Georgia football and Kent State reached a deal Friday to add the Golden Flashes to the Bulldogs 2022 schedule. Kent State is from the Mid-American Conference.
Scheduling out of conference games in college football is a very political and polarizing topic, especially when it comes to scheduling non-major teams. And schools are criticized when they schedule teams too far below their talent level.
That is why those fans should be pleased with Georgia’s most recent addition to their future schedule. Kent State of the Mid-American Conference joins Georgia Tech as the only other non-conference opponent on the Bulldog’s 2022 schedule.
The Golden Flashes aren’t normally a strong program. They have an all-time record of 320-499-28 and they’ve only won one conference title and that was in 1972. Kent State finished last season 3-9 overall and 2-6 in the MAC.
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
They’ve only had six winning seasons since their MAC Championship. And they’ve had only one winning season since 2000 which was an 11-3 season in 2012, their only 10-win season.
However, they aren’t an FCS opponent which is a topic of much debate in the college football community. Many believe that large schools should never schedule teams from the FCS and the SEC is often the conference criticized the most on this issue.
Kent State being in the MAC gives the Bulldogs two FBS non-conference opponents. But Georgia could still schedule two FCS opponents in 2022 unless they can strike a deal with another FBS program.
The MAC itself has proven to be a decent non-power-5 conference however. Through head-to-head meetings, they are above the Sun Belt. And they haven’t been victims of constant poaching that has weakened the conference, much like what has happened to Conference USA.
After 2017, Georgia has deals with two other teams for high profile games. In 2020, Georgia opens the season against Virginia in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game. The Bulldogs have a home-and-home series with UCLA scheduled for 2025 and 2026.
Next: What to do at your tailgate
Other future non-conference opponents not named Georgia Tech include:
2018: Middle Tennessee State (Conf. USA), UMass (FBS independent) and Murray State (FCS)
2019: Arkansas State (Sun Belt) and Notre Dame (FBS independent)
2020: Virginia (ACC) and East Tennessee State (FCS)