UGA Football: Bulldogs Face First SEC Road Test Against Auburn

Kirby Smart is in his eighth year directing the Georgia Bulldogs who are 85-15 in this span including back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. This offseason, Georgia took a deep dive on the New Zealand All Blacks, the world’s most successful rugby team, or quite frankly, any sports team in history. The Bulldogs rank ninth all-time in victories among NCAA FBS teams with 872 after starting in 1892.

Due to the cancellation of a previously scheduled matchup at Oklahoma (who now will join the SEC in 2024), Georgia played host to four straight games to start the 2023 campaign and won them all. The last schedule that featured four home games to start a season was in 1999. That year, the Bulldogs also went 4-0, beating Utah State, USC, UCF and LSU.

Georgia has the nation’s longest active regular season winning streak in FBS that now stands at 31. The school record streak began with a 31-24 home victory over Miss. State on Nov. 21, 2020. The NCAA’s longest active regular-season win streak belongs to Mount Union as the DIII school has won 57 in a row.

Top-ranked Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC) goes on the road for the first time this season when it visits Auburn (3-1, 0-1 SEC) Saturday in the 128th playing of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Kickoff will be at 3:30 pm ET (CBS). Last Saturday, Georgia improved to 4-0 with a 49-21 win over UAB. Meanwhile, the Tigers fell 27-10 to Texas A&M in College Station. Georgia won its SEC opener, beating South Carolina 24-14 in Athens on Sept. 16.

The Bulldogs have won six in a row over the Tigers and hold a 63-56-8 advantage in the series. Auburn’s last win came in 2017 when the No. 10 Tigers upset then No. 2 Georgia 40-17 on the Plains.

The Bulldogs avenged that defeat three weeks later in the SEC Championship Game, winning 28-7. The Bulldogs are 18-12-1 all-time at Jordan-Hare Stadium. One of the wins came in 1996 in the first ever SEC overtime game, a contest that the Bulldogs won 56-49 in 4OTs. That matchup featured both head coach Kirby Smart (DB) and offensive coordinator/QBs coach Mike Bobo (QB) playing for Georgia.

Under the direction of head coach Hugh Freeze, the Tigers are 3-1 overall, 0-1 in the SEC after a 27- 10 road loss to Texas A&M this past Saturday. Auburn’s 10 points against the Aggies featured a 67-yard scoop and score from linebacker Eugene Asante who made a team-best nine tackles and a career-long 53-yard field goal by Alex McPherson. The Tigers used three quarterbacks at Texas A&M and finished 3-for-15 on third downs. Auburn tallied 200 total yards and allowed seven sacks. This season, Auburn is averaging 32 points a game while allowing just 16 points a game. Capacity at Jordan-Hare this year has been increased to 88,043 due to some updates to premium seating.

Since the arrival of Kirby Smart in 2016, the Bulldogs have featured talented defenses and twice led the nation in Scoring Defense. This season, Georgia is ranked 10th nationally allowing only 11.3 points/ game. Glenn Schumann is in his second season as the Fain & Billy Slaughter Defensive Coordinator.

Also, the 2023 defensive staff features Will Muschamp (co-Defensive Coord.), Fran Brown (DB), Tray Scott (DL) and Chidera Uzo-Diribe (OLB). The Bulldogs return 12 players who have starting experience from a group that ranked fifth nationally in 2022 allowing opponents only 14.3 points per contest.

The Bulldogs carried a shutout to the fourth quarter during their first two games of 2023 and allowed just 10 total points. UT Martin scored a TD with 6:39 left in the contest. Ball State kicked a field goal with 9:05 remaining. In game three, South Carolina was blanked in the second half. After scoring 14 points in the first half, USC’s second half possessions ended with three punts, once turned it over on downs and two on interceptions. The Bulldog defense allowed a season-high 21 points versus UAB last week. Last year, Georgia shut out four teams in the second half.

Year	Pts./Game	NCAA Rank	Record	Shutouts
2016	24.0	35th	8-5	0
2017	16.4	6th	13-2	1
2018	19.2	15th	11-3	1
2019	12.6	1st	12-2	3
2020	20.0	16th	8-2	0
2021	10.2	1st	14-1	3
2022	14.3	5th	15-0	2
2023	11.3	10th	4-0	0

Georgia is on a school record 21-game winning streak that began with a 34-11 win over Michigan in the 2021 CFP semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl.

