Dog Tracks 2016 Georgia Schedule
Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19 Nov. 26
vs. !North Carolina (ESPN) 5:30 p.m. Nicholls (SECN) 12:00 p.m. @ *Missouri (SECN) 7:30 p.m. @ *Ole Miss *Tennessee @ *South Carolina *Vanderbilt vs. ^*Florida (CBS) 3:30 p.m. @ *Kentucky *Auburn UL Lafayette Georgia Tech
!Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game - Georgia Dome (Atlanta); ^EverBank Field (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Five Bulldogs Selected In 2016 Draft
Georgia had five players selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, including OLB Leonard Floyd who went to the Chicago Bears as the ninth overall pick. This marked the second year in a row that the Bulldogs had five players drafted and the second straight season that they had a player taken in the first 10 picks (2015, Todd Gurley, St. Louis Rams, 10th). Jordan Jenkins (3rd Rd., 83rd, Jets), Malcolm Mitchell (4th Rd., 112th, Patriots), John Theus (5th Rd., 145th, 49ers) and Keith Marshall (7th Rd, 242nd, Redskins) were the other Georgia players picked in 2016.
Dome Opener
For the first time since 2011, Georgia will open the season in the Georgia Dome for the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. The Bulldogs fell 35-21 to Boise State that year. The 2016 opener will be versus North Carolina. UNC last played in this game in 2010, losing to LSU 30-24. Georgia went 10-3 last year, ending with a 24-17 win over Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl. Meanwhile, UNC finished 11-3 after 17th-ranked Baylor posted a 49-38 win over them in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
First Up In The SEC
For the second time in school history, the Bulldogs will face Missouri in their SEC opener. Georgia traveled to Columbia, Mo., during the second game of the 2012 season to open conference play. This marked the Tigers’ inaugural SEC game. The Bulldogs welcomed them in with a 41-10 win. This is only the fifth time in history that the teams have faced each other, including Georgia’s 1959 Orange Bowl victory in Miami. Also, the Bulldogs will be facing Ole Miss for the first time in the regular season since the Rebels visited Athens in 2012. Georgia won that contest 37-10. The Bulldogs last visited Oxford in 2011 and left with a 27-13 victory. This season marks the first year since 2006 that the Bulldogs have their first two SEC games on the road. That year, Georgia blanked South Carolina 18-0 in its second game before besting Ole Miss 14-9 in week five. This year is also the first time since 1969 that Georgia plays its first two SEC games on the road in consecutive weeks. Entering the game 3-0, the Bulldogs lost to Ole Miss 25-17 and then whipped Vanderbilt 40-8 the next week.
2016 Bulldog Storylines Head Coach Kirby Smart Headlines New Staff
For the first time in 16 years, the Bulldogs will kick off their season with a new head coach. Kirby Smart, who played safety for Georgia from 1995-98 and coached the Bulldog running backs in 2005, accepted the opportunity to coach at his alma mater on Dec. 6, 2015. He spent the last nine seasons as Alabama’s defensive coordinator and was part of three BCS National Championships and the 2015 College Football Playoff national title while in Tuscaloosa. Mel Tucker (Defensive Coord./Secondary), Jim Chaney (Offensive Coord./QBs), Sam Pittman (OL), James Coley (WRs), Shane Beamer (TEs/Special Teams Coord.), Glenn Schumann (ILBs) and Dell McGee (RBs) will join Smart on the sideline this season. Tracy Rocker (Associate Head Coach/DL) and Kevin Sherrer (OLBs) were retained by Smart and enter their third year with the Bulldogs.
Eight Offensive Starters Return
Anchored by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in the lineup, Georgia returns eight starters on offense for 2016. Junior Sony Michel, who went for 1,161 yards and 11 total touchdowns, is back alongside junior Nick Chubb, who is on the road to recovery after sustaining a season-ending knee injury last October. Chubb had accumulated 747 yards and seven touchdowns through five games in 2015. As a freshman in 2014, he finished with 1,547 yards and 14 touchdowns. Greyson Lambert is back as the Bulldogs’ signal caller after passing for 12 scores and only two interceptions during the Virginia transfer’s first year in the program. There was competition at QB during the spring with Lambert, junior Brice Ramsey and early enrollee Jacob Eason. Sophomore Terry Godwin highlights the returning receivers. He finished second on the team with 35 catches for 379 yards and a pair of scores and ended the season with an MVP performance at the TaxSlayer Bowl. A trio of starting linemen from last season return in senior OG Greg Pyke, senior C/OG Brandon Kublanow and junior OT Isaiah Wynn.
Experience Abounds At DB, Opportunities Exist At LB
Georgia welcomes back a veteran secondary led by senior Quincy Mauger, junior Dominick Sanders, junior Aaron Davis and junior Malkom Parrish. Mauger had the team’s fifth-most stops with 58 while Sanders recorded six interceptions last season. The Bulldogs held their final five opponents in 2015 to less than 20 points apiece and completed the season leading the SEC in Pass Defense (144.0/g) and ranking third in Scoring Defense (17.2/g). On the flipside, three of the top four tacklers from 2015 (ILB Jake Ganus, OLBs Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins), who accounted for 235 stops and 26 sacks last season, have moved on to follow their NFL aspirations. The spotlight will be on senior ILB Tim Kimbrough (third with 67 stops last year) and senior OLB Chuks Amaechi, junior OLBs Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter and sophomore ILB Natrez Patrick. They will headline the crew called upon to step up in 2016.
Five Early Enrollees Join The Bulldogs
Five early enrollees started school in January and worked out with the team while they took their first semester of classes at UGA. Five-star QB Jacob Eason (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and five-star TE Isaac Nauta (Buford, Ga.) headline the group which also included DL Julian Rochester, OL Ben Cleveland (Toccoa, Ga.), and WR Riley Ridley (Coconut Creek, Fla.). In their first action during the annual G-Day game that attracted an SEC record 93,000 fans, Eason went 19-for-29 for 244 yards and a touchdown while Nauta caught six passes for 56 yards and a score. In addition, Ridley hauled in four receptions for 68 yards.
Non-Conference To Start Things Off; Only One Home Game Before October
The Kirby Smart era will begin in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta against North Carolina in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN. The Bulldogs own a 16-12-2 edge versus the Tar Heels dating back to their first matchup in 1895. The last time the teams squared off, Georgia edged UNC 7-3 in the Gator Bowl (now TaxSlayer Bowl) in Jacksonville to finish an 11-1 season in 1971. Other than the annual matchup with instate rival Georgia Tech, this marks the first regular season ACC foe for the Bulldogs since #12 Georgia blasted #16 Clemson 45-21 to open the 2014 season. The Bulldogs also topped #20 Louisville 37-14 in the 2014 Belk Bowl. The rest of Georgia’s 2016 non-conference slate includes Nicholls, UL Lafayette and Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs have never played Nicholls and own a 1-0 record versus the Ragin’ Cajuns after beating them 55-7 in the 2010 season opener in Athens. Georgia leads the series with the Yellow Jackets 65-38-5 as the Bulldogs have won 13 out of the last 15, including last year’s 13-7 victory. The Bulldogs last played only one of their first four games of the season at home in 1966. That season, Georgia beat Mississippi State, VMI and South Carolina on the road before coming back to Athens and edging Ole Miss 9-3. The 10-1 squad would go on to win the SEC Championship under Vince Dooley.
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