Counting down the Bulldogs' season-defining matchups during a brutal slate.
Brad Crawford
Facing one of the toughest schedules in college football, Georgia coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs know the expectations haven't changed for the nation's likely preseason No. 1 this fall: Achieve elite status in the SEC and get back to the College Football Playoff with a chance to win the national title. Georgia certainly has the roster to do so, but it's not going to be easy with this gauntlet ahead.
Combing through the schedule and highlighting Georgia's five most important games for the 2024 season, these are the matchups that will be year-defining for the Bulldogs and ones circled by the playoff selection committee ahead of the final vote in December. The outcomes will also determine which teams get to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.
Georgia is the onlyteam nationally that could theoretically play three top-5 teams away from home this season along with three others inside the top 25. If the Bulldogs return to the playoff after a one-year hiatus, they will have certainly earned it.
Get the latest football and recruiting scoop on your favorite college team today.
Here's our ranking of Georgia's five most important games in 2024:
5. vs. Clemson (Atlanta, Aug. 31)
Early betting line: Georgia -13.5
National rankings would be tossed in a blender during opening weekend if Clemson pulls the unthinkable and derails Georgia insideMercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as a double-digit underdog. The Bulldogs have a history of dominating these big-time openers and, as the probable preseason No. 1 over Ohio State, need to look the part against a Dabo Swinney-coached team that has its share of questions entering the new campaign. Clemson is not the preseason favorite in the ACC and is the only Power 4 program not to sign a transfer this recruiting cycle.
Of course if you ask former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, he feels there's just as much mystery heading into the first game of the season for Georgia as there is on the other sideline.
"I think there are more questions on Georgia's roster than people realize. Doesn't mean that they're not going to be really good," McElroy said during arecent episode of theAlwaysCollege Footballpodcast. "They're going to be excellent. This is a team that is no worse than No. 2 in college football coming into the season. There is no team outside ofOhio Statethat has more capable bodies on their roster. They are legit."
4. vs. Tennessee (Nov. 16)
Early betting line: Georgia-15
The Bulldogs haven't lost at home since 2019 (South Carolina) and hold college football's longest active streak at 25 games entering 2024. On gameday, Athens is a top-5 environment nationally, rising to the level of the elites in recent years in terms of pageantry due to heightened success under Smart. And with one of the most favorable slates at home across the list of contenders this fall, this streak should continue to grow as long as the Tennessee game winds up in the win column.
Georgia has won seven straight against the Vols and this could be a playoff-elimination game of sorts for Tennessee if Josh Heupel's team strolls into Athens with a couple of losses. The same could be said for the Bulldogs if the previous week's trip to Ole Miss does not go as planned for Georgia considering the rest of a land-mined fill slate for this year's team.
3. at Ole Miss (Nov. 9)
Early betting line: Georgia-7
Give Lane Kiffin credit. He's trying to exorcise last season's demons at the line of scrimmage against the Bulldogs after an incredible effort in the transfer portal in terms of talent acquisition. The Rebels stole the top defensive players at Texas A&M and Florida, then managed to sign a few others to fill starting roles elsewhere. All of this for a team coming off an 11-win season whose only losses came in Athens and Tuscaloosa in 2023. Kiffin attributed recruiting as the reason Ole Miss couldn't topple Georgia and Alabama following his team's blowout loss to the Bulldogs.
"We've got to recruit at a higher level. I'm not blaming. We've got to coach better," Kiffin said. "At some point, whatever those stats are … we've signed eon five-star, they've signed 24. It kind of (does) show up at some point. We would have to recruit at a better level. Do a better job of recruiting."
Prior to that prime-time showdown at Sanford, Kiffin said his team was playing with"house money" and felt no pressure heading between the hedges. That sense of pressure could be tenfold in November this time around if the Rebels and Bulldogs are inside the top 10 as most project.
2. at Alabama (Sept. 28)
Early betting line: Georgia-5
This is where Georgia's 39-game regular season winning streak will be significantly challenged, we think, for the first time this fall. This is a huge statement game for first-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, one that will help formulate the opinion of him from Crimson Tide supporters. Should Alabama lose to Georgia and, say, LSU in November, that's two swings and misses against the rivals not-named Auburn for the Crimson Tide. This game has big-time playoff implications, as well as an impact on the SEC race.
Colleague Josh Pate posed the question earlier this spring and it's one that bears repeating — has Georgia reached the Nick Saban-esque pinnacle under Kirby Smart that the Crimson Tide elevated to under its previous coaching staff? Two national championships is the obvious high note for the Bulldogs, but last year's loss in Atlanta still stings a bit considering Georgia was likely heading toward its third consecutive title. That would've brought authentic dynasty murmurs and would be remembered as one of the best runs in college football history.
1. at Texas (Oct. 19)
Early betting line: Georgia-2
The near-unanimous picks to be two of theleague's College Football Playoffthreatsthis season are Georgia and Texas, which were highly-selective in the portal market after signing top classes during the early period. Get used to it — the Bulldogs and Longhornsshould battle for SEC supremacyfor many years to come if recruiting trends continue and especially if there's afew engine stallspost-Nick Saban in the powerful locomotive that is Alabama. Those aren't the only programs on the rise, but they're the most obvious with a premium opportunity at sustaining success in the expanded superconference.
Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers and Texas have no expectation that the SEC is going to be more challenging than life in the Big 12. They're looking for an encore season even better than their performance in 2023 when the Longhorns were one play away from reaching the national title finale. Texas has won seven-straight home games under Steve Sarkisian, too.
"We take it one day at a time, but we're all human and we understand what we want to accomplish," Ewers said on theRG3 and The Onespodcast this month."We've kind of set our minds on obviously the SEC championship but also Jan. 20, the national championship game. That's what we want, and that's what we are going to hold ourselves to."