Georgia is enjoying a school record streak of 31 consecutive regular season victories that dates to a 31-24 home triumph over Mississippi State on Nov. 21, 2020.

Georgia has won 20 regular season SEC games in a row dating back to a 31-24 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 21, 2020. The Bulldogs school record for consecutive SEC wins is 23, which was set during a stretch from 1980 to 1983.

The Bulldogs are 33-1 in their last 34 games including back-to-back national championships.

The Bulldogs have won 22 straight at home. The current streak began with a 21-0 win over Kentucky on Oct. 19, 2019. Georgia’s longest home winning streak is 24 set from 1980-83.

The Bulldogs lead the country with 23 consecutive regular season non-conference victories.

The 2023 Bulldogs: Averaging 41.5 points/game (14th nationally)

Have outscored their opponents 166-45, including 79-28 in the opening half

Own a +121 point differential; 19-for-22 in the Red Zone with 15 TDs, 4 FGs

The 2022 Bulldogs: Averaged 41.1 points/game (5th nationally)

Outscored their opponents 616-214, including 341-105 in the opening half

Second consecutive year led the nation in point differential at +402

81 of 83 in the Red Zone (98% led nation) with 57 TDs and 24 FGs

The 2021 Bulldogs: Averaged 38.6 points/game (9th nationally)

Outscored their opponents 579-153, including 358-65 in the opening half

Led the nation in point differential at +426

59 of 69 in the Red Zone (86% ranked 50th) with 42 TDs and 17 FGs

All-American and 2022 Mackey Award winner junior Brock Bowers returns as one of the nation’s top talents. Most recently, he tallied nine catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns against UAB. Bowers moved to No. 3 in school history for receiving touchdowns (22) and No. 9 in receiving yards (2,079).

In his career, Bowers has 141 receptions for 2,079 yards and 22 TD catches. The school record for TD receptions is 30 by Terrence Edwards while A.J. Green is next with 23. Also, Bowers has 15 rushes for 169 yards and five TDs.

A 2022 Rotary Lombardi Award finalist, Bowers led the team with 63 catches (school record mark by a UGA TE) for a team high 942 yards and seven TDs.

Bowers has had two receiving scores and a rushing score in the same game twice. (At South Carolina in 2022 and at Vanderbilt in 2021)

Bowers has eight career 100-yard receiving games; three of his career TD catches have covered 75+ yards; his first career TD catch covered 89 yards against UAB. Also at tight end, Georgia welcomes back sophomore Oscar Delp plus freshmen Lawson Luckie and Pearce Spurlin III. Delp made his first career start in the 2023 season opener as the Bulldogs began in a two tight end set, and he caught a 21-yard TD pass from Brock Vandagriff to make it 38-0 in the 4th quarter. Currently, Luckie is sidelined with an injury that occurred near the end of preseason camp while Spurlin has missed the last two games with an injury.

The Bulldogs responded to a 14-3 halftime deficit to South Carolina in the SEC opener thanks in part to the message from coach Kirby Smart who said “Win one moment at a time.” That was evident in the play of the offensive line that helped pave the way for a season-high 189 rushing yards in a 24-14 comeback.
Against USC, junior starting right tackle Amarius Mims went down with an ankle injury, and the unit was already without junior utility lineman Austin Blaske. Senior Xavier Truss moved from LG to RT and redshirt sophomore Dylan Fairchild came in at LG. Fairchild made his first start against UAB. RSo. Micah Morris also saw time at LG against the Blazers.

Junior C Sedrick Van Pran has a team-best 34 consecutive starts. He was named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week versus South Carolina, plus redshirt sophomore guard Tate Ratledge and Truss, who each started 15 contests in 2022. RFr. Earnest Greene has been the starting LT this year.

The team tragically lost OL Devin Willock in a car accident this past January. Willock played in all 15 games last year with two starts. To honor him, a different OL will wear Willock’s #77 jersey each game this year. Truss (UTM), Van Pran (BSU), Ratledge (USC) and Greene (UAB) have worn #77 so far.

Senior Daijun Edwards bolstered the running game with his first action of 2023 as he scampered for a career-high 118 yards on 20 carries with one TD in the win over South Carolina. He was making his first career start after appearing in 39 games. Edwards had 66 yards and two touchdowns in the win over UAB.

