The SEC so far has refused to give Georgia a night game during the 2026 season. The year is still young, but with the Bulldogs weaker home schedule and their biggest home game of the year against Oklahoma getting an afternoon start time it is looking unlikely that Georgia will get a night game at home this season.
After Oklahoma the Bulldogs still get Vanderbilt, Auburn, Missouri and Georgia Tech at home. On paper none of those games seem exciting enough for the SEC to put on primetime TV, but that isn't the case anymore after Jared Curtis was just named the starting quarterback for Vanderbilt beginning this week.
This is an opportunity for the SEC to highlight Curtis flipping his commitment from Georgia to Vanderbilt at the final hour last December, but instead this game is already scheduled to be a noon or 1:00 pm EST start. The SEC typically doesn't change game times after they've been announced, but it would be wise for them to do so this time.
Georgia-Vanderbilt has a storyline that could draw attention
Jared Curtis' recruitment was one of the wildest of the entire 2026 recruiting class, and the SEC could use that to draw attention to their slate of games in week five.
Curtis originally committed to Georgia early in his process before ultimately decommitting in October of 2024. He did this because he felt he made his initial decision far too soon, but this wasn't a huge deal at the time because he said Georgia was still a contender for him. That turned out to be true because in May of 2025 he chose Georgia again over Oregon.
Vanderbilt was never truly involved in his recruitment until the 2025 season. They were able to use a strong NIL offer and recent success in the program to keep him close to home, and right before signing day he flipped to them.
Jared Curtis didn't win the starting quarterback job for Vanderbilt week one, but after just two weeks the job is his. In two and a half week he will make his third career start at Georgia, and UGA would love nothing more than to get some revenge.
Week 5 in the SEC is looking for a big game
The week five slate in the SEC is extremely light. As of now there is no ranked vs ranked matchup, and it doesn't seem likely that there will be one after the next two weeks. So the SEC would be wise to switch Georgia and Vanderbilt into the night slot because this is a story they could sell.
Georgia also doesn't have another good opportunity at a home night game this year. Maybe Auburn will make a run and be ranked heading into their matchup or maybe Missouri will climb the rankings before they play towards the end of the season, but since the week five slate in the SEC is weak it would be wise for the SEC to make up for their mistake.
They should've given Georgia and Oklahoma a night game next week in Athens, but all it takes is one small change and all will be forgiven.
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