SEPTEMBER 5, 3 P.M., SECN+
TENNESSEE STATE
SANFORD STADIUM
As many premier college football teams do to open the season, the Bulldogs welcome an FCS school to campus in the form of Tennessee State. This will be the first meeting between the Bulldogs and the Tigers, who are located in Nashville and are one of Tennessee’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Bulldog fans should get excited about this game not necessarily because of the matchup, but because they finally get to call Sanford Stadium home again for the next few months. Expect to see plenty of the roster on the field in what should quickly become a blowout.
Prediction: Georgia 45, Tennessee State 7
SEPTEMBER 12, 12:45 P.M., SECN
WESTERN KENTUCKY
SANFORD STADIUM
Western Kentucky finished the 2025-26 season with a 9-4 record, including a win at the New Orleans Bowl against Southern Miss. The Hilltoppers from Bowling Green, Kentucky have one of the most iconic mascots in collegiate sports in Big Red, who was created by a WKU student in 1979. Georgia hosted Western Kentucky in the 2006 season opener, winning 48-12. Though the Bulldogs will certainly be heavy favorites and should not have much trouble winning, do not be surprised if we see some fight from coach Tyson Helton’s Hilltoppers, who were one win shy of a 10-win season last year. Georgia cruises to another victory before beginning the SEC gauntlet that awaits.
Prediction: Georgia 38, WKU 13
SEPTEMBER 19, NOON, ABC
ARKANSAS
DONALD W. REYNOLDS RAZORBACK STADIUM
Georgia opens SEC play with a road trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks. Through the previous years, Arkansas played home games in two different stadiums: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, which is the capital of the state. However this season, the Hogs have no games in Little Rock. The Bulldogs most recently played in both stadiums, with wins in Fayetteville in 2020 and Little Rock in 2014. Ryan Silverfield, the former Memphis head coach, was hired as head coach in November of 2025. He will be looking to build from the ground up, as the program lost 10 straight games last year and did not win an SEC game. Any new head coach wants to quickly prove that their school made a good choice by bringing them in, and what better way to do that than to win Arkansas’ first conference game since October of 2024 by beating Coach Smart’s Dawgs. This has all the feeling of a trap game for those reasons, along with the fact that kickoff will be before noon (11 a.m. CT). Georgia leaves The Natural State 1-0 in conference play, but this feels like it will be a strange game to watch.
Prediction: Georgia 26, Arkansas 13
SEPTEMBER 26, TBA
OKLAHOMA
SANFORD STADIUM
Athens will officially come alive when the Sooners come to the Classic City for the first ever regular season meeting with Georgia. You will not find a college football fan who doesn’t have the 2018 Rose Bowl towards the top of their all-time game list, as Georgia stunned Baker Mayfield’s squad with an iconic 54-48 overtime win to advance to the CFP National Championship. In 2021, Brent Venables left his job as defensive coordinator of the Clemson Tigers to become the next head coach of the Sooners. The defensive mastermind led Oklahoma to a 10-2 record last year and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Quarterback John Mateer is returning for his senior year in Norman to try and avenge the team’s early CFP exit. This is going to be an incredible game Between the Hedges, and depending on how the early weeks of college football go, we could see the College Gameday crew make an appearance in Athens that morning. Though the loser of this game will certainly still have a long season ahead to make a case for the College Football Playoff, a win will be a big step towards securing a coveted shot at a national title. Coach Smart’s defense outlasts Venable’s scheme for a huge home victory.
Prediction: Georgia 27, Oklahoma 16
OCTOBER 3, TBA
VANDERBILT
SANFORD STADIUM
Dating back to 1893, Georgia holds a 61-20-2 all-time record against the Commodores. The last time Vanderbilt beat the Bulldogs was in Sanford Stadium during the 2016 season, which still comes up when Georgia fans think about some of the uglier losses in recent memory. As teams rise and fall in this new era of college football and NIL, head coach Clark Lea has turned a school that is not known for good football into a solid program. The team’s 10-2 regular season record last year went down as the greatest season in Commodore history. Quarterback and Heisman finalist Diego Pavia put football in Nashville on the map with wins over LSU, Missouri and a road win against Tennessee. Though their roster will likely look different at many positions, you can bet that coach Lea will have this team ready for battle when they enter the gates of Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs take care of business with a strong offensive showing and put Vandy away behind another rocking, sell-out crowd in the Classic City.