The veterans in the backfield are Edwards and senior Kendall Milton. Both missed time during preseason camp due to injuries. Also, sophomore Branson Robinson is out due to a season-ending knee injury that occurred in late August. Then, Milton left the USC game banged up and did not return versus UAB. The team’s leading rusher through the first two games, freshman Roderick Robinson II, was limited to one carry against the Gamecocks before being sidelined against the Blazers with an injury.

With all the injuries at running back, sophomore WR Dillon Bell has seen action in the backfield (13 carries, 73 yards, 2 TDs). Against Ball State, he finished with three carries for 28 yards, and on his second career carry, he scored on a 21-yard scamper. In the USC game, he had a career-high seven rushes for 23 yards including a three-yard TD for the go-ahead score. His lone catch against the Gamecocks was good for 16 yards on a 3rd-and-5 play. For the year, he has six catches for 64 yards. Bell has two kick returns for 45 yards in 2023.

Redshirt sophomore RB Cash Jones has seen his workload increase. He scored the final TD in the 24-14 win over South Carolina on a 13-yard run. For the year, he has 10 carries for 32 yards and one TD plus nine catches for 83 yards including a 27-yarder for a TD against Ball State.

Georgia features an array of experienced pass catchers and 18 different Bulldogs have a reception this year. Junior Ladd McConkey, who finished second on the team with 58 catches for 762 yards and seven scores, has not seen any action this season because of a back injury. McConkey recently earned a spot on the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his dedication to the community. He was also the primary punt returner with 16 for 197 yards in 2022.

Transfer Dominic Lovett (Missouri) ranks second on the team with 17 catches for 169 yards. He had 82 for 1,019 yards and three TDs in two years at UM.

Senior Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint had six catches for 71 yards, both career highs, against USC. A week later against UAB, he had three receptions for a new career high 94 yards, including a 50 yarder.

Redshirt sophomore Mekhi Mews has made an impact at WR and on special teams. He led the team with 102 receiving yards on six catches, including a 54-yard TD against UT Martin. Mews has a team-high 398 all-purpose yards serving as the returner in the punt and kickoff game. He had an SEC best 111 punt return yards versus Ball State, which featured a 69-yard touchdown for the team’s first score. Mews also had a 47-yard KOR to start the Ball State game.

Georgia has had 34 players drafted over the past three seasons including 19 on defense and eight of those defenders have gone in the first round. Georgia continues to reload and develop elite talent.

The defense has yet to allow any points in the third quarter this season (UGA has outscored opponents 56-0) and the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 87-17 in the second half.

Junior Jamon Dumas-Johnson, a 2022 Butkus Award finalist, returns to direct the linebackers. Junior ILB Smael Mondon was the team leader with 76 stops last year although he was limited in camp this year while recovering from a foot injury. Mondon is currently second on the team with 14 stops.

Junior OLB Chaz Chambliss has assumed a larger leadership role in 2023 and made his first career start in the season opener. He notched his first career INT versus Ball State.

Senior Star Tykee Smith leads the team with 15 tackles, 2.5 TFL and three interceptions. He had four picks with West Virginia before transferring.

Sophomore safety Malaki Starks ranks third on the team with 13 tackles and recorded his first pick of the year against Ball State.

Sophomore DL Mykel Williams, who led the squad with 4.5 sacks in 2022, picked up his first sack in 2023 in the season opener. Williams missed the UAB game. He is part of an experienced front that features seniors Zion Logue, Warren Brinson, Tramel Walthour and Nazir Stackhouse. The Bulldogs have a young trio gaining experience up front in Christen Miller, Jamaal Jarrett and Jordan Hall.

Junior DB/safety Javon Bullard earned CFP Defensive MVP honors in both the Semifinal Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (three tackles, sack) and the National Championship Game (a tackle, two interceptions, a fumble recovery). Bullard left the Ball State game in the first quarter with an ankle injury and has missed the last two games.

The Bulldogs are ranked 22nd nationally with a +3 Turnover Margin. The Bulldogs had a three interception game against Ball State, their first since they accomplished the feat at South Carolina in 2022. Georgia got a pair of picks against USC this season. Freshman DB Kyron Jones also took a tipped ball back for an INT score in the season opener. Last year, the Bulldogs had 12 picks in 15 games.

