Georgia Bulldogs football


The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Southeastern Conference. They play their home games at historic Sanford Stadium on the university's Athens, Georgia, campus.
Georgia claims four [College football College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national championships], including three from the major wire-services: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. The Bulldogs' other accomplishments include 18 conference championships, of which 16 are SEC championships, second-most in conference history, and appearances in 64 bowl games, second-most all-time. The program has also produced two Heisman Trophy winners, five number-one National Football League draft picks, and many winners of other national awards. At 25, Georgia has the longest active streak among colleges in consecutive years having at least one former player on a Super Bowl roster. In addition to its storied history, the team is known for its unique traditions and rabid fan base, known as the "Bulldog Nation." Georgia has won over 900 games in its history, placing them 9th all-time in wins and has finished in the Top 10 of the AP Poll 30 times, 15 of which were Top 5 finishes.

History

Georgia's football program dates to 1892, when chemistry professor Dr. Charles Herty organized the university's first team and scheduled a game against Mercer, marking the first intercollegiate football contest played in the Deep South. Early seasons were marked by frequent coaching changes and modest success, though the Bulldogs achieved notable milestones under Glenn "Pop" Warner, including an undefeated season and a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 1896. The program survived a near shutdown following the death of player Richard Von Albade Gammon in 1897, after state legislation banning football was vetoed. By the 1910s and 1920s, Georgia had gained greater stability, producing All-Americans such as Bob McWhorter, moving from Herty Field to Sanford Field.
From 1939 to 1960, Wally Butts led Georgia through one of its most successful eras, winning four Southeastern Conference titles while coaching Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich and All-American Charley Trippi. Vince Dooley followed as head coach from 1964 to 1988, becoming the longest-tenured coach in program history. Under Dooley, Georgia won the 1980 consensus national championship, six SEC titles, and produced standout players including running back Herschel Walker and defensive tackle Bill Stanfill. Dooley was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Later decades included mixed results under Ray Goff and Jim Donnan, with Donnan’s teams achieving consistent bowl success but failing to regain national prominence.
Mark Richt coached the Bulldogs from 2001 to 2015, guiding the program to two SEC championships, multiple division titles, and sustained national relevance before parting ways with the university. UGA alumnus Kirby Smart, hired in 2015, ushered in a period of unprecedented dominance. Under Smart, Georgia reached the national championship game in his second season and won College Football Playoff national titles in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, becoming the first program to repeat as playoff-era champions. His teams also set records for postseason margin of victory, establishing Georgia as one of the sport's leading programs in the modern era.

Nicknames

The first mention of "Bulldogs" in association with Georgia athletics occurred on November 28, 1901, at the Georgia-Auburn football game played in Atlanta. The Georgia fans had a badge saying "Eat `em Georgia" and a picture of a bulldog tearing a piece of cloth; however, it was not until 1920 that the nickname "Bulldog" was used to describe the athletic teams at the University of Georgia. Traditionally, the choice of a Bulldog as the UGA mascot was attributed to the alma mater of its founder and first president, Abraham Baldwin, who graduated from Yale University. Prior to that time, Georgia teams were usually known as the "Red and Black." On November 3, 1920, Morgan Blake of the Atlanta Journal wrote a story about school nicknames and proposed:
The Georgia Bulldogs would sound good because there is a certain dignity about a bulldog, as well as ferocity.

After a 0–0 tie with Virginia in Charlottesville on Nov. 6, 1920, Atlanta Constitution writer Cliff Wheatley used the name "Bulldogs" in his story five times. The name has been used ever since.

Conference affiliations

Georgia was a founding member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, one of the first collegiate athletic conferences formed in the United States. Georgia participated in the SIAA from its establishment in 1895 until 1921. During its tenure in the SIAA, Georgia was conference co-champion in two years, 1896 and 1920.
In 1921, the Bulldogs, along with 12 other teams, left the SIAA and formed the Southern Conference. During its time in the Southern Conference, the team never won a conference championship. In 1932, the Georgia Bulldogs left the Southern Conference to form and join the SEC, where Georgia has won the second-most SEC football championships, with 15, behind Alabama.

