Georgia football is finally back as they take on Tennessee State in their 2026 season opener. This may feel like a dud of a matchup, but when the season is just beginning who cares.
Georgia and Tennessee State will kick things off Saturday afternoon, but before the game begins let’s take a quick look at the series history between these two programs.
Georgia meets Tennessee State for the first time in program history
Saturday marks the first matchup between Georgia and Tennessee State in their programs history. The Bulldogs historically play at least two Group of Five or FCS opponents each season, but even though Tennessee State is relatively close to Georgia they still have never played each other.
That may have to do with the fact that they are at the FCS level which Georgia schedules far less games against. The Bulldogs however have a chance to go 1-0 in the series against Tennessee State with a victory on Saturday.
Georgia hasn’t lost to a non-Power Four school in 15 years
Georgia has never lost to a non-Power Four school since Kirby Smart became head coach. The last time they did lose to a non-Power Four you have to go all the way back to 2011 when they lost to No. 5 Boise State 34-21 in the 2011 season opener. That hardly feels like a non-Power Four loss, but it technically was.
One year prior Georgia lost to UCF in their 2010 bowl game 10-6 which was before they joined the Big 12. In 2005 Georgia lost to West Virginia in their bowl game and in 2001 they lost to Boston College in a bowl game as well. Just like UCF these losses occurred before either team joined the Power Four conference they are now apart of.
To find a game that truly felt like a non-Power Four loss you have to go back to the season opener of the 1996 season. Georgia lost at home to Southern Miss 11-7 before failing to make a bowl game that year.
Georgia will hope to avoid a catastrophic loss to Tennessee State on Saturday to keep their winning streak alive against non-Power Four teams.
Final odds for Georgia’s matchup vs Tennessee State
Georgia is favored by 47.5 points over Tennessee State, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The over-under for this game is set at 54.5 points as well.
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Georgia a 99 percent chance to win this game.
Georgia hasn’t covered a spread larger than 38.5 points in the Kirby Smart era. Overall they are 0-15-1 when the spread reaches at least 38.5 points. This is likely do to Smart pulling Georgia’s starters when the game is already won instead of running up the score, and if they get out to a big lead again he will likely make the same decision.
As long as Georgia wins by a comfortable margin it doesn’t really matter if they cover this spread or not. Georgia needs to play hard from the opening kickoff, dominate on every play, and try to get out of here with an easy win with as few injuries as possible.
Kickoff between Georgia and Tennessee State is set for 3:00 pm EST on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Game odds adjust periodically and are subject to change.
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