Commentary: Intriguing football triangle takes shape

Scott Keepfer | USA TODAY Sports

The Atlantic Ocean has the Bermuda Triangle.

North Carolina has the Research Triangle; mathematics geeks have Pascal's Triangle, and the iconic movie The Graduate gave us a memorable love triangle.

You can have 'em all.

I'll take the Football Triangle — that scalene formed if one were inclined to draw a straight line from Athens, Ga., to Clemson, S.C., then to Columbia, S.C., and finally back to Athens.

The bottom line? Points A, B and C of the Football Triangle represent the homes of three of the hottest college football teams in the nation.

The USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll ranks Georgia No. 5, South Carolina No. 7 and Clemson No. 8, marking the first time all three have been held in such high esteem simultaneously.

It won't last long, so enjoy it while you can.

They all play one another, with Georgia tackling Clemson and South Carolina, respectively, the first two weeks of the season, so something's gotta give.

"I think it's great," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "I don't know of a situation anywhere else where you've got kind of a little triangle of really good football. It's a compliment to the area."

No question there. Despite ranking as the 40th-largest state, South Carolina is the only one with two teams ranked in the coaches' top 10.

Such status is rare air typically reserved for the bastions of college football — namely, California, Texas and Florida.

California has 38 million residents and 1,774 high schools; Texas has 26 million residents and 1,643 high schools, and Florida has 19.3 million residents and 555 high schools.





South Carolina? Try 4.7 million people and 205 high schools.

"Obviously the (high school) coaching staffs have done a good job in developing guys," Swinney said.

Granted, Clemson dips heavily into Georgia when recruiting (as well as Florida and North Carolina), and Georgia and South Carolina obviously do a great job of regional recruiting as well.

The result is that all three programs are riding an impressive wave of success heading into the 2013 season, which has fans from all camps anticipating and speculating.

Talk about the Tigers' season opener against Georgia at Death Valley runs rampant, from the loading docks and water coolers to the barrooms and backrooms.

ESPN's College GameDay is on the clock, and so are the Tigers — a "countdown clock" is prominently displayed in the Clemson weight room, serving as constant incentive for diligent sacrifice and preparation.

"The opening game every year at Clemson is big because people around here love college football and they want to get going," Swinney said. "They don't care who you play."

I get Swinney's point. Clemson fans do indeed love college football and are eager to get going, but I'm thinking that the Tigers' opening-day opponent isn't so inconsequential.

The guess here is that the vast majority of the Clemson fan base is considerably more revved for Georgia than they would be if say North Texas or Florida Atlantic rolled into town.

Nearly a decade has passed since Clemson and Georgia played their last game in a rivalry that has produced more than its share of memorable moments, so the upcoming renewal has rekindled some recollections — some good, some bad and some downright heartbreaking, depending on your allegiance.

One easy conclusion is that Clemson and Georgia should play as often as possible. Nine years is too long of a lapse for a series that induces such fervor on both sides.

So savor the moment.

Whether you're a Dawg, a Tiger or a Gamecock, enjoy it while it lasts, folks.

It might be a while before the Football Triangle is once again regarded so highly heading into opening kickoff.

Delight in the fact that you're here at this point in time and consider yourself fortunate that someday you'll be able to tell the grandkids, "Yeah, I remember back in '13, when Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia all started the season in the Top 10 ..."

The end of your story is about to be written.

Scott Keepfer also writes for The Greenville (S.C.) News, a Gannett property.