ATHENS — The college football world is looking in on the Georgia football opener with Clemson this week, and with good reason.

It’s not often two Top 5-ranked teams meet to start a season — only the fourth since 2000 — and this matchup promises to be a doozie. The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs meet the No. 3-ranked Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C., in what could easily prove to be a College Football Playoff preview.

Coach Kirby Smart is 5-0 in season-opening games, but Dabo Swinney has won five of the past six times his Clemson program has faced a top-5 ranked opponent.

For all the history and trends, this is a game that comes down to players making plays and matchups, and listening to Smart on Monday it was clear he has some idea of where his team will be challenged most.

Here were 3 telling comments from Smart at the start of game week:

Quarterback solid, supporting cast unproven

Smart didn’t mince words when asked about JT Daniels — he’s not worried about the quarterback.

“I am extremely confident in his preparation and his focus, that is not a concern for me,” Smart said. “The concern is who we have to block, the players around JT.

“Everybody puts everything on the shoulders of the quarterback but so much of the outcome of the quarterback is how the guys who play around him. Who those guys are, the experience level, do those guys play well, do they play with physical toughness, do they strain, do they do all those things.”

This season’s group of receivers appears more talented than the 2019 group, which struggled through an injury-prone season with missed assignments and dropped passes.

Veteran slot man Kearis Jackson is solid, and so is experienced tight end John FitzPatrick.

Saturday night is a chance for receivers like Jermaine Burton, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Adonai Mitchell, Justin Robinson, Ladd McConkey and Arian Smith to go from being the stars of tomorrow to today’s playmakers.

“That’s the area that I think we can grow in the most, because we have the least experience,” Smart said. “We went from a really experienced receiver team to a not very experienced receiver team.”

The secondary is a concern

Georgia has a ferocious defensive front, unrivaled in the nation when it comes to stopping the run with Jordan Davis Devonte Wyatt and Jalen Carter patrolling the interior lanes.

The pass rush is also wicked. Nolan Smith is eager to prove why he was the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in 2019, and Adam Anderson is aiming to get his 20-sack campaign off to a fast start.

But the back end of the defense is young and unproven, particularly at cornerback where Clemson transfer Derion Kendrick will be flanked by a first-time starter, either journeyman Ameer Speed or rookie Kelee Ringo.

Ringo, who was off the field his true freshman season recovering from a torn labrum, has major upside and Smart’s history has been to go with the player with the higher ceiling.

Speed has had lockdown moments and might still win back a starting spot, much like Eric Stokes did after Tyson Campbell started ahead of him in 2018.

Jalen Kimber exited spring the starter, but his status has been somewhat up in the air since he missed a scrimmage with an injury.

The “star” position is the greatest concern, as three of the seven players UGA lost out of last year’s secondary were at that position, and West Virginia transfer Tykee Smith has an injury that will keep him out of the game.

Latavious Brini made the most of his one career start against Cincinnati, and Georgia will hope the South Florida product can come through again.

“We’ve never had that many holes to fill …I can’t think of a year ever coaching in my experience that we’ve had that many departures in the same unit,” Smart said. “So, it’ll look very different.

“A lot of those guys are as talented as the guys we’ve had in the past but very rarely have we had lack of experience. We just don’t have a lot of guys with a lot of playing experience back there and the only way to grow up is to go play.”

Clemson has dudes, too

Dabo Swinney likes to play the “little old Clemson” card, but Smart is the first to tell you that many of the Tigers’ players were also recruited by Georgia.

That’s particularly true on the defensive front, where the Tigers bring more speed and athleticism than Georgia, and just as much talent.

“Their front is different than our front, (but) we both do have experience in our front seven,” Smart said. “Theirs is different than ours. Ours is a lot bigger, built to stop the run, and theirs is pushy, more athletic and built to rush the passer.

“They’ve done that, statistically, really well. They’ve affected every quarterback they play in terms of sacks and those numbers.”

Clemson has a string of 18 straight games with multiple sacks, and the defense has recorded 40 or more sacks seven straight seasons.