ATHENS — In discussing Georgia’s season-opening win, Kirby Smart noted it came against an inferior opponent in Tennessee State.
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I don't think there's any reason to regret the schedule, particularly having the first road-conference game at Arkansas. CKS is right when he says that those road-SEC games are always tough, but it has to happen so the first one might as well happen against a team like Arkansas. Having this game under their "belt of experience" prior to going to Oxford Mississippi or Tuscaloosa Alabama could/should be considered an advantage. If there is anything regrettable about that I don't see it.
GO DAWGS!
Why schedule two cupcake teams back to back? Yes it benefits Georgia to get some problems straightened out and the payout helps the other team but two back to back makes no sense. Of course Georgia isn’t the only team doing it.
Kirby probably won't get all the way down to the walk ons this week, but liberal subbing will still happen. I want to see the OL protect Gunner at all costs.
Unfortunately when the CFP committee rewards teams like Indiana & Miami with their weak schedules, it almost dictates what UGA has done. And getting suckered into 9 conference games doesn't help either. I loved & miss those good OOC games, especially the ones vs. opponents we don't normally play (ND, Arizona State, Oregon). Bored with Clemson, Ga Tech - time to move on.
New report on 2026 roster spending for (68) FBS Power 4 Schools. Very intersting information, some of which we already know...
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/interactive/college-football-nil-spending-budgets/
CFP Committee still rewards Wins and Losses higher than SOS. For that reason alone there is no real compelling reason to add harder P4 non-conference games to the schedule any longer since seasons are getting stretched now. I don't like these cupcake games, but they probably aren't going away. This season the Dawgs have a very favorable schedule compared to recent seasons. Another reason we should make it further in the playoffs if we can stay fairly healthy.
It'll be a close game, for about 15 minutes..GoDAWGS!
Playing against lesser foes allows game development. It also allows smaller schools, which mostly have some tie to UGA through business relationships to get a much needed payday to enhance their program. So one might say that it is a two sided with pros and cons plus many times other schools have cancelled and we have been left to try to find a foe. Now if we can't get fired up to start playing our normal SEC schedule we have a team motivation problem.
Click-bait headline. It poses a question for which the story never answers, which should never happen but routinely happens with DawgNation. Of course, the answer is, no, the University of Georgia does not regret its early-season schedule. They're the ones who made the schedule and they knew exactly what they were getting when they put Tennessee State and Western Kentucky. Kirby talking about blowouts but blowouts are EXACTLY what he expected to get and the ability to play virtually all of his roster is what he needed and wanted. With nine SEC games on the schedule there's a good chance some of those 3rd and 4th stringers are going to be called on to contribute at crucial times this year, and he wanted them to be ready. Also, there's the money factor. With nine conference games, that means that every other year there was going to be one less home game on the schedule, so got to schedule these cupcakes who you pay one time, but don't have to worry about a return trip. So no, UGA doesn't regret its schedule. They got what they wanted. The key now is, will what they did in the first two games carry over to the rest of the schedule?
Does Georgia regret the early schedule? Read the article and couldn’t find the answer. Found some answers in the comments. However, I still don’t know the answer. I do know the answer to the question of “do I, as a fan, regret the early schedule?”. I do. IMO, we should never play a team as weak as Tennessee State. WKU, on the other hand, often has a decent team, but didn’t this year. Teams get better by playing better competition. Getting to play a lot of backups is a good thing. First, those guys practice hard and should be rewarded. Second, you find out who, among the backups, might be able to play more. Third, you, fortunately or unfortunately, find out which backups aren’t ready to contribute. So, yes, there is some value in playing the WKUs of the world. Still, playing teams like Tennessee State should not happen at Georgia.
Finally, based on the first two games, what have we seen? 1) Gunner must stay healthy because our backup QBs have not looked good at all against weak teams. 2) Are we a good team? While I think we are, there’s no way to know based on these first two games against extremely weak competition.
Why play a heavyweight team? Ohio State won't. Ball state, Kent, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska… and their top team is Michigan, Indiana, Oregon. Michigan lost to Western Michigan.
Great article, thanks! Love UGA's ROI. Schools will start (I'd think) to want to see something produced for all the $.
Agree on the "click bait"... is it me, or does CR almost always seem to start from a place of negativity when it comes to the Dawgs? @MikeGriffith , @HunterDeLauder (both of whom you can tag in these comments, unlike CR), and other DM writers, even while delivering tough assessments, seem to be much more pro-UGA in their content, conclusions, and tonality. It's certainly a contrast that has been much more notable this off-season and start of the season...
only way it’s going to change is when the ticket sales for those paycheck games falter. Maybe it’ll be mitigated with the extra conference game, but sitting in 90 degree heat (or higher) to watch the dawgs play the sisters of the poor will make many people stay home and save money. Especially considering how UGA has been nickel and diming the fans the last couple seasons.
Regret scheduling choices? What a silly article. Starting with a tougher schedule out of the gate in 2024 led to 3 losses but do we regret playing Clemson out of the gate, heck no. And with all the new position players on offense this year, do we regret playing two cupcakes out of the gate? Again, heck no. Nonconference games are nothing more than exhibitions. How we play in the SEC determines our path to the CFPs. Less regrets, more faith Connor.
