David M. Hale 10y

ACC's biggest battles: Nos. 1 & 2

The 2014 college football season starts in just nine days. We’re getting you ready by counting down the ACC’s 10 biggest battles of the fall. Today, we’re wrapping things up with the two games most likely to define the season for the ACC.

No. 2

The matchup: Clemson vs. Georgia

Date/Location: Aug. 30, Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Last meeting: The rivalry was reignited last season, when Clemson out-gunned Georgia, 38-35, in the season opener in Death Valley. The two starting QBs combined for nearly 600 yards passing, but neither will be back for this year’s game.

Why it matters: Much like Virginia Tech’s season-opening date with Ohio State, FSU’s date with Oklahoma State and Miami’s Sept. 20 showdown with Nebraska, this is a chance for the ACC's upper echelon to establish the conference’s standing against top-tier non-conference foes. Georgia has plenty of buzz entering the season and projects as a possible SEC East favorite. Clemson is clearly in the shadows of FSU in the ACC. But a win on the road for the Tigers would certainly put Dabo Swinney's crew back into the conversation for the College Football Playoff and, just as importantly, give the ACC a marquee non-conference win as ammunition when the selection committee decides who's in and who's out at year's end.

No. 1

The matchup: Clemson vs. Florida State

Date/Location: Sept. 20, Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

Last meeting: The game was billed as the biggest of the year in the ACC last season, too, but it took all of 12 minutes for Jameis Winston and Florida State to take all the air out of the building in Death Valley. The Seminoles led by 20 at the half and cruised to a dominant 51-14 win behind 444 yards passing from Winston.

Why it matters: The easy answer here is the winner of this game has gone on to win the ACC's Atlantic in each of the past four years, and that'll be Step 1 in the road to a national championship. But, of course, both Clemson and FSU have significant non-conference games that will already be in the books by the time this one's played, and if both emerge from those Week 1 battles with a 'W,' it could mean this game has as much national cache as any in the nation this year -- and certainly any that kick off before the weather gets cold. Clemson will be a much bigger underdog this year after last season's thrashing, but Swinney insisted then that his team was more evenly matched with FSU than the score reflected. He'll get a chance to back up his words in Tallahassee for what, once again, promises to be the best game the ACC has to offer on its schedule.

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