Championships

National championships

Georgia has been selected eight times as national champions from NCAA-designated major selectors, including three from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. Georgia claims four national championships.

Claimed national championships

1942Wally ButtsBerryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Houlgate, Litkenhous, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin, Williamson11–1Won RoseNo. 2
1980Vince DooleyAP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF12–0Won [1981 1981 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl|Sugar]No. 1No. 1
2021Kirby SmartCollege Football Playoff††14–1Won Orange
Won CFP National Championship Game
No. 1No. 1
2022Kirby SmartCollege Football Playoff15–0Won Peach
Won CFP National Championship Game
No. 1No. 1

† Other consensus selectors for 1980 included Berryman, Billingsley, Rothman, Football News, Helms, NCF, Poling, Sagarin, Sporting News
†† Other consensus selectors for 2021 include AP, FWAA/NFF, USAT/AMWAY

Unclaimed national championships

Claimed national championship
  • 1920 – First-year head Herman Stegeman led the program to its second undefeated season, outscored opponents 250–17.
  • 1927 – Georgia's famous Dream and Wonder team led by George Woodruff went 9–1. This team was noted for having a win over 1920s power, Yale, in Connecticut. Georgia was ranked No. 1 going into its final game against rival Georgia Tech, where they were upset 12–0 in the rain. Even so, Georgia finished the season ranked No. 1 in two minor polls.1942 – Georgia compiled an 11–1 record, shut out six of twelve opponents, and defeated No. 13 UCLA in the 1943 Rose Bowl 9–0. Georgia finished No. 2 in the final AP Poll. The Bulldogs retroactively claimed the title in the late 1980s, after then-head coach and athletic director Vince Dooley discovered that the team was listed as a national champion in an NCAA record book.
  • 1946 – Fueled by the return of Charley Trippi, the 1946 SEC Champion Bulldogs went 10–0, including a 20–10 win over North Carolina in the Sugar Bowl. Notre Dame finished the season ranked No. 1 in the majority of the polls, but the Williamson poll recognized Georgia as No. 1.
  • 1968 – The 1968 Bulldogs won Vince Dooley's second SEC Championship as head coach, and finished the season undefeated. However the 8–0–2 Bulldogs tied twice, and then lost to Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. The Litkenhous poll recognized them as National Champions.1980 – The Bulldogs beat Notre Dame 17–10 in the Sugar Bowl to finish 12–0 and claim the national championship. Georgia finished No. 1 in the final AP and Coaches Polls.2021 – The Bulldogs beat Alabama 33–18 in the CFP National Championship Game to finish at 14–1 and claim the national championship.2022 – The Bulldogs beat TCU 65–7 in the CFP National Championship Game to finish 15–0 for the first time in school history and claim the national championship.

Conference championships

Georgia has won a total of 18 conference championships, twelve outright and five shared. The school's 16 Southeastern Conference Championships rank it second all time in SEC history, behind only Alabama.
1896SIAAGlenn "Pop" Warner4–03–0
1920SIAAHerman Stegeman8–0–18–0
1942SECWally Butts11–16–1
1946SECWally Butts11–05–0
1948SECWally Butts9–26–0
1959SECWally Butts10–17–0
1966SECVince Dooley10–16–0
1968SECVince Dooley8–1–25–0–1
1976SECVince Dooley10–25–1
1980SECVince Dooley12–06–0
1981SECVince Dooley10–26–0
1982SECVince Dooley11–16–0
2002SECMark Richt13–17–1
2005SECMark Richt10–36–2
2017SECKirby Smart13–27–1
2022SECKirby Smart15–08–0
2024SECKirby Smart11–26–2
2025SECKirby Smart12-17-1