Junior Carson Beck, a 6-4, 220-pound native of Jacksonville, Fla., is in his first year as the starting quarterback with a 4-0 record. Prior to 2023, he appeared in 12 games over the past three years and was 36-for-58 (62.1%) for 486 yards with six TDs and two INTs in his first three seasons. Last season in the National Championship Game rout of TCU, he played the entire fourth quarter, completing 2-of-3 passes for 31 yards in the 65-7 triumph.

Led Bulldogs to a 24-14 win over USC in the 2023 SEC opener after trailing 14-3 at halftime; posted a career-high 27-for-35 for 269 yards.

In his first career start, went 21-for-31 for 294 yards a touchdown in three quarters while guiding the Bulldogs to a 48-7 season-opening win over UT Martin. Along with Beck, Georgia’s quarterbacks include 6-3, 210-pound redshirt sophomore Brock Vandagriff of Bogart, Ga., and 6-1, 215-pound redshirt freshman Gunner Stockton of Tiger, Ga. Vandagriff has appeared in eight games in his career, including a 2-for-3 performance against UTM that yielded 77 yards and a TD in the ’23 opener. In his career, he is 6-for-12 for 114 yards and one TD.

Passing Yards	338 Vs. UAB, 2023
Completions	27 Vs USC, 2023
Attempts	35 Vs. USC, 2023
TD Passes	3 Vs. UAB, 2023
Long Pass Completion	54 Yards Vs. UT Martin, 2023
Long Rush	20 Vs. USC, 2022

Year	G/GS	Cmp.	Att.	Pct.	Yds.	INT	TD	Eff.	LG
2020	1/0	0	0	—	0	0	0	—	—
2021	4/0	10	23	43.5	176	2	2	119.06	32 UAB
2022	7/0	26	35	74.3	310	0	4	186.40	28 SC
2023	4/4	93	128	72.7	1184	1	6	164.3	54TD UTM
Total	16/4	129	186	69.4	1,670	3	12	162.84	54TD UTM

Game	Cmp.	Att.	Pct.	Yds.	INT	TD	SK	LG
2020
MZ	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	—
2021
UAB	4	10	40.0	88	1	1	0	32
@VU	1	3	33.3	11	0	0	0	11
CS	5	10	50.0	77	1	1	0	30
@GT	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	—
2022
Vs #11 ORE	5	6	83.3	71	0	1	0	23
SAM	5	7	71.4	52	0	0	0	16
@SC	5	6	83.3	55	0	1	0	28
AU	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	—
VU	8	11	72.7	98	0	2	0	24
GT	1	2	50.0	3	0	0	0	3
Vs #3 TCU	2	3	66.7	31	0	0	0	20
2023
UTM(W)	21	31	67.7	294	0	1	0	54
BSU (W)	23	30	76.7	283	1	2	0	41
USC (W)	27	35	77.1	269	0	0	2	36
UAB (W)	22	32	68.8	338	0	3	1	50
Career	Total	129	186	69.4	1,670	3	12	3	54

Game	Georgia	Opp.	Final
UTM	15 (3R, 12P)	4 (1R, 3P)	#1 Georgia, 48-7
BSU	12 (4R, 8P)	3 (1R, 2P)	#1 Georgia, 45-3
USC	8 (5R, 3P)	8 (1R, 7P)	#1 Georgia, 24-14
UAB	12 (3R, 9P)	7 (2R, 5P)	#1 Georgia, 49-21

Longest Rush by Georgia: 37-yd by K. Milton (vs. UTM)
Longest Rush by Opp.: 36-yd by K. Dent (vs. UTM)
Longest Completion by Georgia: 56 yds vs. UTM (Vandagriff to Thomas)
Longest Completion by Opp.: 41 yds by USC (Rattler to Blake)

In addition to Smart and Bobo, who was Auburn’s OC/QBs coach in 2021, playing against Auburn in the 1996 4OT game, there are several other Bulldog coaches with ties to Auburn. A graduate assistant at Auburn in 1995-96, co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator/DBs coach in 2006-07 and then Auburn’s DC again in 2015. Running backs coach Dell McGee was an Auburn analyst in 2013 after playing for the Tigers from 1992-95. A First Team All-American for the Tigers while suiting up for Auburn from 1984-87, assistant coach/offensive line coach Stacey Searels was also a grad assistant for the Tigers in 1992-93.

