What We Are Hearing
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ATHENS - DeAngelo Gibbs was back at Butts-Mehre working out on Tuesday.
What does that mean for Gibbs, who didn’t enroll in classes in the spring, but has been enrolled at UGA since May? Hard to know. In March, UGA coach Kirby Smart said that Gibbs and LB Natrez Patrick were going in the right direction.
“I think both those kids are working really hard, doing the things we’ve asked them to do,” Kirby said. “And to be honest with you we’re trying to help them as much off the field as on the field right now.”
A few weeks ago Kirby was a little less confident about Gibbs’ future with the Bulldogs.
“We’ll make a decision when the time comes,” Smart told Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald. “Being enrolled in school, that doesn’t signify that he’s with our roster right now.”
Smart added, “I think nothing’s done on Deangelo Gibbs until he’s back with us. That verdict’s still out.”
Gibbs worked out Tuesday - take that for what you will. Could mean something or nothing.
On a completely different football-related matter…
Every now and then folks ask me about Georgia not playing Georgia Tech in football. And I feel like I have to test the waters in Athens to ask that question to upper-level folks at UGA… just to see.
I was told this spring that likelihood of dropping Tech is zero - “won’t happen.”
What about moving the Tech game from the end of the season? (While we are talking in theoretical). Perhaps a kickoff game, which was floated last decade when Tech wanted to get off of having the Bulldogs and Clemson in the same year. That changed in 2012 and 2013 when the Jackets went to Clemson in back-to-back seasons (don’t feel bad for Tech - Clemson didn’t host the Jackets in Clemson from 1898 until the first trip to Death Valley in 1974. Tech also hosted the Tigers three seasons in a row right after that game before starting the back and forth that started in 1983 when Tech joined the ACC).
Moving the Tech game to the start of the season would all but end any inclusion of UGA in games like the Chick-fil-A kickoff game, which is something the program has played in twice since 2011, and is scheduled to play in 2020.
Speaking of which, 2024 seems like a very possible destination for the Dawgs playing at the Dome to start the season. But who, exactly, the program would go up against is challenging to know. If you listen to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s rhetoric, he claims to want to play the Bulldogs every season.
“Absolutely,” Swinney told The State when asked if he would like to play UGA every year. “I think it’d be great for both fan bases. I’ve said that for a long time. I think that would be great.”
UGA officials aren’t as sold that’s really what Swinney thinks. Nonetheless, 2024 seems like the easiest, most likely chance for UGA to give Swinney what he wants for one season. Then again, a UGA official told me in May that the program “has talked with Clemson, sure. Clemson and about 15 other programs.”
Again, the schedules for UGA and Clemson don’t line up very well in the near future. The Tigers play Texas A&M in 2018 and 2019. UGA takes has no major out-of-conference foes outside of Tech in 2018. In 2019, however, Notre Dame rolls into town.
In 2020, the Bulldogs open the season on Labor Day night against Virginia in Atlanta. In 2021, Clemson only has three non-conference games set up, and they don’t have an opener set yet - at least publicly. But the Bulldogs have two games at the start of the season with big buyouts San Jose State ($1.8 million) and UAB ($1.8 million). At least one UGA official I have spoken with is skeptical that Georgia would buyout either of those contracts to play Clemson or any other team that would require a home-and-home arraignment.
UGA’s schedule opens up in 2022 and 2023. The Bulldogs are lacking two foes a year those seasons. But Clemson already has Notre Dame set up for those seasons in addition to three other non-conference games.
Neither program has four non-conference games set up already in 2024 - so there is a major opportunity to get the old foes back on the gridiron that season. The opener, at least according to public reporting, is open for both schools. Clemson already has seven home games set for that year, meaning the Tigers could certainly sacrifice the eighth home game to play a money game in Atlanta. Georgia will host Georgia Tech that November, meaning the Bulldogs will have six home games - not ideal, but manageable if you are playing a money game in Atlanta to help off set the missing revenue from the seventh home game.
2025 and 2026 are out for the Dawgs - a home-and-home with UCLA and the usual game with Georgia Tech takes up the Dawgs’ schedule for those seasons. In 2027 and 2028, Georgia will have to look for a foe other than Notre Dame and Clemson as those two, once more, will fight on the gridiron.
The reality is that this isn’t about Clemson so much as it is about the reality of finding someone to dance with in the future. Georgia has signed up to take on Notre Dame in 2019, Virginia in 2020 and UCLA in 2025 and 2026. The Dawgs will have to sniff around to figure out what works for 2022, 2023 and 2024 (2021 appears booked up for UGA at the start of the season).
So which decent- or big-name schools are out there for those seasons?
Florida State appears available in 2022 and 2023, but not 2024 (Notre Dame)
Louisville “might” be available in 2024, but is booked up in 2022 and 2023
Miami and Mark Richt seem to be out all seasons (2022 at A&M, 2023 vs. A&M and at Temple and 2024 at Notre Dame), but the Canes’ aggressive/stupid scheduling in 2021 makes me wonder if they will do anything. That fall they travel to Florida International, host Michigan State and Appalachian State and start the season in Atlanta against Alabama.
NC State is booked in 2022 and 2024, and is set to play Notre Dame in 2023.
North Carolina isn’t available those three years.
Pitt could open the season against UGA in 2024, but the other two years seem out.
Syracuse is an option in 2023 and 2024.
Its unlikely UGA would play Virginia in the years following the 2020 game, but the Cavs seem booked up pretty good during the three-year stretch.
Virginia Tech is booked all three years.
Oklahoma plays Nebraska in 2022, is completely open in 2023 and plays at Tennessee in 2024.
Oklahoma State plays Arizona State in 2022 and 2023. 2024 is open for the Cowboys.
TCU appears booked for any dates the Bulldogs could play them in 2022-2024 (Colorado and Stanford).
Texas is booked up in 2022-2024 (at South Florida, Alabama, at Alabama, at Michigan and South Florida again).
Iowa traditionally plays Iowa State each season, but appears to be open all three years.
Michigan is eaten up with UCLA (2022 and 2023) and Texas (2024).
Michigan State plays Boise State in 2022 and 2023. The Spartans also play Boston College in 2024. But none of those games are at the start of the season, so Michigan State is a possibility from 2022-2024.
Nebraska is booked up with old Bog 8 rivals Oklahoma (2022) and Colorado (2023 and 2024).
Ohio State is booked up with Notre Dame (2022 and 2023) and Washington (2024).
Penn State plays Auburn in 2022, and West Virginia to start the 2023 and 2024 seasons. It seems unlikely Penn State might be able to fit UGA in during the 2022 season, but that would be very aggressive scheduling.
Wisconsin needs an opener in 2022. The Badgers play Washington State and Hawaii in week two and three that fall. The Badgers’ 2023 and 2024 schedule doesn’t appear open to playing UGA.
BYU appears available at the start of the 2024 season. In 2022, BYU is available for a game the second week of the season as is UGA. The start of the 2023 season seems out for the Cougars (hosting Tennessee and playing at Virginia).
Long story short, Georgia has been talking with schools about future scheduling, but that always happens. Threading the needle for great game, however, is complex and evolving.
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