† Co-champions

Division championships

From 1992 through 2023, the SEC was divided into two divisions, the East and the West. Division champions were the representatives to the SEC Championship Game. Georgia won 13 SEC Eastern Division championships, and made 11 appearances during the divisional era. The Dawgs were 4–7 in those games. Twice, in 1992 and 2007, Georgia was the Eastern Division co-champion, but lost a tiebreaker for the right to appear in the championship game.
† Co-champions

Bowl games

The Bulldogs have played in 64 bowl games, second all-time. UGA has a bowl record of 38–23–3. Their 38 wins rank the Dawgs second all-time in bowl wins. They have played in a record 18 different bowls including appearances in five of the New Year's Six Bowl Games and appearances in the 2018, 2022, and 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship.
1941Wally ButtsOrange BowlTCUW 40–26
1942Wally ButtsRose BowlUCLAW 9–0
1945Wally ButtsOil BowlTulsaW 20–6
1946Wally ButtsSugar BowlNorth CarolinaW 20–10
1947Wally ButtsGator BowlMarylandT 20–20
1948Wally ButtsOrange BowlTexasL 28–41
1950Wally ButtsPresidential Cup BowlTexas A&ML 20–40
1959Wally ButtsOrange BowlMissouriW 14–0
1964Vince DooleySun BowlTexas TechW 7–0
1966Vince DooleyCotton Bowl ClassicSMUW 24–9
1967Vince DooleyLiberty BowlNC StateL 7–14
1968Vince DooleySugar BowlArkansasL 2–16
1969Vince DooleySun BowlNebraskaL 6–45
1971Vince DooleyGator BowlNorth CarolinaW 7–3
1973Vince DooleyPeach BowlMarylandW 17–16
1974Vince DooleyTangerine BowlMiamiL 10–21
1975Vince DooleyCotton Bowl ClassicArkansasL 10–31
1976Vince DooleySugar BowlPittsburghL 3–27
1978Vince DooleyAstro-Bluebonnet BowlStanfordL 22–25
1980Vince DooleySugar BowlNotre DameW 17–10
1981Vince DooleySugar BowlPittsburghL 20–24
1982Vince DooleySugar BowlPenn StateL 23–27
1983Vince DooleyCotton Bowl ClassicTexasW 10–9
1984Vince DooleyCitrus Bowl[1984 Florida Gators football|Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State]T 17–17
1985Vince DooleySun BowlArizonaT 13–13
1986Vince DooleyHall of Fame BowlBoston CollegeL 24–27
1987Vince DooleyLiberty BowlArkansasW 20–17
1988Vince DooleyGator BowlMichigan StateW 34–27
1989Ray GoffPeach BowlSyracuseL 18–19
1991Ray GoffIndependence BowlArkansasW 24–15
1992Ray GoffFlorida Citrus Bowl[1992 1992 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]W 21–14
1995Ray GoffPeach BowlVirginiaL 27–34
1997Jim DonnanOutback BowlWisconsinW 33–6
1998Jim DonnanPeach BowlVirginiaW 35–33
1999Jim DonnanOutback BowlPurdueW 28–25 OT
2000Jim DonnanOahu BowlVirginiaW 37–14
2001Mark RichtMusic City BowlBoston CollegeL 16–20
2002Mark RichtSugar BowlFlorida StateW 26–13
2003Mark RichtCapital One BowlPurdueW 34–27 OT
2004Mark RichtOutback BowlWisconsinW 24–21
2005Mark RichtSugar BowlWest VirginiaL 35–38
2006Mark RichtChick-fil-A BowlVirginia TechW 31–24
2007Mark RichtSugar Bowl[2007 2007 Hawaii Warriors football team|Hawaii Warriors football team|Hawaii]W 41–10
2008Mark RichtCapital One BowlMichigan StateW 24–12
2009Mark RichtIndependence BowlTexas A&MW 44–20
2010Mark RichtLiberty BowlCentral FloridaL 6–10
2011Mark RichtOutback BowlMichigan StateL 30–33 3OT
2012Mark RichtCapital One BowlNebraskaW 45–31
2013Mark RichtGator BowlNebraskaL 19–24
2014Mark RichtBelk BowlLouisvilleW 37–14
2015Bryan McClendon TaxSlayer BowlPenn StateW 24–17
2016Kirby SmartLiberty BowlTCUW 31–23
2017Kirby SmartRose BowlOklahomaW 54–48 2OT
2017Kirby SmartCFP National ChampionshipAlabamaL 23–26 OT
2018Kirby SmartSugar BowlTexasL 21–28
2019Kirby SmartSugar BowlBaylorW 26–14
2020Kirby SmartPeach Bowl[2020 2020 Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati Bearcats football team|Cincinnati]W 24–21
2021Kirby SmartOrange BowlMichiganW 34–11
2021Kirby SmartCFP National ChampionshipAlabamaW 3318
2022Kirby SmartPeach BowlOhio StateW 4241
2022Kirby SmartCFP National ChampionshipTCUW 657
2023Kirby SmartOrange BowlFlorida StateW 633
2024Kirby SmartSugar BowlNotre DameL 1023
2025Kirby SmartSugar BowlOle MissL 3439

