The Georgia Bulldogs have scheduled tough for the past decade and will continue to do so. The Dawgs face Georgia Tech through the 2037 season and while the Yellow Jackets are no powerhouse at the moment, they’re better than most non-power five teams.
The Bulldogs have future games against UVA this season (Atlanta), Oregon in 2022 (Atlanta), at Oklahoma in 2023, against Clemson in 2024 and 2029, against UCLA in 2025/2026, against FSU in 2027/2028, and against Texas in 2028/2029. The slate will continue to be challenging as Georgia is scheduled to face power five teams in at least ten games in every season except for 2021 of this decade.
The average SEC team, according to Pick Six Previews, only plays nine power five opponents this year:
Average Number of Power 5 Opponents (2020 Season)
10.1 – Big 12
9.8 – Pac-12
9.6 – Big Ten
9.3 – ACC
9.0 – SEC https://t.co/q4GyM7JApu— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) February 16, 2020
The SEC is lagging behind the rest of college football in their schedule because the SEC plays only eight conference games. The Big-12, Big Ten and Pac-12 all play nine conference games per season, while the SEC and ACC play eight.
The reason Georgia has historically scheduled tougher than the rest of the SEC is because the Dawgs have played nearly two power 5 non-conference opponents each season for the last 15 years (not including bowl games):
Most Power 5 Opponents over the last 15 seasons (non-conference):
32 – USC
27 – Clemson
27 – Georgia
26 – Florida State
26 – Georgia Tech
24 – Wake Forest
23 – Iowa
22 – South Carolina
22 – Stanford
22 – UNC
21 – Duke
21 – Michigan
20- Cal
20- Miami
20- Northwestern
19- Florida— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) February 17, 2020
Since the 2004/2005 season the Bulldogs have played an average of 1.8 power 5 conference opponents in non-conference play. The next closest team in SEC, South Carolina, has played just 1.47 power 5 teams out of conference. This means over the past 15 seasons no other team SEC has played two power 5 opponents in non-conference play more often than not.
The SEC needs to step up its non-conference scheduling or expand to nine conference games.
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