University of Georgia Bulldogs Football

From a chemistry professor to the Deep South's first game

Georgia football dates to 1892, when a chemistry professor, Dr Charles Herty, organised the university's first team and arranged a fixture against Mercer. That match is recorded as the first intercollegiate football contest played in the Deep South, and the rivalry with Auburn, also begun in 1892, remains the programme's oldest.

Sanford Stadium opened on 12 October 1929 with a win over Yale. The privet hedges that ring the pitch were planted in the early 1930s and gave the ground its motto, 'between the hedges'. Today the stadium holds 93,033 and ranks as the ninth-largest college football venue in North America. The white English Bulldog mascot lineage began in 1956; the current holder, Boom, became Uga XI in April 2023.

The programme's first claimed national title came in 1942, the year Frank Sinkwich won the Heisman Trophy. Vince Dooley then coached from 1964 to 1988, compiling a 201-77-10 record and delivering the 1980 national championship with a 17-10 Sugar Bowl win over Notre Dame. Herschel Walker, the running back at the heart of that side, won the Heisman in 1982. Mark Richt followed from 2001 to 2015, going 145-51, and it was under Richt, in 2001, that the modern Dawg Walk was created to build pre-match atmosphere.

The Kirby Smart era

Kirby Smart, a former Georgia defensive back, took over in 2016 and has since built a record of 117-21, a winning percentage of.848. The breakthrough came in 2021, the programme's first national championship in 41 years, and the 2022 team then went 15-0, the first unbeaten, untied season in school history, to make it two titles in a row.

Georgia's four claimed national championships are 1942, 1980, 2021 and 2022. Its sixteen SEC championships rank second in the conference's history behind only Alabama, and four of them belong to Smart. The all-time record stands at 905-434-54.

2025: a title reclaimed, a playoff lost by a safety

The 2025 season finished 12-2, with a 7-1 record in the SEC. It included a 44-41 overtime win at Tennessee on 13 September and a 24-21 home defeat to Alabama on 27 September, Georgia's first loss at Sanford Stadium since 2019. The Bulldogs recovered with wins over Ole Miss (43-35), Texas (35-10) and Mississippi State (41-21), and on 28 November clinched a record-tying fifth straight place in the SEC Championship Game.

That final, on 6 December 2025 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, was won 28-7 over ninth-ranked Alabama. Quarterback Gunner Stockton threw first-quarter touchdown passes to Roderick Robinson II, after Cole Speer's blocked punt, and to Dillon Bell, and Nate Frazier added a nine-yard run after the interval. Daylon Everette intercepted a pass deflected by KJ Bolden to set up an early score. It was Georgia's first SEC title-game win over Alabama under Smart, after four defeats, and sealed back-to-back conference championships.

Georgia entered the College Football Playoff as the third seed with a first-round bye, then met sixth-seeded Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl quarter-final in New Orleans on 1 January 2026. The Bulldogs lost 39-34 in a finish that included a safety in the closing seconds. Home attendance across the season averaged 93,033.

Where they stand now: September 2026

Georgia began 2026 ranked third in both the AP and Coaches' polls, with Smart in his eleventh season. Stockton returns as a fifth-year starting quarterback, with running back Nate Frazier, tight end Lawson Luckie, Georgia Tech transfer receiver Isiah Canion and Clemson transfer safety Khalil Barnes among the key names. Mike Bobo runs the offence in his twelfth season on staff, with Glenn Schumann and Travaris Robinson coordinating the defence.

The winter portal cut both ways. Thirteen players left, among them cornerbacks Daniel Harris (to California) and Joenel Aguero (to Ole Miss) and offensive linemen Bo Hughley (to Colorado) and Nyier Daniels (to Tarleton State). Eleven came in, including quarterback Bryson Beaver from Oregon and running back Dante Dowdell from Kentucky. Smart said before the opener that the team had come through one of the hottest camps on record and that he wanted to see how players and fans coped with the heat.

The season opened on Saturday 5 September 2026 at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium, a 3pm kick-off streamed on SEC Network+ and ESPN+, and Georgia beat Tennessee State 63-3 before a crowd of 93,033. Stockton completed 15 of 16 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns before giving way; Ryan Puglisi went 7 of 13 for 109 yards and a score, and Ryan Montgomery and Hezekiah Millender also played. Georgia threw for 388 yards combined, its highest total since October 2024, and attempted more passes than runs, something it did only once in 2025. Frazier called Stockton 'the best quarterback in the world' afterwards, and Smart said giving the backups reps 'helps keep them engaged'.

The SEC moves to nine conference games this season, so that every team plays every other every two years. Georgia's permanent annual opponents are Auburn, Florida and South Carolina. What remains is Western Kentucky at home on 12 September, a trip to Arkansas on 19 September, Oklahoma in Athens on 26 September, Vanderbilt on 3 October, Alabama away on 10 October, Auburn at home on 17 October, Florida in Atlanta on 31 October because of stadium renovations in Jacksonville, Ole Miss away on 7 November, Missouri at home on 14 November, South Carolina away on 21 November, and Georgia Tech at home on a date still to be announced. A planned Louisville home-and-home was cancelled.

What a Saturday in Athens involves

A Georgia home game is an all-day affair. Tailgating opens on Myers Quad from 7am, and North Campus opens five hours before kick-off; the tourism board puts the tailgate population above 100,000 across campus. The Dawg Walk follows two hours and fifteen minutes before kick-off, when the team and coaches walk through the main entrance behind the Redcoat Marching Band while thousands line the route and children high-five the players. Gates open two hours before kick-off.

Inside, the pre-match ritual is fixed. A single Redcoat trumpeter climbs to the upper South Deck and plays the Battle Hymn of the Republic, a tradition since 1987, and the ground goes quiet for it before a Larry Munson highlight reel and the roar. 'Glory, Glory' plays as the team takes the field and after every touchdown. 'Calling the Dawgs', the 'Go... Dawgs... Sic 'em, woof woof woof' chant with the circling fist, goes up at kick-offs, and the band leads the old 'What's that coming down the tracks' call-and-response, a nod to the railway line visible from the stands. At the start of the fourth quarter fans switch on phone torches and hold up four fingers. After a win, supporters ring the Chapel Bell on North Campus, a habit that dates to the early 1980s and can run into the evening.

Practicalities: the stadium enforces the SEC clear-bag rule (bags no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, or a one-gallon clear bag), all sales are cashless, and beer and hard seltzer have been sold since 2024, through the first three quarters. Parking is booked through ParkMobile from around $30, with lots opening at 7am. Seating is mostly bleacher-style, with students in sections 109-114, 138-144 and 307-313; a 2024 renovation added premium seats, a new press box, accessibility improvements and wider concourses. Downtown Athens, a short walk away, absorbs the post-match crowd.