CFP/New Year's Six game
Duke's Mayo Bowl
1–012014 season1.000
Bluebonnet Bowl 0–111978 season.000
Citrus Bowl
4–1–162012 season.750
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl5–272022 season.714
Cotton Bowl Classic2–131983 season.667
Independence Bowl2–022009 season1.000
Liberty Bowl2–242016 season.500
Music City Bowl0–112001 season.000
Oahu Bowl 1–012000 season1.000
Oil Bowl 1–011945 season1.000
Outback Bowl
3–252011 season.600
Orange Bowl4–152023 season.800
Presidential Cup Bowl 0–111950 season.000
Rose Bowl2–022017 season1.000
Sugar Bowl5–9142025 season.357
Sun Bowl1–1–131985 season.500
Gator Bowl
3–1–152015 season.600

Head coaches

Head coaches of the Bulldogs dating from 1892.
1Charles Herty18921–1
2Ernest Brown18932–2–1
3Robert Winston18945–1
4Pop Warner1895–18967–4
5Charles McCarthy1897–18986–3
6Gordon Saussy18992–3–1
7E. E. Jones19002–4
8William Ayres Reynolds1901–19025–7–3
9, 11Marvin D. Dickinson1903, 19054–9
10Charles A. Barnard19041–5
12George S. Whitney1906–19076–7–2
13Branch Bocock19085–2–1
14 & 15Joseph Coulter & Frank Dobson19091–4–2
16W. A. Cunningham1910–191943–18–9
17Herman Stegeman1920–192220–6–3
18George Cecil Woodruff1923–192730–16–1
19Harry Mehre1928–193759–34–6
20Joel Hunt19385–4–1
21Wally Butts1939–1960140–86–9
22Johnny Griffith1961–196310–16–4
23Vince Dooley1964–1988201–77–10
24Ray Goff1989–199546–34–1
25Jim Donnan1996–200040–19
26Mark Richt2001–2015145–51
27Kirby Smart2016–present117–21

Coaching awards

Amos Alonzo Stagg AwardPaul "Bear" Bryant AwardBroyles AwardCollege Football Hall of Fame

