Alabama made headlines last week when news leaked that the Crimson Tide were trying to schedule nonconference games against Notre Dame and Texas. That got us thinking: Which teams should Georgia add to its schedule in the coming years?

We asked the fine people who follow the DawgNation Facebook page for their thoughts. Here’s a quick tally of what the commenters came up with:

  • Clemson (23)
  • Ohio State (18)
  • Texas (14)
  • Michigan (8)
  • Penn State (6)
  • USC (6)
  • Miami (6)
  • Florida State (5)
  • Notre Dame (3)
  • UCLA (2)
  • UCF (2)
  • Oklahoma (1)
  • Oregon (1)
  • Washington (1)
  • California (1)
  • Texas Tech (1)
  • Hawaii (1)

Clemson

NOTE: The Bulldogs have a rich history against the Tigers. Georgia has won 42 of the 60 matchups, including a game in Athens in 2014. Many fans consider this a rivalry.

Charlie Price: “Home and home with Clemson would be awesome. Renew an old rivalry, both fan bases travel well, and neither would have to travel very far. Plus it’s the ACC. Who doesn’t love whooping on that conference!”

Nicholas Mrvos: “We have a long history with Clemson that includes many close games. Plus, Clemson is right in our backyard, and we compete for many of the same highly recruited football players. UGA fans deserve to be able to watch a quality nonconference game, especially with a rival like Clemson!”

Paul Sparrow: “UGA has a great and storied history of playing Clemson. Heck, we have more of a rivalry with Clemson than the Gamecocks! Clemson is right up the road. We compete for the same players and right now both teams are on the national stage. The whole world’s watching! Let’s play ball! Plus, they’re still upset that Herschel picked us over them, so we got that going for us, which is nice.”

Austin Moore: “Be done with GT, and replace it with Clemson or at least schedule them more often. Other than the natural rivalry, everybody and their mama knows we should be playing in Clemson.”

Michigan

NOTE: Georgia and Michigan have only played twice, splitting the series 1-1. The Wolverines won 26-0 in 1957, while the Bulldogs exacted revenge with a 15-7 road win in 1965. 

Jonathon Beck: “Not only because of the legacy of both programs and iconic stadiums, but because of some of the recruiting backstory with Harbaugh and satellite camps. Could make things interesting.”

James Bryant: “It’s only one time zone difference, a Big 10 marquee matchup, but most importantly, Michigan has run those camps in Georgia trying to lure away important future ‘Dawgs out of Georgia. Let’s go show them in their own stadium all they missed out on. Hehe. Then bring them down here and simply punish them for even trying, and see what recruits we might steal out of Michigan while we’re there … Hehe again.”

Jon C. Allen: “We haven’t played them since 1965. South Carolina has played them and beaten them twice since then. Why can’t we play them?”

Ohio State

NOTE: Georgia and Ohio State actually had a nonconference series on the books for 2020 and 2021, but the Buckeyes backed out amidst the craziness of conference expansion in 2012. The schools have only played once — in the 1993 Florida Citrus Bowl, which Georgia won 21-14.

James Needham: “Would have to be Ohio State because they’ve proven on a consistent basis to be a top-10 powerhouse. It would be a good measuring stick as to seeing how good our program is.”

Brandon Love: “Only played ’em one time in that ‘93 Citrus Bowl. What better way for Kirby to increase recruiting than to take on Urban Meyer.”

Texas

NOTE: Georgia and Texas have played four times, but only once since the late ’50s. That game — a 10-9 Bulldogs win in 1984 — came in the Cotton Bowl. The ‘Dawgs win cost the Longhorns a potential national title.

David Scharff: “Though Austin is a much bigger town, the two towns are similar. Flagship schools of two of the best football states in the nation. A lot of kids from Texas who don’t qualify for UT come to UGA instead. No-brainer to me.”

Stephani Smith Satterfield: “It’s time to play Texas again. You know what time it is in Texas? It’s always 10 to 9.”

USC

NOTE: The Bulldogs have played terribly against the Trojans in their three meetings. Georgia was outscored 101-3 across a trio of matchups from 1931 to 1960.

Russell K Dooley: “Both universities would benefit from the exposure in each state, TV contracts would be massive and both fan bases travel well.”

Christopher Riner: “Expose the program to a larger market and maybe swing some of those California recruits.”

Mark Andrews Sr.: “Two powerhouses would garner national interest, similar to Georgia vs Notre Dame. Would greatly benefit recruiting and the TV revenue would be substantial.”

Penn State

NOTE: Penn State shut down Georgia’s national title hopes with a 27-23 win in the 1983 Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs hit back on a much smaller stage, defeating the Nittany Lions in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl.

Chris Dunn: “Show the Big Ten how to play football, and also get even after losing a national title to them back in the ’80s. Their coach [James Franklin] is a motivating factor as well.”

UCLA

NOTE: These schools’ first meeting came in the 1943 Rose Bowl, which Georgia won 9-0. They met one other time in September 1983, when the No. 15-ranked Bulldogs defeated the No. 20 Bruins to kick off their season.

Red T. Hawk: “Play one game in the Rose Bowl. Gives the players and coaches an opportunity to play in a bowl-like experience.”

Notre Dame

NOTE: Georgia and Notre Dame played a 20-19 classic in South Bend last fall. It was their first meeting since arguably the biggest win in Bulldogs history: a 17-10 triumph in the 1981 Sugar Bowl. 

Richard Dooley: “Notre Dame would be a great new tradition. They treated Georgia fans really well last year.”

Other thoughts

Daniel Harper: “What about scheduling an opening weekend jamboree matchup between Power 5 conferences? Basketball has the Big Ten/SEC challenge. What if we had the Power 5 conferences line up and play three games a day in one city over the weekend like the high school playoffs at the Dome … The games would be randomly drawn [like the UEFA Champions League] so the entire country would get an amazing bowl-like atmosphere to kick off the football season every year.”

Austin Moore: “Go to a 9-game SEC schedule! I want to visit our bretheren in the West more than twice in the time I have left on this Earth!”

Check out all of the responses here:

If you were the Georgia athletic director, which non-SEC team would you schedule a future series with? … Michigan?…

Posted by UGA DawgNation – Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday, April 3, 2018