Reflecting on every exciting Georgia football opening victory under Kirby Smart

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart is preparing for his seventh season as the head man of his alma mater, and each year seems to bring more and more excitement.

After spending many years with Nick Saban at Alabama, LSU, and even the Miami Dolphins, Smart finally got an opportunity to be a head coach, and what a resume he has built for himself.

During his tenure, Smart has won 66 games, an SEC Championship, four New Year’s Six Bowl games, and the 2021 CFP National Championship. His success has helped cement Georgia as one of the elite programs in the country today.

This year marks the first time since 1981 that the Dawgs will be the defending National Champions at the beginning of the season after defeating Alabama 33-18 back in January.

Let’s reflect on all six Georgia football opening game victories under head coach Kirby Smart.

After a historic 2021, Coach Smart will look to keep building the Dawgs into the next great college football dynasty with another standout year in 2022. The road back to the College Football Playoff begins in Atlanta on September 3, when Georgia will face off against the Oregon Ducks.

Georgia and Oregon have only faced each other once. They met in Athens to start the 1977 season, with Georgia winning 27-16.

Since 2000, Georgia has only lost three opening games, the last one being against Clemson in 2013. Smart is 6-0 in openers, and his Bulldogs are 17.5-point favorites to take down the Ducks in Mercedes-Benz Stadium this year.

As we anxiously await Saturday, let’s look back at every Georgia football opener under Smart.

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart’s first opener

2016: Georgia football beat North Carolina 33-24 in Atlanta 

The 2016 season marked the beginning of a new era in Georgia football history. For the first time in 16 years, a coach other than Mark Richt led the Bulldogs on Saturday. Kirby Smart, who had never been a head coach at any level, was officially taking over the school where he played college football.

Many wondered how he would fare in his first game against Mitch Trubisky and a ranked North Carolina team in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.

This game also featured the debut of highly touted quarterback recruit Jacob Eason, who had been committed to Georgia since 2014. Nick Chubb would also return after suffering a devastating knee injury in 2015.

Georgia jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a Chubb touchdown, and they would take a 14-10 lead going into the second half. Eason replaced Greyson Lambert at quarterback in the second quarter, and that is the guy Georgia needed to run its offense.

After allowing 21 unanswered points, including a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown to start the third quarter, the Dawgs found themselves down 24-14. Eason and Chubb would spark the offense, and the defense provided a safety. Up 26-24 late in the fourth quarter, Chubb would put the game away with a 55-yard rushing touchdown.

Georgia won 33-24 in the Dawgs’ final game in the Georgia Dome. Chubb finished with 222 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Eason completed 8-for-12 passes for 131 yards and a score.

Even though Georgia would finish the season with an 8-5 record, Smart proved right away that he could be a big game coach.

The second Georgia football opener under Kirby Smart

2017: Georgia beat Appalachian State 31-10

Looking to improve off an eight-win 2016 season, head coach Kirby Smart and his staff hit the recruiting trail hard in the offseason. The Dawgs would end up with the No. 3 ranked recruiting class in 2017 and hauled in some of the most iconic Bulldog players of the last decade. Names in this class included D’andre Swift, Richard LeCounte, and Andrew Thomas.

These players helped set the foundation that Smart has continued to build upon to this day.

I’m not sure Georgia fans were expecting the kind of season the Dawgs would have in Year 2 of Smart. They would win their first SEC Championship since 2005, their first College Football Playoff game, and play in the national championship game for the first time since 1982.

All of this might not have happened without the first game of the season, as they took on the always upset-minded Appalachian State Mountaineers. No upset happened on this day, but an event that would change the course of the season and the next three years occurred in the middle of the first quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Eason was scrambling to his right to avoid pressure when an App State defender pushed him out of bounds. Eason tweaked his knee as he went to the ground and had to get helped off the field.

Enter Jake Fromm, the true freshman quarterback from Warner Robins. He came out and looked very comfortable running the Georgia offense, and he would lead a touchdown drive as the first quarter was winding down.

On the next drive, Fromm threw a deep ball to Javon Wims, who made an impressive jumping catch for a touchdown. The Dawgs would score again in the first half to take a 21-0 lead, and they continued to cruise en route to a 31-10 victory.

Luckily for Fromm, he had Nick Chubb, and Sony Michel help him on offense. They both combined for 183 rushing yards and three touchdowns. D’Andre Swift also had a few carries in the game.

Fromm would go on to start next week’s game against Notre Dame in South Bend and continued to start every game the rest of the year.

The Kirby Smart Year 3 opener saw Georgia football blow out its opponent

2018: Georgia beat Austin Peay 45-0

In 2018, the Dawgs were out to prove that their run to the national championship game last season was no fluke. However, they would go into the year without a long list of talented players like Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Roquan Smith, Isaiah Wynn, and Lorenzo Carter.

Jake Fromm returned as the starting quarterback but faced some competition in camp, with Justin Fields committing to his home state school.

Other elite players were entering their freshmen year in 2018 — Jordan Davis, Zamir White, James Cook, Jamaree Salyer, Quay Walker, Channing Tindall, Devonte Wyatt, and many more. Though many of these guys did not see much playing time in 2018, they continued to develop and eventually helped the team win a national championship four years later.

But for now, Georgia was looking to win their season opener against the Austin Peay Governors.

The game started as you would expect it to — Georgia scored on all six of their offensive drives in the first half. Both Fromm and Fields split time at quarterback, and many freshmen got the chance to play. James Cook ended up leading running backs with 66 rushing yards.

The Dawgs would score one more time in the second half and easily defeated the Governors 45-0. Georgia collected 508 total yards and allowed just 152. Fromm and Fields combined for 220 passing yards and three touchdowns.