Traditions

"Between the Hedges" Legendary sports writer Grantland Rice coined the term that famously describes the home of the Bulldogs in the 1930s in reference to the famous English privet hedges that have surrounded the Sanford Stadium turf since its inaugural game against Yale in 1929. The original hedges were removed in 1996 in preparation for the women's soccer matches hosted at Sanford Stadium for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Offshoots of the original hedges were planted shortly after the games. The Hedges also serve as a crowd control measure, as they contain a fence inside of them. In fact, only once have Georgia fans been able to rush the field, that following a victory over Tennessee in 2000.Uga is the name of a lineage of white Bulldogs which have served as the mascot of the University of Georgia since 1956. The current mascot, "Boom", officially took the role of Uga XI in April 2023, replacing Uga X. Deceased Ugas are interred in a mausoleum near the main entrance to Sanford Stadium. Georgia is the only school to bury its past mascots inside the football stadium.Glory, Glory is the rally song for the Georgia Bulldogs and was sung at football games as early as the 1890s. The rally song was arranged in its current form by Georgia professor Hugh Hodgson in 1915. While "Glory, Glory" is the most commonly played Georgia song, the school's official fight song is "Hail To Georgia" which is played after field goals.The ringing of the Chapel Bell after a Georgia victory started in the 1890s when the playing field was located near the chapel and freshmen were compelled to ring the chapel's bell until midnight to celebrate the victory. Today, freshmen are no longer required to do the chore, with students, alumni, and fans taking their place."The Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation" is a slowed down version of The Battle Hymn of the Republic arranged in 1987 and is a hallowed song played pregame and postgame by the Redcoat Band. A lone trumpeter in the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium plays the first few notes, after which the entire band joins in and a video montage, narrated by longtime Georgia radio broadcaster Larry Munson, is played that highlights the many great moments of Georgia football history. It is custom for fans to stand, remove their hats, and point towards the lone trumpeter as he plays the initial notes. This tradition is considered the climax of the Redcoat Band pregame show and was introduced before the 2000 season."How 'bout them Dawgs" is a slogan of recent vintage that first surfaced in the late 1970s and has become a battle cry of Bulldog fans. The slogan received national attention and exposure when Georgia won the national championship in 1980 and wire services proclaimed "how 'bout them dogs".Silver britches – When Wally Butts was named head coach in 1939, he changed the uniform by adding silver-colored pants to the bright-red jersey already in use. The "silver britches" became very popular, and were a source of multiple fan chants and sign references over the years, the most well-known being "Go You Silver Britches". When he was hired in 1964, Vince Dooley changed Georgia's uniform to use white pants, but reinstated the silver pants prior to Georgia's 1980 national championship season. Georgia's use of the "silver britches" continues to the present day.
  • The "Dawg Walk" is a tradition that features the football players walking through a gathering of fans and the Redcoat Band near the Tate Student Center as they enter Sanford Stadium. Vince Dooley began the tradition, originally leading the team into the stadium from the East Campus Road side. Ray Goff changed the Dawg Walk to its current location in the 1990s, but eventually discontinued the practice altogether. Mark Richt revived it starting with the 2001 season, and it continues to the present day.
  • "Light Up Sanford" is a newly-formed tradition that involves home fans at Sanford Stadium turning on their phone flashlights before the start of the fourth quarter, when the Georgia Redcoat Marching Band plays the song "Krypton". This began online with a post on the website Yik Yak asking students to "light Sanford up for the last home game of the year" in 2015.

