Clemson's Dabo Swinney frustrated with early penalties against Georgia

Clemson and Georgia are locked in a defensive affair through the first quarter, tied at 0-0 in a showdown in Atlanta for the Aflac Kickoff.

Coach Dabo Swinney joined the ABC broadcast and expressed his frustration with some key mistakes that have plagued the Tigers in the early going.

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“Well we’ve got two penalties on one of our receivers, and that one was probably the biggest play of the game at this point,” Swinney said. “You’ve got to line up right. Really disappointed, but hey this is a tough game. First game.”

The big play Swinney was referring to was a third-down conversion into Georgia territory for Clemson. It occurred when quarterback Cade Klubnik completed an 11-yard pass to Antonio Williams on third-and-9, but the play came back because receiver Adam Randall lined up incorrectly before the snap.

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The drive ended one play later, with Clemson forced to punt.

That kept the score 0-0 going to the second quarter. The first quarter netted just 104 total yards between the two teams — 61 for the Tigers and 43 for the Bulldogs.

The teams were a combined 2-of-7 on third down in the opening 15 minutes. Swinney simply wanted his team to calm down and play ball.

“You’ve got to kind of settle into the game,” Swinney said. “Defense has held them to this point, but long way to go.”

Georgia’s Warren Brinson injured

Georgia defensive lineman Warren Brinson went down with an apparent injury in the first quarter of Saturday’s game against Clemson. He grabbed his left ankle on the ground, according to DawgsHQ, and headed to the medical tent.

Brinson is starting his fifth season of college football after announcing his return in January. He’s coming off the best year of his career in 2023, totaling 21 tackles – including three tackles for loss and two sacks – as a key piece of the Georgia defensive line.

Georgia and Clemson are helping kick off the 2024 campaign at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Bulldogs enter the year with high expectations once again with Carson Beck notably back at quarterback and another strong defense coming back under Kirby Smart.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.