2018 would be Fromm’s best statistical season, as he threw 30 touchdown passes and had a quarterback rating of 171.2. He would get most of the snaps at the position despite fans calling for Fields to play more often.

Georgia finished with an 11-3 record winning their second consecutive SEC East division title. Still, they dropped another heartbreaker to Alabama and lost a disappointing game to Texas in the Sugar Bowl.

Georgia football saw an SEC season opener for Year 4 of the Kirby Smart era

2019: Georgia beat Vanderbilt 30-6

Georgia football not only replaced players at the end of the 2018 season, but head coach Kirby Smart had to replace both his offensive and defensive coordinators. Jim Cheney left to join first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee, while Mel Tucker took the head coaching job at Colorado.

Smart promoted quarterbacks coach James Coley as the offensive coordinator, who had previously held this role with Miami and Florida State. He made a bold move on defense when he promoted outside linebackers coach Dan Lanning, who had been at Georgia for one season up to this point, as defensive coordinator. What a move that would turn out to be.

For the first time since 1995, the Dawgs would begin their season against an SEC opponent as they traveled to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. At this point, Georgia won 11 of the last 14 meetings against Vandy, and they were heavily favored in this one.

Georgia’s run game dominated the Commodore defense with 323 rushing yards, with touchdown runs from James Cook and Brian Herrien. D’Andre Swift led all running backs with 147 yards.

The defense held Vandy to six points and pressured their quarterback all night. Travon Walker, the future No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, made his Georgia debut alongside Nolan Smith.

Rodrigo Blankenship accounted for 12 Bulldog points on the day. He was 3-for-3 in field goal and extra point attempts. Hot Rod would win the 2019 Lou Groza Award at the end of the season.

Georgia would make it to their third straight SEC Championship Game, but they ran into the juggernaut that was Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers. The Tigers finished 15-0 and won the 2019 College Football Playoffs National Championship.

The Dawgs finished 2019 12-2 and defeated Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. To the surprise of many, Jake Fromm declared for the 2020 NFL Draft and got picked up in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills.

The Kirby Smart Year 5 Georgia football opener was another SEC foe

2020: Georgia beat Arkansas 37-10

No one even has to remind you about the craziness that was 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic turned the entire world upside down, leaving Georgia football and other teams to adjust, and it was a miracle that college football even happened.

Initially, Georgia planned to take on Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta to start the season. However, the SEC decided to go with a 10-game conference-only schedule to reduce long-distance traveling for teams. Because of this, Mississippi State and Arkansas were added to Georgia’s schedule.

The Dawgs began the year with questions at the quarterback position, with Jake Fromm being taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. Georgia brought in Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman, who looked like he would be the Week 1 starter, but he would end up opting out of the season just weeks before it even started. JT Daniels also transferred to Georgia from USC, but he was still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in 2019.

Ultimately, the team went with former four-star recruit D’Wan Mathis for the first few series of their opener against Arkansas. He made a handful of plays, but the offense could not get anything going to start the game. The defense kept the Dawgs in the game and even added points in the form of a safety.

Needing a spark, head coach Kirby Smart decided to put in Stetson Bennett, a former walk-on quarterback at Georgia, back in 2017. He transferred to Jones County Junior College in Mississippi in 2018 and made his way back to Athens in 2019.

“The Mailman” took control of the offense and led them to their first offensive scoring drive at the end of the first half, with Jack Podlesny hitting a 38-yard field goal as time expired. Georgia would head into the locker room down 7-5.

After a James Cook fumble on their first drive of the second half that led to a Razorback field goal, the Dawgs rallied off 29 straight points, which included a pick-six by cornerback Eric Stokes. The defense continued to dominate the Razorbacks, forcing three turnovers and collecting five tackles for loss.

Despite not being expected to start, Bennett finished 20-for-29 with 211 yards and two touchdowns.

Bennett would start the following week against Auburn and continued to start for most of the season. An injury against Florida and JT Daniels getting cleared to play would end his season as the starter, but the Mailman’s Georgia legacy was just beginning.

The Kirby Smart Year 6 opener set in motion for Georgia football to have a historic season

2021: Georgia beat Clemson 10-3

The most recent opening game might be the most memorable of head coach Kirby Smart’s career. It was this game in Charlotte, N.C., that began “The Year of the Dawg.”

Georgia and Clemson first met back in 1897. Their last meeting came in Athens in 2014, which resulted in a 45-21 win for the Dawgs thanks to 198 rushing yards and four touchdowns (one being a kick return) from Todd Gurley.

Clemson was looking to return to the College Football Playoff after being drubbed by Ohio State in 2020. They would be entering 2021 without their star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who helped the Tigers win three ACC Championships and the 2018 CFP Championship. Replacing Lawrence was former five-star DJ Uiagalelei, who was high on many preseason Heisman lists.

Georgia entered this game with returning talent on both sides of the ball, but injuries plagued the Dawgs during the spring and fall, especially on offense. George Pickens, Darnell Washington, Dominick Blaylock, Kearis Jackson, and other top pass catchers were listed as out or questionable heading into this game.

Both defenses, however, were ready to carry their teams in this contest.

The Bulldog defense allowed two rushing yards, sacked Uiagalelei seven times, collected eight tackles for loss, and scored the game’s only touchdown on a 74-yard pick-six.

On offense, freshman tight end Brock Bowers led the team with six catches for 43 yards. Running back Zamir White had 74 rushing yards on 13 carries.

You all know what happened after this game, a 12-0 record, an Orange Bowl victory over Michigan, and beating Alabama to win the 2021 National Championship. All of this success might not have happened without the dominating week one victory over the Clemson Tigers.

What iconic moments will we witness this year when Georgia battles Oregon? If history has taught us anything, Week 1 will always set the tone for how the rest of your season will turn out.