Georgia is accustomed to being one of the top teams in the country. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back SEC championships and are the only SEC team to make the 12-team College Football Playoff in both years.

All of that success makes the Bulldogs an obvious target.

A recent look at the defining game for each Power 4 team during the upcoming season by ESPN’s analysts shows that Georgia is the defining game for five different teams.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Alabama and Florida have Georgia as a critical game for both programs. Georgia beat the Crimson Tide forcefully in last year’s SEC championship game, while new Florida coach Jon Sumrall will get his first crack at Georgia.

“A good starting point for new coach Jon Sumrall is to beat rival Georgia, something predecessor Billy Napier never did,” ESPN’s Andrea Adelson wrote. “Florida has lost eight of its last nine games to the Bulldogs, its worst stretch since the 1970s. Given the shifting SEC schedules, Georgia is the only annual SEC rival remaining on the schedule. Florida must find a way to win.”

Fellow rival Georgia Tech also has the Georgia game circled. Brent Key is 0-4 against the Bulldogs since taking over the program in 2022. But three of those four games have been one-score losses.

Two teams that weren’t on Georgia’s schedule last season have their contest against Georgia highlighted. Arkansas had its game against Georgia selected, as it will be the first SEC game for new coach Ryan Silverfield. He replaces former Georgia assistant Sam Pittman.

The next week, Georgia takes on Oklahoma in Sanford Stadium. It will be a pivotal game for both teams, as the Sooners have it sandwiched between games against Michigan and Texas.

“The Sooners’ Week 4 trip to Sanford Stadium could be a pivotal swing game for Brent Venables & Co. Beat the Bulldogs in Athens, and Oklahoma will roll into the Cotton Bowl with one of the best résumé wins of any CFP contender, no matter what happens in Ann Arbor on Sept. 12,” Eli Lederman wrote. “Conversely, an SEC-opening defeat to Georgia (potentially in the wake of a road loss at Michigan) will place the Sooners’ playoff hopes in a perilous spot before the end of September and add an extra layer of pressure to the ever-unpredictable annual meeting with the Longhorns in Dallas two weeks later.”

Among all Power 4 teams, only Miami was highlighted more as a team’s defining game. The Hurricanes were circled six times, including by Notre Dame. The Hurricanes advanced to the national championship game last season before falling to Indiana.

As for Georgia’s defining game, the choice was the Oct. 10 trip to Alabama.

“The Bulldogs exorcized some of their Crimson Tide demons by routing Alabama 28-7 in last season’s SEC championship game,” Mark Schlabach wrote. “It was Georgia’s second victory in eight tries against Alabama under coach Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs’ last victory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, came in 2007, when current NFL MVP Matthew Stafford threw a 25-yard touchdown in overtime in a 26-23 win.”

Smart is 0-2 against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with the last loss coming back in the 2024 season.

Georgia opens its 2026 season against Tennessee State on Sept. 5. The Bulldogs are set to start spring practice on March 17.