With so many great games to watch this weekend, of course, tuning into Marshall at Georgia should be one's top priority! After all, what other game features two undeniable winning streaks at hand going at it? That is right. It will be Georgia's 31 consecutive home victories dating back to 2019, going up against the solid seven-game winning streak Marshall is riding. So what team will keep theirs alive?
While much has been made about Georgia's FBS-best 31-game home winning streak, it is easy to overlook the seven in a row Marshall has stacked up. Both teams won their respective conferences a year ago, but things could not be looking any different for the SEC behemoths and the kings of the Sun Belt mountain ... for now... The chaotic offseason Marshall underwent cannot be overlooked here.
Marshall went 10-3 last season, including the seven-game streak the Thundering Herd are on. However, after winning the Sun Belt over Louisiana, head coach Charles Huff bolted for Southern Miss, as did many of his players hitting the portal. In came Tony Gibson by way of North Carolina State. Although he has strong West Virginia ties, Georgia is a massive 39.5-point favorite in Week 1.
Anything can happen on any given Saturday, but Georgia's home winning streak shall be extended.
How much longer will Georgia extend its 31-game home winning streak?
Although Huston Mason actively hates on his alma mater and believes Georgia will go 8-4 this year, Kirby Smart has won at least 11 games every season since 2017, outside of the COVID campaign. The only time in his coaching career Georgia has lost as many as four in a season came in year one at the helm in 2016. Jacob Eason was the team's starting quarterback as a true freshman a decade ago.
So while it is totally plausible that Georgia may lose a few games this year, when are they coming? More importantly, when are they coming at home? After surviving arguably the hardest schedule in the country a year ago, Georgia's schedule flips. All the SEC home games are now on the road, and vice versa. This means Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas will have to come tee it up Between the Hedges.
In a worst-case scenario, Georgia's home winning streak will get to 33 with wins over Marshall and FCS Austin Peay before Alabama comes to town. Should the Dawgs finally beat Alabama in the southeastern footprint, it should get to 35 with a home win over the Crimson Tide and struggling Kentucky. While the next two after that will be vs. Ole Miss and Texas, what if they get those, too?
Add another win in the penultimate game of the regular season vs. Charlotte, and the Dawgs could be riding a 38-game home winning streak should they run their gauntlet. That would require home wins over Marshall, Austin Peay, Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas and Charlotte. Keep in mind the dates vs. Florida and Georgia Tech will be at neutral sites in Jacksonville and just down the road in Atlanta.
Overall, no matter when Georgia's amazing home winning streak ends, dating back to losing in double overtime to a Will Muschamp-led South Carolina Gamecocks team in 2019, the accomplishment will still be impressive and must be celebrated nevertheless. To win seven in a row at home every year for five-plus years tells everyone that this particular team is a juggernaut. Maybe Mason should wake up?
Georgia is about as close to a College Football Playoff lock as the SEC could ever hope to provide us.