Let's put aside "blame" .... and for the sake of not having an argument, let's all agree that Georgia's 2023 schedule is as tough as it could possibly have been under the circumstances, and nobody is to blame for either the weakness of their SEC opponents or for their non-conference opponents ...
That is still a very soft schedule, any way you look at it. Those first 7 games, especially.
Some things to think about :
- In the entire months of September and October, Georgia will only play on an opponent's home field twice and one of those games is at Vanderbilt. This is obviously counting Georgia's game with Florida in Jacksonville on October 28th, as being a neutral site game, and Georgia even has a bye the week before playing Florida.
- Auburn could have a good season. There are many variables with that program in 2023, but there is a good chance that Georgia will not play a ranked opponent until Kentucky on October 7th ... and Kentucky will only be ranked because they also play an easy schedule (as always) to start the season.
- Unless Auburn does have a better than expected season, Tennessee will be the only ranked opponent that Georgia plays on the road in 2023. Once again, that is counting their game with Florida in Jacksonville as being a neutral site game.
* There is an Auburn variable at work here ... but if Auburn is as bad as they were in 2022, then the first half of Georgia's 2023 schedule is one of the easiest slates I've ever seen for an SEC team.
I hate playing devil's advocate for Georgia, but here it goes.
1. The Eastern Division. Tennessee has finally returned to relevancy and I believe will remain there. But, it's been a while. Florida had some good teams under Mullen before crashing into a brick wall. But, by and large, they haven't been what they were. South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Vanderbilt being ranked is generally rare. So, that's the division and it's not too difficult.
2. Auburn. Their automatic opponent in the West. They have been Jekyll and Hyde. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. You don't know exactly what you'll get and like the division, Georgia has no control over this.
3. Georgia Tech and the OOC. Now, I will ignore 2020 because it was an all-conference year due to COVID. But, I could have sworn Georgia played Notre Dame in 2017 and 2019, Clemson in 2021, and Oregon in 2022. They can't do anything about Tech, but it's not like they've scheduled cupcakes year after year.
Georgia has the exact situation with the schedule that Florida does. When they play at Georgia Tech, it's another game in the state of Georgia. And unlike Florida playing at Florida State, it's basically a home game or 50/50 split when they play at Tech. And the game in Jax is a neutral site game. Tech is not in their control. And Florida and Georgia aren't dumping 100 years of tradition just because it happens to make some people upset that they don't have to play on each other's home field. Too bad. So sad.
All I will say is that it's amazing how weak a schedule can look once you have a good football team. Part of the anger of what you all had to experience the last several years and what I as a Florida fan am experiencing now, is that we're not losing games because the schedule is tough. We're losing games because we're not good. At most, an Eastern division team has 4 ranked teams on the schedule. 2 are likely to be on the road. 2 are likely to be at home. Split those games and you are looking at a 10-2 season. Even dropping all 4, you are 8-4.
And then, after all of that is said and done.....Georgia is playing an SEC title game, and two playoff games.
