Georgia’s decision to scrap its future series with Clemson doesn’t just wipe out another marquee matchup. It also throws a spotlight on the one heavyweight non-conference series still sitting on the Bulldogs’ schedule: Ohio State.
Reports surfaced Monday that Georgia and Clemson canceled four future games, ending a home-and-home set that had been scheduled for 2029, 2030, 2032 and 2033. That marks the fourth home-and-home series Georgia has dropped in the past year, and now the Buckeyes are the last major opponent still listed for the Bulldogs in 2030 and 2031.
Georgia and Ohio State are set to meet in Athens in 2030 and in Columbus in 2031. On paper, those are the kind of games that jump off the schedule in both seasons. But with Georgia’s recent history, the series feels shaky.
Ohio State has already been through a major non-conference run of its own, finishing a series with Texas this year and beginning a two-game set with Alabama next season. The Buckeyes would seem to have plenty of reason to keep Georgia on the books. Georgia, though, has already shown a willingness to clear out these kinds of matchups.
The Bulldogs have now canceled future home-and-home series with NC State, Louisville, Florida State and Clemson over the last year. Clemson was the latest to go, and with Ohio State left as the only one standing, the pattern is hard to ignore.
One factor behind the reshuffling appears to be the SEC’s move to a nine-game conference schedule, which began this year. Georgia also has its annual rivalry game with Georgia Tech locked in every season, leaving the Bulldogs with 10 Power Four opponents on the schedule already. Add one more non-conference series like Ohio State, and the number climbs to 11.
Georgia has at least shown a willingness to replace one of the lost series with a neutral-site game. The Bulldogs scheduled Florida State for 2028 in a neutral-site matchup after canceling that series, so a similar solution could eventually surface with Ohio State if the schools want to preserve the game in some form.
Still, the loss of Clemson stings for college football. Georgia-Clemson may not sit at the same level as Georgia’s rivalries with Florida, Auburn or Georgia Tech, but it belongs in the next tier.
The schools are only 70 miles apart, and they’ve played 66 times. Georgia leads the series 44-18-4.
These are exactly the kinds of matchups that give the sport some bite: two major programs with history, proximity and plenty of edge. Instead, another one has disappeared.
Georgia and Clemson last met in 2021 and 2024, and Georgia won both. The last time the teams played on their home fields was 2013 and 2014, when each side protected its own turf.
A future meeting could still happen somewhere down the line, and a College Football Playoff matchup would always keep the door open. But with Clemson struggling and Georgia trimming its future non-conference slate, that possibility looks distant for now.
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