The Georgia Bulldogs are loading up on trips to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
After playing in last season's Southeastern Conference football championship game, which was the 26th SEC title contest and the first to be held in Atlanta's dazzling $1.6 billion facility, the Bulldogs have three Chick-fil-A Kickoff dates there in future seasons. The third was announced Friday, with Georgia and Clemson agreeing to play on Aug. 31, 2024.
Clemson and Georgia are opening their 2018 seasons today ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the country.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to open their 2020 season against Virginia in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and they are scheduled to open their 2022 season in the same location against Oregon. The Georgia-Oregon matchup was announced last month.
Georgia and Clemson have played 64 times, with the Bulldogs owning a 42-18-4 series advantage. They played annually from 1973 to '87, an exciting 15-year run that included the Bulldogs winning the 1980 national championship and the Tigers winning it all in 1981.
The schools first played in 1897 and in the early 1900s met in Augusta, Georgia, and in Anderson, South Carolina.
"I've said many times that I think the Clemson-Georgia rivalry is one of the best rivalries in college football," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Friday in a news release. "It's one I watched way before I even came to Clemson. It will be one of those games that everybody will enjoy."
Said Georgia coach Kirby Smart: "Many of the players on both teams know each other, and the proximity of the two schools makes it especially competitive."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.