Georgia football schedule: Predicting the Bulldogs first loss of 2021 season

Kirby Smart and the Georgia football team are looking to have a solid season in 2021, but it seems likely that the Bulldogs will stumble at some point. Here’s when that first loss may happen.

The Georgia Bulldogs boast one of the most talented rosters in the country. Kirby Smart, now in his sixth year leading things in Athens, has had his team consistently among the nation’s best programs in just about every season he’s been there.

The problem is the Georgia football program hasn’t quite broken through to win a national championship under Smart’s leadership. UGA came close in 2017 when the Bulldogs went 13-2, won the SEC, and would go on to come second in the College Football Playoffs, losing to Alabama in heartbreaking fashion.

While Georgia is a great team and consistently wins bowl games, the Bulldogs do have a bad habit of stumbling from time to time.

In 2021, the Georgia football team has high hopes. The Bulldogs have the talent to compete with the best in the country, but it just seems likely that they will fall to someone at some point. Let’s try to figure out when that will be.

Here’s what Georgia’s schedule looks like for the 2021 season

• Sept. 4 – vs. Clemson in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Sept. 11 – vs. UAB Blazers
• Sept. 18 – vs. South Carolina Gamecocks
• Sept. 25 – at Vanderbilt Commodores
• Oct. 2 – vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
• Oct. 9 – at Auburn Tigers
• Oct. 16 – at Kentucky Wildcats
• Oct. 30 – vs. Florida Gators in Jacksonville, Florida
• Nov. 6 – vs. Missouri Tigers
• Nov. 13 – at Tennessee Volunteers
• Nov. 20 – vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers
• Nov. 27 – at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

It seems most likely that Georgia’s first loss comes in its season-opener against Clemson. While it is true that Clemson will be replacing incredibly crucial players like Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne, the Tigers still boasting plenty of talent on their roster. Coming into the season, Clemson sits at No. 3 in ESPN’s FPI while Georgia is No. 7.

If Georgia does manage to survive Clemson and gets through what is likely to be an incredibly tough season opener, the Bulldogs’ next big challenge likely comes on the road against the Auburn Tigers.

That said, Auburn is in a transition year. The Tigers are breaking in a brand new head coach in Bryan Harsin. While there’s a very good chance Harsin turns out to be a good coach for the Tigers, there are still some unknowns.

Assuming Georgia somehow gets through both Clemson and Auburn, the Bulldogs will later have to deal with the Florida Gators. The Gators, under Dan Mullen, are developing into a quality program, and the type of team that could handle the Bulldogs. But, like Clemson, Florida is losing several key contributors on its offense and there are certainly questions about how those players will be replaced.

Any of those three teams could theoretically find a way to beat the Georgia Bulldogs, and there’s a chance that Georgia makes it through all of those games unscathed. But, if we had to pick one that UGA was most likely to lose, it’d have to be that season opener.

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