Prediction: Georgia 38, Vandy 20
OCTOBER 10, TBA
AT ALABAMA
BRYANT-DENNY STADIUM
When Georgia won a national championship for the first time since 1980 by beating Nick Saban’s Tide in January of 2022, it seemed like Coach Smart’s program was finally over the Alabama burden. Since that night, the Bulldogs are 1-3 against Alabama, with the lone win coming in last year’s SEC Championship. Though Georgia has their moments against Alabama, there’s no denying that the Tide have had their number for many years. When Georgia last made a stop in Tuscaloosa in 2024, Bryant-Denny Stadium turned upside down when Ryan Williams scored a 75-yard touchdown to end Georgia’s chances of a remarkable 28-point comeback. Last year, Kalen DeBoer’s team walked into Sanford Stadium and handed Georgia a home loss for the first time since 2019. While it might be true that you never want to keep prior losses in your mind, there’s no doubt that Alabama has left scars on the minds and hearts of many members of Bulldog Nation.
Coach DeBoer is in the middle of a quarterback battle this offseason, as Austin Mack and Keelon Russell fight for the starting position. His team was run out of Pasadena last year with a 38-3 loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. While Alabama has certainly been competitive since the retirement of Saban, they are yet to experience the success they once felt under DeBoer. If he is able to beat Georgia once again under the lights of Bryant-Denny, they will most likely be atop the SEC standings and be on their way back to the College Football Playoff. This is one of the most anticipated games of the upcoming season for Bama fans, but Georgia steals a regular season win against Alabama for the first time since 2007. This will likely be Alabama’s first ranked matchup of the year, which may expose some of the Tide’s players’ inexperience in the massive spotlight. Stockton outplays the Tide’s new starting quarterback in Tuscaloosa, leaving Alabama fans questioning what’s truly in store for their 2026 elephants.
Prediction: Georgia 24, Alabama 20
OCTOBER 17, TBA
AUBURN
SANFORD STADIUM
If you were to ask fans across the Southeastern Conference who the most frustrated fanbase is in the league, the Auburn Tigers would probably be a popular answer. Since Cam Newton and the Tigers won the BCS National Championship in January of 2011, Auburn has floated around mediocrity and have not had a winning season since going 6-5 in 2020. Once again, Auburn participated in the coaching carousel this offseason, hiring former USF head coach and offensive guru Alex Golesh. Though they constantly give rivals such as Alabama and Georgia a run for their money, the Tigers continue to live in the shadow of the two powerhouses that live beside them. In what is famously known as the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry,” Georgia leads the all-time series 66-56-8. Auburn could easily have a couple losses by the time this game is played, as they face Florida, Vanderbilt and Tennessee before heading to Athens. Both fanbases have fond and heartbreaking memories of this annual game, but the Bulldogs keep playing strong football and win the 2026 edition of this historic rivalry.
Prediction: Georgia 27, Auburn 7
OCTOBER 31, 3:30 P.M.
FLORIDA
MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM (ATL)
The Georgia-Florida game is one of college football’s most iconic rivalries. Known as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the game has been played in Jacksonville every year since 1933, except for two years in the 1990s when the stadium was being renovated. Similarly, the rivalry will be leaving Jacksonville for two years due to renovations on EverBank Stadium. Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the 2026 matchup and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will host the 2027 game.
Former head coach Billy Napier was fired after starting last year with a 3-4 record, including a home loss to South Florida. Jon Sumrall was hired as the new coach of the Gators this offseason after leading Tulane to the College Football Playoff. He signed a six-year deal that averages around $7.5 million per season. There’s no telling what to expect from Florida this year with so many new coaches and players, but this game always seems to come down to the fourth quarter. Coach Sumerall will have his team motivated to down Georgia in his first season with the Gators, but Coach Smart’s Bulldogs sneak by for a sixth consecutive win against Florida to remain undefeated. While the Bulldog Nation will unfortunately not be treated to a trip to the beaches of Georgia and Florida this year, both fanbases will watch another classic fight between these two teams.
Prediction: Georgia 20, Florida 16
NOVEMBER 7, TBA
AT OLE MISS
VAUGHT-HEMINGWAY STADIUM
The Rebels have quietly become one of college football’s top programs. They advanced to the CFP-Semifinal last year after stunning Georgia 39-34 in the Sugar Bowl. In what was one of the nation’s top stories last year, Lane Kiffin left Oxford for Baton Rouge when he accepted the head coaching position at LSU. Pete Golding took over and led the Rebels to the CFP-Semifinal after stunning Georgia in New Orleans. Whether SEC fans want to admit it or not, Ole Miss has become a force in the conference, and it doesn’t seem like they are going anywhere with Golding in command.
