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New Georgia coach Kirby Smart isn’t going to have time to grow into the job thanks to a brutal early schedule that has the Bulldogs facing three ranked teams within their first five games.
A visit by Tennessee on Oct. 1 is the only one of those games set to be played between the hedges in Athens. The other two include the season opener in Atlanta against a dangerous North Carolina team and a Sept. 24 date at Ole Miss.
How things play out for the Dawgs depends in large part on whether tailback Nick Chubb is fully recovered from the season-ending knee injury he suffered at Tennessee in early October and whether a Georgia passing game can become more efficient after struggling throughout the 2015 season.
Sony Michel is back to carry the ball for the Dawgs, but there is no question they need a healthy Chubb to weather the early storm. It’s unclear when prized freshman quarterback Jacob Eason will be ready to usurp Greyson Lambert as the starting quarterback, but getting the running game untracked will be critical for whoever is under center for Georgia.
The Dawgs will rate as underdogs against all three of the ranked teams they face early, but could easily contend in each contest if Chubb is back to form and the Bulldogs offense regains its punch.
Georgia should be favored in every game the rest of the way and has the luxury of playing its final three games at home.
Here’s a closer look at the 2016 schedule.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
Home games (6): Nicholls State (Sept. 10), Tennessee (Oct. 1), Vanderbilt (Oct. 15), Auburn (Nov. 12), Louisiana-Lafayette (Nov. 19), Georgia Tech (Nov. 26).
Road games (4): Missouri (Sept. 17), Ole Miss (Sept. 24), South Carolina (Oct. 8), Kentucky (Nov. 5)
Neutral games (2): North Carolina (Sept. 3), Florida (Oct. 29)
Longest home stretch: 3 games (Auburn, Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia Tech)
Longest road stretch: 2 games (Missouri, Ole Miss)
OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
2015 ranked teams (final regular season poll): No. 1 Alabama, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 25 Florida
2016 ranked (early projections): No. 11 Tennessee, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 17 North Carolina
Potential trap games: at South Carolina (This game could be especially dangerous to the Bulldogs if they are coming off a win over Tennessee the week before. The Gamecocks are nowhere as talented, but would love nothing better than to stick it to the Dawgs); at Kentucky (this game in sandwiched in between games against Florida and Auburn, but take the ‘Cats lightly at your own risk).
Toughest SEC games: at Ole Miss, vs. Tennessee and vs. Florida (in Jacksonville)
FULL SCHEDULE
Week Opponent Venue
1 North Carolina Georgia Dome; Atlanta. Ga.
2 Nicholls State Sanford Stadium
3 Missouri Faurot Field; Columbia, Mo.
4 Ole Miss Vaught-Hemingway Stadium; Oxford, Miss.
5 Tennessee Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tenn.
6 South Carolina Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
7 Vanderbilt Sanford Stadium
8 Open date
9 Florida EverBank Field; Jacksonville, Fla.
10 Kentucky Commonwealth Stadium; Lexington, Ky.
11 Auburn Sanford Stadium
12 Louisiana-Lafayette Sanford Stadium
13 Georgia Tech Sanford Stadium
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
