Georgia football: Game with Oregon almost set for 2022 in Atlanta
The 2022 Georgia football schedule may have gotten tougher today. Reports are that Georgia and Oregon are in talks for a season opening game in Atlanta.
Georgia football might return to the Chick-fil-A Season Kickoff Game in 2022. 247 Sports reported that UGA and Oregon have begun talks about scheduling a season opening game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2022.
Chick-fil-A hasn’t indicated that the game in Atlanta will be a part of its season kickoff series, but that is a safe assumption. The Chick-fil-A Season Kickoff Game already has scheduled matchups through 2021 and they prefer scheduling their games several years in advance.
If this is a Chick-fil-A sponsored game, it will be the Dawgs fourth appearance. Georgia’s first Chick-fil-A kickoff game was against Boise State in 2011. Ironically, that game was scheduled at the last-minute after the Dawgs backed out of a home-and-home series with Oregon set to begin in 2011.
Georgia’s last appearance in the game came in 2016 against North Carolina. The Bulldogs have a 1-1 record in those games. Their next Chick-fil-A kickoff game is against Virginia in 2020.
Georgia ended their previous deal with Oregon shortly after hiring Greg McGarity to take over as Athletic Director. His early years on the job also saw the Bulldogs lose a home-and-home with Ohio State, although the Buckeye’s pulled out of that deal.
The news of Georgia possibly playing Oregon comes just weeks after reports of Clemson beginning scheduling conversations with several SEC programs, including Georgia. Back in May, McGarity said that Georgia could play Clemson as early as 2021, after Clemson coach Dabo Swinney claimed that he wants Georgia and Clemson to play each other more often.
If these deals do work out, Georgia’s out of conference schedule will remain some of the toughest in the nation for several years. Which is something that head coach Kirby Smart wants according to 680 The Fan
Including the yet-to-be-finalized deals with Clemson and Oregon, the Bulldog’s early season out of conference schedule looks stout from 2019 through 2026:
- 2019 vs. Notre Dame
- 2020 vs. Virginia (Chick-fil-A Season Kickoff)
- 2021 vs. Clemson (possibly)
- 2022 vs. Oregon (tentative, in Atlanta)
- 2023 or 2024 vs. Clemson (possibly)
- 2025 at UCLA
- 2026 vs. UCLA
Disregarding possible bowl games between Georgia and Oregon, the 2022 game will be just the second meeting between the Dawgs and Ducks. Georgia hosted Oregon back in 1977 and won the game 27-16.
Next. Georgia, Auburn and the college football Mecca of Atlanta. dark
While the game isn’t official yet, the sources that 247 Sports have relied on suggest that Georgia and Oregon will finalize the deal within the next few weeks. If the deal falls through, this will be the beginning of a new era of scheduling at Georgia. One in which the Bulldogs play strong, out of conference competition at the beginning of almost every season.