By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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There aren’t many pairings in the game that can match the narrative.

Clemson and Georgia Tech will meet Thursday night in famed Bobby Dodd Stadium in a nationally-televised showcase on ESPN. The clash will be a very real test for the Tigers, a potential opportunity for the Yellow Jackets and a stand-alone stage for the ACC. For the college football community, the 80th meeting between Clemson and Georgia Tech should serve as an important history lesson, a chance to watch two proud programs compete in a rivalry that isn’t talked about enough.

Running down a hill or driving out of a tunnel, the path to success, for the Tigers and Yellow Jackets, has been lined with pageantry and tradition. These are programs that have won national championships in the modern era, have had some of the greatest coaches and players of all-time step foot on their fields and have uniquely-different, yet equally-special, settings that give the series great contrast. There aren’t many pairings in the game that can match the narrative.

This is a rivalry that dates back to 1902. In recent decades, unpredictability has been a common theme. From contests with title implications to those with ridiculous, wild finishes, Clemson-Georgia Tech has had it all. In the Yellow Jackets’ 1990 national title run, they defeated the Tigers by a score of just 21-19, their closest win of the season. Maybe believe the 2009 ACC Championship Game, where Georgia Tech won but Clemson’s C.J. Spiller was the MVP, is he league’s best title bout to date.

The great John Heisman led teams in both Atlanta and the upstate. That isn’t all these two have in common. Clemson has won 706 football games, while Georgia Tech has won 717, good for 18th and 17th in the record books. The Tigers are 20-19 in bowl games; the Yellow Jackets have gone 24-19. Clemson has had 229 NFL Draft picks; Georgia Tech has had 211. The Tigers have had 25 consensus All-Americans; the Yellow Jackets have had 21. The parallels are powerful.

In games pairing Clemson and Georgia Tech as conference foes, the Tigers narrowly lead the series 17-16. Clemson has claimed two of the past three.

Thursday night’s contest has a lot on the line. Near the top of the polls as the reigning national runner-up, the Tigers will look to win for the 21st time in 22 games. Deshaun Watson and company, Clemson’s College Football Playoff Final not withstanding, have been on a tear that few teams this generation can match. At 3-0, the home-standing Yellow Jackets would top last year’s win total with a victory. Even in an atypically disappointing season, Georgia Tech managed to upset Florida State on a Thursday night last fall.

As if history could have it any other way, Dabo Swinney and Paul Johnson both took over their respective programs in 2008. They have split their eight regular season outings at four wins a piece, with Johnson’s Tampa triumph giving him a one-game advantage.

Pay attention on Thursday night, as a long line of success will follow the Tigers and Yellow Jackets onto the field. College football is better for having Clemson and Georgia Tech in it. Their rivalry deserves a spotlight all its own.