Georgia historically has been successful against Ole Miss, but the Rebels have been a thorn in the Bulldogs’ side over the past few years. Kiffin got his signature win (in Oxford) for his former program after defeating Georgia 28-10 during the 2024-25 regular season. Though they failed to make the College Football Playoff that season, that win was the one that garnered the Rebels being known as one of the SEC’s top teams.
There’s no doubt that September 19th’s matchup between LSU and Ole Miss in Oxford is the most anticipated game of the upcoming season. The city of Oxford might have to bring in an extra police force in order to keep their fans away from Lane Kiffin and the Tigers before they make it on the field. If Ole Miss wins this game, they will not only jolt towards the top of the AP Poll, but they will be arguably one of college football’s most confident teams. Trinidad Chambliss took the nation by storm with his electric performance in last year’s win over Georgia, and leads the Rebels to another landmark victory for Georgia’s first loss of the season.
Prediction: Ole Miss 30, Georgia 24
NOVEMBER 14, TBA
MISSOURI
SANFORD STADIUM
Eli Drinkwitz has led Missouri to become one of the SEC’s most consistent teams. Since 2020, the Tigers have been bowl eligible in every season under Drinkwitz and have won at least 10 games two years in a row. For a program that might not expect national titles, they have at least been in the mix from time to time. Former Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons is expected to be the starter for the Tigers this season. All-American running back Ahmad Hardy, who rushed for over 1,500 yards last season, was shot in the leg in May while attending a concert. There is still uncertainty surrounding his status for the upcoming season.
The Bulldogs have dominated Missouri since joining the SEC, owning an 11-1 conference record in the matchup. Though Missouri hopes to stay in the picture with an outside chance at making the College Football Playoff, it is hard to imagine Georgia dropping a home game to the Tigers. Georgia bounces back from a loss to Ole Miss to stay in the race for the SEC Championship.
Prediction: Georgia 33, Missouri 16
NOVEMBER 21, TBA
AT SOUTH CAROLINA
WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM
It doesn’t seem like that long ago when South Carolina was one of the better teams in the SEC. The Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs four times in five seasons from 2010-2014 under the leadership of Steve Spurrier. Since Shane Beamer was hired in 2021, the program has floated around the .500 mark. Coach Beamer’s best season came in 2024 when the Gamecocks won the final six games of the regular season, three of which were against ranked teams. Last year was the exact opposite, as South Carolina lost five straight conference games and ended the year at 4-8. Redshirt junior quarterback LaNorris Sellers is returning to Columbia for another season and will likely be headed to the NFL with a strong 2026 campaign.
The betting markets are predicting South Carolina to finish the season with 5 or 6 wins, which would certainly put Beamer’s future with the program in jeopardy. Whether they exceed that win total or not, this game feels like it will be one of those early kickoff trap games that the nation keeps a close eye on. In order to stay in control of a trip to the SEC Championship and atop the College Football Playoff standings, the Dawgs must navigate this type of game. Kirby and Co. takes care of business in the Hen House earning another slot in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta on December 5, 2026.
Prediction: Georgia 31, South Carolina 20
NOVEMBER 28, TBA
GEORGIA TECH
SANFORD STADIUM
College football might not look like the game we once knew, with the transfer portal and NIL becoming the biggest headlines. However, rivalry weekend, which features some of the most hated matchups in sports, remains a constant. For Georgia, this weekend has resulted in victory more often than not. In the last 25 meetings between Georgia and Georgia Tech’s Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, the Bulldogs own a 21-4 record. Even when Georgia has struggled in SEC play throughout some seasons, beating the Jackets year after year has ended mediocre seasons on a high note.
Even though it is not easy to give your rival any credit, coach Brent Key has the Georgia Tech program headed in the right direction. Not only have the Jackets been within striking distance of beating Georgia, they have made a bowl game three years in a row and remained in the College Football Playoff conversation for most of last season. Key was able to grab Alberto Mendoza, the brother of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, out of the transfer portal to play quarterback in Atlanta this season.
Surprisingly, Georgia Tech has won in Athens more recently than in Atlanta. The 2016 regular season ended in misery for the Bulldogs as Tech left the Classic City with a 28-27 win. While Key’s team will have his Bees ready once again, the Dawgs win for the ninth consecutive time to the delight of the Red and Black diehards who finally get to rejoice and celebrate “The Drought” (8 straight Tech wins – 1949-1956) finally being put to rest!
Prediction: Georgia 30, Georgia Tech 13