Uniforms

Georgia's standard home uniform has not significantly changed since 1980, and consists of a red helmet with the trademarked oval G, red jerseys, and famous silver britches.
Wally Butts first introduced the "silver britches", as they are colloquially known, in 1939. When Vince Dooley became Georgia's head coach, he changed the team's home uniform to include white pants. The uniform was changed back to silver pants prior to the 1980 season, and has remained silver ever since.
Georgia's earliest helmet was grey leather, to which a red block "G" logo was added in 1961. The shirts were usually red, sometimes with various striping patterns. Their uniforms in the pre-World War II era varied at times, sometimes significantly. Photographic evidence suggests that black shirts, vests, and stripes of various patterns were worn at times over the years.
Vince Dooley was the first to incorporate the oval "G" onto the helmet in 1964, as part of uniform changes that included adoption of a red helmet and white pants. Anne Donaldson, who graduated from Georgia with a BFA in commercial art and was married to Georgia assistant coach John Donaldson, was asked by Dooley to come up with a new helmet design to replace the previous silver helmet. Dooley liked the forward oriented stylized "G" Donaldson produced, and it was adopted by him. Since the Georgia "G" was similar to the Green Bay Packers' "G" already in use since 1961, Dooley cleared its use with the Packers organization. The Packers hold the trademark on the "G" logo, and have granted limited permission to Georgia and Grambling State University to utilize a similar logo.
Prior to the 1980 season, the "silver britches" were re-added to Georgia's uniform with a red-white-black stripe down the side. Since the 1980 season, Georgia has utilized the same basic uniform concept. The sleeve stripes, trim colors, and font on Georgia's home and away jerseys have varied many times, but the home jerseys have remained generally red with white numbers, and away jerseys have remained generally white with black numbers.
The most recent trim redesign occurred in 2005, when sleeve stripe patterns were dropped in favor of solid black jersey cuffs on the home jersey and solid red cuffs on the away jersey. Matte gray pants have also been used at times instead of "true" silver since 2004, mainly because the matte gray pants are of a lighter material.
One of the things that make Georgia's uniform unique is its relative longevity, and the fact that it has very rarely changed over the years. There have been occasions, however, when alternate uniforms have been worn.
  • Red pants were used instead of silver as part of Georgia's away uniform at various times during the 1980s and were worn as a "throwback" alternate uniform in 2020.
  • Black facemasks and a white-black-white helmet stripe were worn during the 1991 Independence Bowl.
  • Black pants were used instead of silver as part of Georgia's away uniform during the 1998 Outback Bowl and home uniform during the 1998 Florida game.
  • Black jerseys were worn instead of red as part of Georgia's home uniform in games against Auburn and Hawaii during the 2007 season, in 2008 against Alabama, 2016 against Louisiana-Lafayette and 2020 vs. Mississippi State. Georgia also wore black jerseys as the visiting team in the 2021 Peach Bowl vs. Cincinnati, which wore red jerseys.
  • A unique away uniform was worn against Florida in 2009. This uniform included black helmets with red facemasks, a white stripe, and the traditional oval "G" logo; white jerseys with black numbers; and black pants.
  • For the 2011 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Boise State in the Georgia Dome, Georgia wore a Nike Pro Combat uniform that was significantly different from the traditional home uniforms. The Nike Pro Combat uniforms used a non-traditional matte-finish red color, and included the following:
  • * Silver helmets with a large red stripe and traditional oval "G" logo
  • * Black facemasks with a large red stripe in the middle, mirroring the red stripe on the helmet
  • * Two-tone red jerseys with black sleeves, trim, and numbers
  • * The word "Georgia" on the back of the jerseys instead of players' names
  • * Red pants

Rivalries

The Bulldogs have three main football rivals: Auburn, Florida, and Georgia Tech. All three rivalries were first contested over 100 years ago, though the series records are disputed in two cases. Georgia does not include two games from 1943 and 1944 against Georgia Tech in its reckoning of the series record, because Georgia's players were in World War II and Georgia Tech's players were not. Georgia also includes a game against one of the four predecessor institutions of the modern University of Florida in 1904 that national sportswriters and Florida's athletic association do not include.
Georgia has long-standing football rivalries with other universities as well, with over 50 games against five additional teams. Georgia developed rivalries with the Tennessee Volunteers and South Carolina Gamecocks during divisional play in the SEC East from 1992 to 2023. In 2025, South Carolina, along with Florida and Auburn, was named one of Georgia's annual conference opponents until at least 2029. From 1944 to 1965, the Bulldogs played each season against the Alabama Crimson Tide. While the two bordering schools no longer play annually, they have faced off against each other in four SEC Championship Games and two College Football Playoff National Championships since 2010, bringing the once dormant rivalry back to prominence.

Auburn

Georgia's oldest and longest-running rivalry is the series with Auburn, which dates to 1892. As it is the oldest rivalry still contested between teams in the South, the series is referred to by both schools as the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry". Although historically close, Georgia has won 17 out of the last 20 matchups, including the last eight, and leads the series 65–56–8 through the 2024 season.

