Georgia’s clearest path to a College GameDay visit may be running into ESPN’s broader plans.
Athens has been a regular stop for the show during Kirby Smart’s run, including in recent seasons, but that streak could be in danger this year. The matchup that looks best for Georgia is the Week 4 home game against Oklahoma, a contest that could land in top-10 territory if both teams handle business through their first three games. Even then, that might not be enough to get GameDay on campus.
The reason is simple: ESPN has already lined up an SEC site for the first three weeks of the season. Week 1 sends GameDay to LSU for Clemson, Week 2 takes it to Texas for Ohio State, and Week 3 puts it at Ole Miss for Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford against LSU. That makes Georgia’s Oklahoma game a tougher sell if ESPN wants to avoid spending four straight weeks in the SEC.
There are other attractive options on the same slate, too. Oregon and USC both enter ranked inside the top 15 in the preseason AP Poll, and that matchup could carry major appeal since Oregon is No. 2 in the country. Michigan also has a ranked Iowa team coming to town, giving ESPN another strong choice if it wants to go elsewhere.
Georgia’s remaining home schedule doesn’t help much. After Oklahoma, the Bulldogs host Vanderbilt, Auburn, Missouri and Georgia Tech. Any of those teams could, in theory, outperform expectations and arrive in Athens with national relevance, but that feels like a long shot.
So while GameDay in Athens is still possible, the setup points the other way. Georgia has a path, but ESPN’s early-season travel plans and the rest of the Bulldogs’ home slate make it look unlikely right now.
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