ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia will have a bye before playing at Alabama in September but not before going to Texas in October, according to multiple reports after gaining access to the schedule.

Georgia’s nonconference schedule and dates were already known, including the season opener against Clemson in Atlanta. The SEC opponents were known, but the dates were not due to be announced until next week in a reveal show on the SEC Network.

Advertisement

Instead, ESPN reported last week the dates of various big games, including Georgia’s trips to Alabama (Sept. 28) and Texas (Oct. 19). And on Wednesday, the dates of the other six conference games were reported by multiple outlets covering Georgia.

Georgia officials did not immediately respond to requests to respond to the reports.

If the reported dates are correct, here is the full schedule:

Aug. 31: Clemson
Sept. 7: Tennessee Tech
Sept. 14: at Kentucky
Sept. 21: Bye
Sept. 28: at Alabama
Oct. 5: Auburn
Oct. 12: Mississippi State
Oct. 19: at Texas
Oct. 26: Bye
Nov. 2: vs. Florida
Nov. 9: at Ole Miss
Nov. 16: Tennessee
Nov. 23: UMass
Nov. 30: Georgia Tech

A few quick observations

• Playing Alabama and Auburn back-to-back is quite interesting. The Auburn date is similar to this year, the fifth game of the season.
• That stretch continues with Mississippi State (under new coach Jeff Lebby) and then the trip to Texas. So in between its two bye weeks, Georgia starts and ends with the two biggest trips of its season.
• The SEC opener at Kentucky now has an obvious storyline: Brock Vandagriff, Georgia’s backup quarterback this season, announced Wednesday he’s transferring to Kentucky, where he is expected to take over as the starting quarterback.
• The three-game stretch following the second bye week could be perilous. Georgia played those same three teams in four weeks this season and won the games by an average of 28.6 points, but each of those games could be problematic. Ole Miss, in particular, coming off a 10-win season, returning quarterback Jaxson Dart and this time getting Georgia at home could be tough.

(Photo of Kirby Smart: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)