Clemson

Although no longer contested annually, the series with Clemson dates to 1897. The two schools are separated by a mere 70 miles and played annually from 1962 to 1987. The rivalry took on national importance in the early 1980s, when both Georgia and Clemson won national titles and were consistently highly ranked. The rivalry is renewed on an intermittent basis, with the next matchup scheduled in 2029. Georgia leads the series 44–18–4 after the matchup in the 2024 season.

Florida

Played annually at the neutral-site of Jacksonville, Florida since 1933, the Georgia–Florida rivalry is known nationwide for its associated tailgating and pageantry, being referred to as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", although that name is no longer used officially. The Georgia–Florida rivalry annually carries importance in the SEC race as the two schools have combined for 23 appearances in the SEC Championship game. The series record is disputed, with Georgia claiming a lead of 57–44–2 through the 2024 season.

Georgia Tech

Dating to 1893, the series with the in-state Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets has traditionally been played as the final regular season game of the season and was historically Georgia's most important and fierce rivalry. Since 2000 Georgia has dominated the series, winning 18 out of 21 matchups, lessening the importance of the once-close series. Georgia leads the series 72–41–5 through the 2024 season.

South Carolina

The series with South Carolina dates to 1894. The border-rivalry gained importance when South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992, and gained intensity when former Florida coach, Steve Spurrier, coached the Gamecocks from 2006 to 2015. Georgia leads the series 55–19–2 through the 2023 season.

Tennessee

The series with Tennessee dates to 1899. An annual rivalry began in 1992 upon the creation of the SEC Eastern Division and played an important role in deciding the division champion until divisions were eliminated beginning with the 2024 season. Georgia and Tennessee are the third and second winningest pre-expansion SEC programs behind only Alabama. Georgia leads the series 29–23–2 through the 2024 season. Beginning in 2026, the rivalry will no longer be played annually, however, the two schools will still meet every other season.

Vanderbilt

The series with Vanderbilt dates to 1893. Georgia leads the series 61–20–2 through the 2023 season.

Alabama

The series with Alabama dates to 1895. Alabama leads the series 43–26–4 through the 2023 season.

Players

National award winners

Heisman TrophyMaxwell AwardWalter Camp AwardBronko Nagurski TrophyButkus AwardChuck Bednarik AwardDoak Walker AwardDraddy TrophyESPY Award for Best College Football PlayerJim Thorpe AwardLombardi AwardLott TrophyLou Groza AwardOutland TrophyTed Hendricks AwardRay Guy AwardPaul Hornung AwardJohn Mackey AwardBurlsworth TrophyManning Award

All-Americans

The Bulldogs have had 84 players selected to the All-America team through the 2019 season. Through the 2025 season, there have been 42 consensus selections of which 16 were unanimous.
While several players were selected in more than one year, only Frank Sinkwich, Herschel Walker, David Pollack, and Jarvis Jones were selected as consensus All-Americans more than once.
Consensus All-American

Consensus All-American that was selected by a unanimous vote

Hall of Fame inductees

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Five former Georgia players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Charley TrippiHB1942, 1945–19461968
Fran TarkentonQB1958–19601986
Terrell DavisRB1991–19942017
Champ BaileyCB1996–19982019
Richard SeymourDT1997-20002022

College Football Hall of Fame

Nineteen former Georgia players and coaches have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame. In addition, one former player, Pat Dye, has been inducted into the Hall as a coach for Auburn.

Future opponents

From 1992 to 2023, Georgia played in the East Division of the SEC and played each opponent in the division each year along with several teams from the West Division. During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Georgia played a modified conference schedule where they played the same teams both seasons home and away.
On September 22nd, 2025 the SEC announced the 2026-2029 schedules in which Georgia will play three annual opponents and six rotating conference opponents so that Georgia will play at every school in conference home and away in a four year cycle.

Non–Conference Opponents

  • In 2030, either Clemson, North Carolina A&T, or Ohio State will be canceled or rescheduled.