Installment number six takes us to NHRA territory.
GAME 6, OCT 10: at GEORGIA BULLDOGS
Coach: Kirby Smart (starting season 11: 117–21 overall, 69–12 SEC)
FUN FACT: Kirby is 1-3 in Sugar Bowls and 2-7 against Alabama.
2025 UGA record: 12-2 (7-1 SEC, 2nd in SEC, but won SECCG, lost 1st game of CFP)
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CB 2025 Prediction: 11-1; I actually got this one exactly right but, it wasn’t that difficult considering the light schedule UGA had. #StackingTheDeck
Well, that was a dumb kickoff return.
Looking back: After a couple of cupcake games, UGA went to overtime to beat Tennessee. That was followed by yet another loss to Bama in Athens. The Bulldogs would then win out the rest of the regular season including victories over Ole Miss and Texas. The other wins were rather ho-hum (UK, @Aub, Fla, @MSU, Charlotte, Ga Tech). The Georgia post-season was made up of re-matches. In the SEC Championship Game, the Dwags got revenge on the Crimson Tide. The second meeting with Ole Miss was in the first round of the CFP and resulted in a season-ending loss in New Orleans.
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Returning starters: 7 on offense, 6 on defense, kicker
Key losses: T Monroe Freeling (1st round, Panthers), DT Christen Miller (2nd round, Saints), LB CJ Allen (2nd round, Colts), TE Oscar Delp (3rd round, Saints), leading receiver WR Zachariah Branch (3rd round, Falcons), CB Daylen Everette (3rd round, Steelers), 2nd leading receiver WR Colbie Young (4th round, Bengals), G Micah Morris (6th round, Eagles), leading tackler LB CJ Allen (UDFA), WR Dillon Bell (UDFA), P Brett Thorson (UDFA), WR Noah Thomas (UDFA), CB Dominick Kelly (transfer to Ohio $tate – Les Wexler money)
Top returnees: QB Karl Childers Gunner Stockton, RB Nate Frazier (947 yds, 6 TD), RB Chauncey Bowens (526 yds, 6 TD), WR London Humphreys (276 yds, 3 TD), OL Earnest Greene, TE Lawson Luckie, OL Dontrell Glover, DB KJ Bolden, DB Ellis Robinson, DB Khalil Barnes, DL Elijah Griffin, LB Raylen Wilson, DL Gabe Harris, C Drew Bobo, RT Juan Gaston, PK Peyton Woodring
Drug charges were eventually dropped. Imagine that.
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Top newcomers: SAF Ja’Marley Riddle (from East Carolina; 3 INT, 6 PD), SAF Khalil Barnes (Clemson), WR Isiah Canion (Georgia Tech; 480 yds, 4 TD), IOL Zykie Helton (potential starter as a 3-star frosh), TE Kaiden Prothro (high 4-star frosh), DL Valdin Sone (5-star frosh), RB Dante Dowdell* (Ore>Nebr>UK; 560 yds, 3 TD), EDGE Amaris Williams (AUB)
* Dowdell is out indefinitely after suffering major injuries in an ATV accident.
Strengths: The schedule… Every year it seems UGA has this huckleberry game manager at QB who just seems to win games. Stockton is the poster boy for that… Frazier has 1,000 yards rushing potential. Bowens is a more than capable No.2… Strong left side of the OL… Defensive front seven should be good… Among the projected 22 starters, only four were not on the team last year… Several regular substitutes were also Bulldogs last season… Ellis Robinson and KJ Bolden are excellent in the secondary but…
Weaknesses: Beyond Robinson and Bolden, the secondary is questionable… The defense had only 13 takeaways in 2025 (109th in the nation per game)… UGA had only 20 sacks last season (107th in nation, last in the SEC) with most of the same personnel back… Also last in the SEC in tackles for loss per game… Center Bobo, offensive tackles Greene and Gaston are back to anchor the line but they are all a bit injury prone… Starter at right guard is a big question mark… Not much OL depth… WR corps is wanting… OC Mike Bobo’s offense can be a little too conservative at times – not may shots downfield… For the first time in a long while, UGA does not have an All-SEC kicker or punter on the three teams list. It doesn’t mean they’re bad, just not among the elite… Starting quarterback likes french fried pertaters, mm-hmm…
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Outlook: In the last two seasons, Georgia has won SEC Championship Games but lost in the first round of the CFP to lower seeded teams – despite having rosters strong enough to win it all. Kirby Smart has had a great run in Athens and has another strong team this year. However, there seems to be some staleness around the program. It feel like the Bulldogs will lose a game they should not this fall, but I can’t put my finger on which one it might be.
Odds
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Wins Total per FanDuel: 9.5 😲!! Take the over.
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Bama is a 2.5 underdog per FanDuel. Take the points.
2026 GEORGIA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:
UGA gets another favorable schedule to go with their cupcakes. They leave the state only four times and the SC game is around 160 miles away. The Doggies travel to Alabama and Ole Miss with a home game against Okie. However, they completely avoid Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, and Tennessee. Games with Arky, Aub, Pavia-less Vandy, rebuilding Fla, Mizz, SC and Ga Tech basically guarantees a winning season before November rolls around – not to mention the two cupcakes.
FUN FACT: Since Texas A&M entered the SEC 15 years ago, the Bulldogs have played them all of ONE time and never in College Station. In that same span, UGA has faced LSU twice. #StackingTheDeck
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Sat, Sep 5 vs Tennessee State – W
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Sat, Sep 12 vs Western Kentucky – W
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Sat, Sep 19 @ Arkansas – W
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Sat, Sep 26 vs Oklahoma – W – Don’t bet on this one.
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Sat, Oct 3 vs Vanderbilt – W
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Sat, Oct 10 @ Alabama – L – At the risk of sounding like a Gump, I think the Tide gets their revenge at home.
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Sat, Oct 17 vs Auburn – W – The War Tigers always give UGA scares, but the Dwags prevail.
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Sat, Oct 31 vs Florida – W – Basically a home game* against a rebuilding team
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Sat, Nov 7 @ Ole Miss – W – Revenge game.
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Sat, Nov 14 vs Missouri – W
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Sat, Nov 21 @ South Carolina – W – Possible weird upset.
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Sat, Nov 28 vs Georgia Tech – W
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* Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta
PREVIOUS 2026 ALABAMA SCHEDULE PREVIEWS:
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Sat, Nov 21 vs Chattanooga
