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Predicting what Georgia’s football schedule could look like for the 2020 season

Connor Riley
Connor Riley

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Trying to predict together Georgia’s 2020 football schedule

The 2020 Georgia football scphedule will have a different look to it. For starters, Georgia begins its season on a Monday, as a part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff. The Bulldogs will also take on Auburn earlier in the season as a part of the recent schedule change. Georgia will now play Tennessee in November instead.

Georgia also makes a trip to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. It will be Georgia’s first road game against Alabama since 2007. That year was also the last time Georgia has beaten Alabama, as the Bulldogs won 26-23 in overtime.

Despite the quirks that come with the 2020 schedule, Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity has promised it will satisfy head coach Kirby Smart.

“I think Kirby will be very comfortable with the schedule that you’ll see in 2020,” McGarity said.

So with what we know about Georgia’s schedule, and how it traditionally plays out, we’ve pieced together what the Bulldogs’ schedule could look like come 2020. For those wondering, the schedule won’t officially be announced until this fall — the 2019 schedule was released on Sept. 18, 2018.

What we already know: 

Georgia will play Virginia on Sept. 7, home against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 26, Florida on Oct. 31 in Jacksonville, Fla. and Georgia Tech on Nov. 28.

Other opponents:

At Alabama, home vs. East Tennessee State, home vs. Auburn, home vs. Tennessee, home vs. Vanderbilt, at South Carolina, at Kentucky, at Missouri.

Week 1, Sept. 7: Vs. Virginia in Atlanta

This will be a part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in 2020. This should be an easy win for Georgia, given the wide talent gap between the two programs, even if Virginia did beat South Carolina 28-0 in the Belk Bowl.

This game could become a lot more interesting for the Bulldogs should quarterback Jake Fromm declare for the NFL draft after his junior year.

Week 2, Sept. 12: Vs. East Tennessee State

When you factor in that Georgia will have a quick turnaround from the season-opening game against Virginia, you would have to believe that the Bulldogs won’t be preparing for an SEC foe in this game. The FCS foe is the most logical opponent for this game, given the short rest.

Week 3, Sept. 19: At Alabama

There’s never a good time to play against Alabama. But it’s better to get it out of the way early in the season, instead of having it loom at the end . There’s also a chance that Smart and Georgia want to avoid having to play Alabama in a short span with regards to the SEC championship game at the end of season.

DawgNation’s Mike Griffith has already done some reporting on this matchup, and it’s very unlikely that Georgia faces Alabama and Auburn in consecutive weeks. When Georgia has played Alabama in the regular season, it’s usually come in late September or early October. With Georgia playing Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 26, and Griffith reporting that Georgia won’t play Auburn in September, this date makes a lot of sense.

Related: Evaluating Georgia football possibility of playing Auburn-Alabama in consecutive 2020 weeks

Week 4, Sept. 26: Vs. Louisiana-Monroe

This game has already been scheduled. It will function as a nice breather following the Alabama game, which figures to be the toughest on Georgia’s schedule.

Week 5, Oct. 3: At South Carolina

Auburn wanted to move up the Georgia game because the Tigers would like to avoid playing the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs in a three-week stretch. Would Georgia really have agreed to move up this game to do essentially the same thing? Doesn’t seem likely.

That’s why this week makes sense to see the South Carolina. The Bulldogs and Gamecocks have moved this matchup around in recent years, as the game has been played in September, November and October in the past three seasons.

Week 6: Oct. 10: Vs. Auburn

This game might represent the best possible date to take on the Tigers. There’s a little bit more space between this game and the Alabama contest. It’s still relatively early in the schedule. And with this game being in the second weekend of October, it also likely spaces out Auburn’s early-season contest against LSU.

Related: Why changing the tradition of Georgia-Auburn game may not be for the better

Hopefully it’s a little bit cooler when the game kicks off, as it usually was when the two teams met in November.

Week 7, Oct. 17: Vs. Vanderbilt

This is the last game prior to the Georgia’s usual bye week, and a home contest against Vanderbilt should be the perfect opponent to cap a pretty challenging opening slate to the 2020 season.

Week 8, Oct. 24: Bye

With the Florida game already set for the following week, this will most likely be Georgia’s bye week, as has been the case in recent years.

Week 9, Oct. 31: Vs. Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.,

The annual rivalry game takes place on Halloween in 2020. That should make an already incredible atmosphere somehow even better.

Week 10, Nov. 7: At Kentucky

This is a similar set-up to the 2018 schedule, where the Bulldogs dispatched Florida 36-17, and then beat Kentucky on the road the following week to clinch the SEC East. The weather, or more specifically the cold, could be an issue for this game. But it could also help Georgia prepare for a game later on in its 2020 schedule.

Week 11, Nov. 14: Vs. Tennessee

If Tennessee is able to continue to progress under coach Jeremy Pruitt, this could be the most-hyped home game of the 2020 season. Prior to switching the Auburn series, this would’ve been the weekend where the Tigers and Bulldogs have played.

This game should also be a major recruiting event for Georgia, given that it should be a significant late-season home game for the Bulldogs. Eventual 2019 signees like inside linebacker Nakobe Dean and defensive back Tyrique Stevenson made it a point to be at the Auburn game in November in 2018.

Week 12, Nov. 21: At Missouri

This game could be swapped with the South Carolina game earlier in the schedule. But there’s no really great space to put this one. The weather will almost definitely be a factor for this game, but since the Tigers have joined the SEC, Missouri has only beaten Georgia once.

This game has the makings of a trap game based on it being sandwiched between the Tennessee game and the Georgia Tech matchup coming the following week.

Week 13, Nov. 28: Vs. Georgia Tech

This game has already been scheduled. It will be Geoff Collins’ first trip to Athens. Assuming things go well, Georgia should celebrate another win over Georgia Tech with Waffle House.

Related: Kirby Smart and Georgia football need to take back Waffle House from Geoff Collins and Georgia Tech

Week 14, Dec. 5: SEC championship game in Atlanta

If things break the right way, Georgia will once again play in this game in 2020.

Predicted Georgia football 2020 schedule

*Games that are already scheduled are in bold:

Date Georgia opponent
Sept. 7 Virginia (in Atlanta)
Sept. 12 East Tennessee State
Sept. 19 At Alabama
Sept. 26 Louisiana-Monroe
Oct. 3 At South Carolina
Oct. 10 Auburn
Oct. 17 Vanderbilt
Oct. 24 Bye
Oct. 31 Florida (in Jacksonville, Fla.)
Nov. 7 At Kentucky
Nov. 14 Tennessee
Nov. 21 At Missouri
Nov. 28 Georgia Tech

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