Australian punter Brett Thorson, who earned All-SEC Freshman honors in 2022, has a 43.4 average on 13 punts this year, including nine that resulted in fair catches. Thorson was named to the Ray Guy Award’s Ray’s 8 following his performance versus UT Martin. * Senior William Mote handles the snapping duties on special teams. * Entering 2023, junior Jared Zirkel was 1-for-1 in career field goals (21-yarder at USC last year) and had nine career kickoffs. He is battling the nation’s No. 1 prep kicker, Peyton Woodring, for the placekicking job as well as handling kickoffs. This year, Zirkel has handled all 30 kickoffs with 19 touchbacks and two going out of bounds. Woodring has a team-high 34 points going 4-for-7 on field goals and 22-for-22 on PATs. He is 1-for-3 from 20-29 yard range, 3-for-3 from 30-39 yards and 0-for-1 from 40+. * Woodring became the first true freshman Bulldog PK to start a season opener since Marshall Morgan in 2012. Before Morgan, it was Blair Walsh in 2008. Did You Know? Woodring’s 12 points was the most by a Georgia true freshman kicker in a season opener since Kevin Butler set a school-record with 14 points in a 44-0 rout of Tennessee in Athens to open the 1981 season.

Currently, there are three Bulldogs who have blocked a kick/punt in their Georgia career. In 2022, DL Nazir Stackhouse blocked a field goal that was returned 96 yards for a touchdown by teammate Chris Smith in the opening quarter of the SEC Championship Game versus No. 14 LSU. In addition, OLB Jalon Walker blocked a punt that resulted in a safety versus Kent State. S Dan Jackson blocked a punt against No. 8 Arkansas in 2021.

The Bulldogs have had a school record 68 consecutive sellouts. During this stretch, Georgia drew a record 93,246 for the win over Notre Dame in 2019. Capacity is 92,746, which ranks as the ninth largest on-campus stadium. The current streak began Sept 15, 2012 versus Fla. Atlantic.

At 4-0, the Bulldogs are in the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25.

In fact, the Bulldogs have the longest active run of top-10 rankings now with 38. * Georgia was the No. 1 ranked team in the 2023 AP preseason Top 25. The Bulldogs became the first team besides Alabama or Clemson to be preseason ranked No. 1 since Ohio State in 2015. The only other time the Bulldogs have been preseason ranked No. 1 in the AP poll came in 2008. * Georgia started the 2021 season ranked No. 5 and went on to win its first national title since 1980. The Bulldogs followed up with a perfect season in 2022 after starting in the No. 3 spot in the preseason poll. * Since the AP preseason poll started in 1950, there have been 11 teams that started No. 1 that also finished No. 1. However, only two of those have occurred since 2000: Southern California (2004) and Alabama (2017). And in case you haven’t heard, no team has won three straight national titles during the AP poll era (dating to 1936). Minnesota’s 1934 and 1935 squads went 8-0 and were named the best team in the nation by eight different organizations. Then, the 1936 club went 7-1 and was crowned the first official AP champion plus seven other organizations declared them national champions too. * Overall, Georgia has been ranked in the AP top 25 for 103 consecutive weeks and that ranks third among active streaks. * UGA remains No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll where it began 2023.

Home: 1-2; Away: 4-2; Neutral: 3-3; {Bowl Game/CFP: 3-2}
(*SEC games: 3-4; *Includes CFP National Championship)

Two of the Bulldogs’ overtime games have been against Auburn. Georgia won the first one in 1996 and fell to the Tigers in the second contest in 2000.

Nov. 16, 1996 Georgia beat #20 Auburn 56-49 (4 OT) in Auburn, Ala.
Nov. 11, 2000 #22 Auburn beat #14 Georgia 29-26 in Auburn, Ala.

The Bulldogs had eight first-time starters in their opener versus UT Martin: WR Arian Smith, QB Carson Beck, TE Oscar Delp, LT Earnest Greene, WR Mekhi Mews, ILB Xavian Sorey, OLB Chaz Chambliss, DB Daylen Everette plus true freshman PK Peyton Woodring; BSU: None; USC: RB Daijun Edwards and DB David Daniel-Sisavanh; UAB: OG Dylan Fairchild, DL Warren Brinson

The Bulldogs had 17 true freshmen make their debut in the 2023 season opener and have had 21 true freshmen overall play this season.

