstreit thinks winning this game could be the proverbial bump the Bulldogs need to get over the hump.

“If they win that game, and you start to look down that schedule, there’s going to be Georgia fans that are hooting and hollering thinking this is the year again,” Herbstreit said. “Because they have a team that could be built to win a championship. But I don’t sense any pressure [on Kirby Smart]. I think they’ve been close and just have to get over the hump.”

Smart spoke about those championship expectations this week and why the Bulldogs have embraced them.

“Well, it has to be coming, right? If it’s not coming then what are we doing,” Smart asked. “I know the people in this organization, I know the administration, I know the people in this state, I know the people that love Georgia and the energy and enthusiasm they have, it’s always long overdue, right? I don’t care if you won one three years ago, it’s overdue. For me, that’s the end game, that’s the goal, that’s what you’re always trying to work towards.”

To accomplish that end goal, the Bulldogs will need to at least play Clemson close, and very possibly win.

After the month of August though, some in the national media have lost some confidence in the Bulldogs. Georgia suffered a rash of injuries, including one to tight end Darnell Washington. Couple that with the ACL injury that George Pickens had in the spring and Georgia now has some questions at the wide receiver position.

ESPN’s Greg McElroy said the events of the past month were enough for him to change his pre-game pick from Georgia to Clemson.

“I look at this matchup right now, I think Clemson is the team that had the better fall camp, the team that is healthier, the team that has the better track record in matchups like this,” McElroy said while appearing on the Paul Finebaum show.

McElroy added he thinks the Tigers have the edge at quarterback with DJ Uiagalelei over JT Daniels. He isn’t alone in thinking that way, as Stewart Mandel of The Athletic thinks Uiagalelei’s play will be what puts Clemson over the top.

“For me, this one basically comes down to which QB do I trust more,” Mandel wrote. “Georgia’s JT Daniels or Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei? Despite Daniels being more experienced and finishing 2020 on a tear, I lean toward the guy who threw for 439 yards on Notre Dame last season and will be getting back All-America WR Justyn Ross.”

Georgia and Clemson kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. It is easily the biggest matchup of Week 1, with Herbstreit and Chris Fowler calling the game.

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