ATLANTA — Clemson football stared at the bar in college football Saturday and realized where its program compares to the nation's best.

No. 1 Georgia dominated the No. 14-ranked Tigers, winning 34-3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was a closely contested game in the first half with the Bulldogs leading 6-0 at halftime but flipped the switch in the second half.

The top team in the country outscored Clemson 28-3 in the final two quarters to give the Tigers (0-1) their worst loss to Georgia (1-0) since 1976. The Bulldogs scored on four of their first five drives in the second half and flexed their muscles on Clemson, one of the past standards in the College Football Playoff era.

"When you play a team like Georgia, you get exposed," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "That's what happened in the second half."

The Tigers suffered their worst season-opening loss under Swinney and have lost three of their past four opening games. It was only the fourth time during Swinney's tenure that Clemson did not score a touchdown.

Saturday's game revealed just how far Clemson has fallen from being a true national championship contender. When it last played Georgia in 2021, it lost 10-3. Three years later, the disparity has widened.

That's not to say Clemson can't make the CFP. It still recruits at a high level, has a talented roster and needs only to win the ACC championship to earn an automatic berth and one of the four byes. Still, the Tigers have to make immense strides to become viable against the top teams in the nation.

"We're going to flush this and learn from it and go get better. I just challenged them not to quit on me," Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik said. "I won't quit on them because I'm never quitting on them."

Offensively, Clemson must limit penalties. It received two on its opening drive, derailing a chance to gain early momentum. It also failed to create the "explosive chemistry" it was seeking this offseason.

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The Tigers connected on one 20-yard-plus throw; Klubnik was 2-for-9 on throws 15 yards or more. Outside of wide receiver Antonio Williams and tight end Jake Bringingstool, the quarterback struggled to get other pass catchers involved. Wide receivers Tyler Brown, Adam Randall and Bryant Wesco Jr., were nonexistent for much of the game.

Georgia's defense deserves credit for stifling Clemson's offense, but offensive coordinator Garrett Riley has to find ways for Klubnik to get easy throws to its playmakers.

Defensively, Clemson imploded in the second half to allow nine big plays, which are defined as rushes for 10-plus yards and completions 15 yards or longer. The Tigers were making uncharacteristic mistakes, missing open-field tackles and having busted assignments that led to the Bulldogs' offensive eruption.

"We'll watch it on tape, see what happened schematically," defensive lineman Peter Woods said. "At the end of the day, we got to fight (and) finish."

The good news for Clemson is its ranking shouldn't take a massive hit despite the 31-point loss to Georgia. It can still correct its mistakes and put on a better showing vs. Appalachian State on Sept. 7 at Memorial Stadium. Yet Saturday's contest displayed how far the Tigers have fallen and need to climb in order to return to national prominence.

"They didn't hand out a national championship trophy tonight. We didn't lose the ACC tonight," Swinney said. "We got our butts kicked in one game, and we got a long way to go. Let's go play it out and see what happens."

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: How Clemson football was 'exposed' by Georgia in blowout loss