Georgia football continues to change its College GameDay history

Georgia football has had a love-hate relationship with ESPN’s College GameDay, well, the fans have at least. However, recently, the Dawgs haven’t had too many issues when that crew comes to town.

The Dawgs had GameDay for the opening game of the season against Clemson, where the Dawgs went on to win 10-3. Lee Corso chose the Dawgs over the Tigers, and it suddenly felt like the curse of GameDay was broken.

Some Georgia fans cringe when they announce GameDay will be at the game, but they better get used to it with the Dawgs being as successful as they have been through the first four weeks of the season.

The last time GameDay was in Athens was on Oct. 3, 2020, for the South’s Oldest Rivalry game between Georgia and Auburn. Georgia won 27-6, giving the Dawgs a 3-2 record when they host GameDay in Athens.

Overall, the Dawgs are 9-17 in GameDay-hosted games regardless of location. So while it’s not the prettiest record, it’s improved since 2019 when we looked at Georgia’s history with GameDay. Since that Notre Dame game, the Dawgs have gone 3-2 when ESPN brings that big orange bus to their games.

So Georgia fans, look at this like head coach Kirby Smart is helping the Dawgs play better in these bigger games as he is 5-4 in these games, with Alabama providing three of the four losses.

Smart is working on changing the culture surrounding the Dawgs, and having a winning record in these kinds of games is part of it. Alabama has the most appearances with Ohio State at 50 all-time, with 19 of them being in Tuscaloosa. The Tide is 33-17 overall, so the Dawgs have some work to do, but Smart has the team on the right track.

Here is a timeline of the Dawgs College GameDay appearances. Thanks to the NCAA for the information so we can inform our readers with the most accurate information.

— 1995: Knoxville, TN, No. 8 Tennessee over Georgia 30-27, (0-1)

— 1998: Athens, GA, No. 5 Tennessee over No.7 Georgia  22-3, (0-2)

— 1999: Jacksonville, Fla., No. 5 Florida over No. 10 Georgia 30-14 (0-3)

— 2002: Tuscaloosa, Al., No. 6 Georgia over No. 22 Alabama 27-25 (1-3)

— 2002: Jacksonville, Fla., No. 22 Florida over No. 5 Georgia 20-13 (1-4)

— 2003: Baton Rouge, LA., No. 11 LSU over No. 7 Georgia 17-10 (1-5)

—  2003: SEC Championship Game, No. 3 LSU over No. 5 Georgia 34-13 (1-6)

— 2004: Columbia, S.C., No. 4 Georgia over South Carolina 20-16 (2-6)

— 2004: Auburn, Al., No. 3 Auburn over No. 5 Georgia 24-6 (2-7)

— 2005: Jacksonville, Ga., No. 16 Florida over No. 4 Georgia 14-10 (2-8)

— 2007: Tuscaloosa, Al., No. 22 Georgia over No. 16 Alabama 26-23 OT (3-8)

— 2008: Athens, Ga., No. 8 Alabama over No. 3 Georgia 41-30 (3-9)

— 2011: SEC Championship Game: No. 1 LSU over No. 12 Georgia 42-10 (3-10)

— 2012: Columbia, S.C., No. 6 South Carolina over No. 5 Georgia 35-7 (3-11)

— 2012: SEC Championship Game No.2 Alabama over No. 3 Georgia 32-28 (3-12)

— 2013: Clemson, S.C., No. 8 Clemson over No.5 Georgia 38-35 (3-13)

— 2013: Athens, Ga., No. 9 Georgia over No. 6 LSU 44-41 (4-13)

— 2017:  Rose Bowl, No. 3 Georgia over No. 2 Oklahoma 54-48 2OT (5-13)

— 2017: CFP National Championship: No. 4 Alabama over No. 3 Georgia 26-23 OT (5-14)

— 2018: Jacksonville, Fla., No. 7 Georgia over. No. 9 Florida 36-17 (6-14)

— 2018: SEC Championship Game, No. 1 Alabama over No. 4 Georgia 35-28 (6-15)

— 2019: Athens, Ga., No. 3 Georgia over No.7 Notre Dame 23-17 (7-15)

— 2019: Atlanta, Ga., No. 2 LSU over No. 4 Georgia 37-10 (7-16)

— 2020: Athens, GA., No. 4 Georgia over No.7 Auburn 27-6 (8-16)

— 2020: Tuscaloosa, Al., No. 2 Alabama over No. 3 Georgia 41-24 (8-17)

— 2021: Charlotte, N.C., No. 5 Georgia over No. 3 Clemson 10-3 (9-17)

Georgia currently wins 52.9% of the games when GameDay comes to town. If the Dawgs win on Saturday, they’ll improve to 10-17 overall and 4-2 at home.

Smart went on a three-game win streak in GameDay games and has won five of the last nine games with Corso and company there. If that doesn’t prove the tide is turning for the Dawgs, I  don’t know what does.

The Dawgs will see their second GameDay appearance this season and, since Smart came to town, have nine appearances, averaging 1.5 a year. Georgia could see at least three appearances this year if the Gators continue to play well.

Arkansas hasn’t been on GameDay since the 2010 season for their Sugar Bowl game against Ohio State when they lost 31-26. They were ranked No. 8 in the AP poll that week as well.

The Dawgs and Hogs have a massive stage set for a noon kickoff, and while that seems weird, it’s something we all have to get used to because it seems that’s going to be a timeslot they try and push big numbers for moving forward.

Georgia knows how to play in these big games, and while Arkansas thinks they do after beating Texas and Texas A&M, they have no idea. It’s been 11 years since the Hogs performed on a stage like this, and with them traveling to Athens for an early kick off they could be a tad sluggish.

I  fully expect these two teams to go after each other, but at the end of the day, the Dawgs know how to win these kinds of games, and Arkansas is still rebuilding. Georgia should improve their College GameDay record this week, and I hope they do it in style.

Since Smart arrived and changed the way Georgia does things, their record with GameDay continues to improve by the year. It’s time to put to bed that the Dawgs don’t play as well when they’re at the game because it’s just not true anymore. Georgia is maturing as a program, and with that comes a better GameDay record.