Field Street Forum

Kirby Smart is in his eighth year at the helm, and after last Saturday, the Bulldogs are 8-0 in season openers. Overall, Smart’s Bulldogs are 82-15 including back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. The Bulldogs rank ninth all-time in victories with 869.

Due to the cancellation of a previously scheduled matchup at Oklahoma (who now will join the SEC in 2024), Georgia plays host to four straight games to start the campaign and seven total in 2023. The last time the Bulldogs played four straight contests in Sanford Stadium was in 2004.

The last schedule that featured four home games to start a season was in 1999. That year, the Bulldogs went 4-0, beating Utah State, USC, UCF and LSU.

Georgia has tied the school record with 28 consecutive regular season victories dating back to a 31-24 home victory over Mississippi State on Nov. 21, 2020. The Bulldogs won 28 in a row from 1981-83. The NCAA’s longest active regular-season win streak belongs to Mount Union as the DIII school has won 55 in a row.

For the second straight week, Georgia will face a new foe as Ball State battles Georgia for the first time Between The Hedges Saturday at noon (SEC Network). The 2023 Bulldogs return nine players with starting experience on offense, including junior C Sedrick Van Pran and All-American and John Mackey Award winner junior TE Brock Bowers, who was the 2021 and 2022 leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns. Georgia ranked fifth nationally averaging 41.1 points per game last season and opened 2023 with a 48-7 win over UT Martin. A few offensive veterans did not suit up in the season opener and should bolster the unit when they return. These Bulldogs were starting wideouts junior Ladd McConkey and senior Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint along with senior running back Daijun Edwards. Also of note, senior Kendall Milton was not 100 percent but that wasn’t going to stop him from playing in the opener. He finished with a team-high 53 yards on nine carries including a 37-yarder.

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