UT Martin:Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Sedrick Van Pran, Javon Bullard, Brock Bowers
Ball State:Zion Logue, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Tykee Smith, Tate Ratledge
South Carolina: T. Walthour, K. Lassiter, S. Van Pran, C. Beck
UAB: Bowers, C. Chambliss, M. Starks, D. Edwards
Auburn:
Kentucky:
Vanderbilt:
Florida:
Missouri:
Ole Miss:
Tennessee:
Georgia Tech:

Georgia is +3 in turnover margin.

The Bulldogs have 30 points (does not include the PATs) off seven turnovers.

Opponents have 6 points off 4 turnovers.

UTM: UGA got 6 pts. off 1 TOs; UGA had no TOs
BSU: UGA 18 pts. off 3 TOs; BSU no pts. off 1 TO
USC: UGA got no points off 2 TOs; UGA had no TOs
UAB: UGA got 6 points off 1 TO; UAB got 6 points off 3 TOs
AU:
UK:
VU:
UF:
MIZ:
OM:
UT:
GT:

Georgia ranks tied for fourth in NCAA history for consecutive games scoring and third among schools with active streaks:

Team – Games
Florida – 441 (1988-present)
TCU – 385 (1991-present)
Michigan – 365 (1984-2014)
Georgia – 363 (1995-present)

UGA has 14 plays of 25 yards or more while its opponents have two.

GAME 1 (Longest):
#1 UGA: 9 (56-yd pass, Vandagriff to Thomas)
UTM: 1 (26-yd rush, Dent)
GAME 2 (Longest):
#1 UGA: 5 (69-yd PR-TD, Mews)
BSU: 1 (45-yd INT Ret., Malory)
GAME 3 (Longest):
UGA: 2 (36-yd pass, Beck to Thomas)
SC: 2 (41-yd pass, Rattler to Blake)
GAME 4 (Longest):
#1 UGA: 5 (50-yd pass Beck to Rosemy-Jacksaint)
UAB: 3 (32-yd pass Zeno to Farrier)
GAME 5 (Longest):
UGA:
AUB:
GAME 6 (Longest):
UGA:
UK:
GAME 7 (Longest):
UGA:
VAN:
GAME 8 (Longest):
UGA:
UF:
GAME 9 (Longest):
UGA:
MIZZOU:
GAME 10 (Longest):
UGA:
OM:
GAME 11 (Longest):
UGA:
UT:
GAME 12 (Longest):
UGA:
GT:

• Eighth season as Georgia coach • 81-15 Career Record • 2021 & 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
• 2017 CFP national runner-up • 2017, 2022 SEC Champions • SEC Eastern Division Champs 2017-19 & 21-22
• 2017 George Munger award (National Coach of the Year by Maxwell Club) • SEC Coach of the Year, 2017, 2021-22
• Bulldogs have won two Butkus Awards • One Outland Trophy, Bednarik Award, Thorpe Award, Groza Award, Mackey Award, Manning Award & Burlsworth Trophy
• One Heisman Trophy finalist • 17 1st-team All-Americans
• 15 1st Round NFL Draft picks • 55 NFL Draft Picks
• A total of 199 players on SEC Academic Honor Rolls, including a high of 35 on the 2021 national championship team

Year	W	L	Pct.	SEC	Bowl
2016	8	5	.615	4-4	Liberty
2017	13	2	.867	8-2	CFP Rose/NCG
2018	11	3	.786	7-2	Sugar
2019	12	2	.857	7-2	Sugar
2020	8	2	.800	7-2	Chick-Fil-A
2021	14	1	.933	9-1	CFP Orange/NCG
2022	15	0	1.000	8-0
2023	4	0	1.000	1-0
Total	85	15	.850	#53-13

#2-4 (includes 2017-19, ’21 SECCGs, 2018 & 2022 CFPNC)

SEASON	OPPONENT	START OF 4TH QUARTER OR DEFICIT	FINAL
2016	% #22 UNC	Trailed 24-23	33-24
2016	@ Missouri	Trailed 27-21	28-27
2016	@ Kentucky	Trailed 21-16	27-24
2016	#8 Auburn	Tied 7-7	13-7
2016	^TCU	Trailed Trailed 23-21	31-23
2017	@ #24 Notre Dame	Trailed 17-16, Trailed 19-17 With 10:21 Left	20-19
2017	$ #2 Oklahoma	Tied 31-31, Trailed 45-38 With 0:55 Left	54-48 2ot
2020	~ #8 Cincinnati	Trailed 21-10, Trailed 21-19 With :03 Left	24-21
2022	! #1 Alabama	Trailed 18-13 With 10:14 Left	33-18
2022	@ Missouri	Trailed 19-12, Trailed 22-12 With 14:09 Left	26-22
2022	~ #4 Ohio State (CFP Semi)	Trailed 38-24, Trailed 41-35 With 2:43 Left	42-41

%Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic; ^Liberty Bowl; $Rose Bowl Game; ~Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl; !CFP National Championship

Rushing Yards: 222, Nick Chubb vs. #22 UNC (9/3/16);
Rushing TDs: 3, Sony Michel UK (11/18/17); vs. #2 Oklahoma (1/1/18); Daijun Edwards AU (10/8/22);
Longest Rush: 83-TD, D’Andre Swift @ #9 UK (11/3/18);
Passing Yards: 401, JT Daniels MSU (11/21/20);
Passing TDs: 5, Stetson Bennett UAB (9/11/21);
Receiving Yards: 197 (8 rec.), Jermaine Burton MSU (11/21/20)
Receiving TDs: 2, by 8 different Bulldogs multiple times;
Longest Pass/TD Pass: 89-TD, S. Bennett to Brock Bowers UAB (9/11/21);
Tackles: 15, Nakobe Dean vs. #8 UF (11/7/20);
Sacks: 3, Trenton Thompson vs. TCU (12/30/16); Azeez Ojulari vs. #8 UC (1/1/21); Channing Tindall @ UT (11/13/21);
TFL: 3, Azeez Ojulari #7 AU (10/3/20); Thompson vs. Nicholls (9/10/16); Azeez Ojulari vs. #8 UC (1/1/21); Channing Tindall @ UT (11/13/21)

Under Kirby Smart, Georgia has registered 29 scores on defense and special teams. The Dogs are 26-1 (loss came versus #8 UF in 2020) when they register a non-offensive score under Smart. This year, freshman DB Kyrun Jones returned an INT versus UT Martin 26 yards for a score and redshirt sophomore Mekhi Mews took a punt return 69 yards for a touchdown against Ball State. In 2022, the Bulldogs had a safety on a blocked punt versus Kent State and Chris Smith ran a blocked field goal back 96 yards for a touchdown versus No. 14 LSU. In 2021, Georgia had six of these scores: Smith’s 74-yd INT return (#3 CU); Jamon Dumas-Johnson’s 20-yd INT return (UAB); Safety (SC); Zamir White 0-yd return of blocked punt (#8 ARK); Nakobe Dean’s 50-yd INT return (UF); Safety (UM); Kelee Ringo’s 79-yd INT return (UA/CFP National Championship Game).

{106 Points on 16 TDs, 5 Safeties}

2016: 14 points in 3 different games (Pick-Six, Fumble Ret., Safety);
2017: 6 points in one game (Fumble Ret.);
2018: 12 points in 2 different games (Pick-Six, Fumble Ret.);
2019: 18 points in 3 different games (2 Fumble Ret., 1 Fumble Rec.);
2020: 22 points in 4 different games (2 Pick-Sixes 1 Fumble Ret., 2 Safeties);
2021: 28 points in 6 different games (4 Pick-Sixes, 2 Safeties);
2022: none
2023: 6 points in one game (Pick-Six)

2016: 12 points in 2 games (KOR, PR);
2017: none;
2018: 12 points in 2 games (PR, Blocked Punt Ret.);
2019: none;
2020: none;
2021: 8 points in 2 games (Blocked Punt Ret.; Safety/Blocked Punt);
2022: 8 points in 2 games (Safety/Blocked Punt; Blocked FG Ret.).
2023: 6 points in 1 game (PR)

“Kirby Smart All Access” – This half-hour program will air Monday nights at 7 p.m. throughout the football season and offer viewers a behind-the-scenes look through the practice and preparation ahead of each game, from exclusive interviews with coaches and players, to features showcasing what it takes to build and maintain a championship program.

“Bulldogs Final” – This short wrap-up program will air on Saturday nights of UGA football games, with a repeat Sunday mornings, and will include highlights, analysis, and exclusive content from that week’s game.

“Bulldogs Now” – This weekly, half-hour program on Saturdays at 8 a.m. debuts this summer and will deliver exclusive access and the latest updates on the Georgia Bulldogs all year round. Outside of football season, the show will feature the latest news, in-depth features and updates on all 21 UGA sports programs.