ATHENS — For the first time in 301 days, Georgia will play a football game between the hedges.
The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs (1-0) welcome Tennessee Tech for its 2024 home opener. The Golden Eagles (0-1) are an FCS team from Cookeville, Tennessee, that competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. In their first season under coach Bobby Wilder, they suffered a heartbreaking 32-25 road loss to Middle Tennessee on Saturday as the coach Derek Mason’s Blue Raiders scored the winning touchdown with 16 seconds remaining. UGA is paying Tennessee Tech $550,000 to play at Sanford Stadium.
“This is the best football team in the country, and Kirby Smart is the best coach in college football, in my opinion,” Wilder said. “I believe he’s the voice of college football now with Nick Saban retiring.”
Georgia is coming off a resounding 34-3 win over then-No. 14 Clemson. The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 28-3 in the second half. It was Georgia’s 47th win in its past 49 games, without a regular-season loss in that span.
Much has changed since the Bulldogs last played in Sanford Stadium, starting with the stadium itself. Just this week, the second phase of a two-year, $63 million renovation project was completed. That raised the stadium’s seating capacity to 93,033, the 11th increase in the 95-year history of the facility.
It remains to be seen if Sanford will be filled to capacity. UGA has sold out its ticket allotment for every home game since the start of the 2013 season. But the turnstile count typically is lower in lopsided matchups such as the one that will be played Saturday.
FanDuel posted the Bulldogs as 53.5-point favorites heading into this football game, with the over/under is set at 62.5 points.
If one might be considering such a bet, consider this: Georgia is 0-9-1 against the spread in its past 10 games in which it is favored by 40 or more points. Smart tends to be kind toward overmatched opponents.
Here’s what you need to know
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens
What: 2024 home opener
TV: SEC Network-plus streaming
Weather: Cloudy and 85 degrees
Series: Georgia leads 2-0
Last meeting: Bulldogs defeated the Golden Eagles 38-0 on Nov. 7, 2009, in Athens.
Tickets: Game is sold out, but seats were available Friday on the secondary market sites for as low as $29 each.
Top storylines ahead of Georgia-Tennessee Tech
New digs: UGA will unveil its newest addition to Sanford Stadium – a five-story addition to the west end of the South grandstand. That will house a new press box and six premium-seating suites. The fourth level was named for recently retired sports information director Claude Felton. The fifth is named for Felton’s predecessor Dan Magill.
Cold ones: For the first time in its existence, UGA will offer game-day beer sales to spectators inside Sanford Stadium. It has been offered for several years in private suites and designated donor area at Sanford and at other sports venues on campus for the past three years. But Saturday will represent the first time that fans can walk into the stadium two hours before kickoff, find one of the 162 point-of-sale locations scattered throughout and put down $10 to $12 for a beer. Seltzers also are available.
Trevor Etienne’s status: Officially, we don’t know whether the Bulldogs’ star transfer acquisition will play. Unofficially, the expectation is that he will. Smart told ESPN last week that Etienne was suspended for the opener due to a violation of school policy.
A star is born: Sophomore Branson Robinson started in Etienne’s stead in last week’s opener. However, it was freshman Nate Frazier who stole the show. The late-arriving, 5-star signee from Compton, California, led the Bulldogs with 107 all-purpose yards and scored a touchdown in the 34-3 victory. Expect to see more of Cash Jones than either of them, though. Jones, a junior walk-on from Brock, Texas, scored last week on a 15-yard touchdown that was highlighted by stiff-arming Clemson defensive back Jaedyn Lukus to the ground on the way to the end zone.
Aguero available: As for Georgia’s “star” position, technically a nickel back, sophomore Joenel Aguero is expected to be available. Slated to start after an impressive preseason camp, Aguero suffered a muscle pull a week before the opener and did not play against Clemson. Junior JaCorey Thomas got started instead, but free safety Malaki Starks took a lot of snaps at nickel back during the game.
Other injuries: Slightly injured against Clemson last week, defensive linemen Warren Brinson (calf) and Mykel Williams (ankle) probably could play but likely won’t. The Bulldogs definitely will be without sophomore running back Roderick Robinson (toe) and defensive linemen Jordan Hall (leg). Xzavier McLeod (undisclosed injury) is questionable for the game. … Tennessee Tech’s starting quarterback, Missouri transfer Dylan Laible, was lost to injury in the opener. But sophomore Jodyn Potts played very well in relief and nearly led the Golden Eagles to a comeback road win against Middle Tennessee.
Quarterbacks: Carson Beck will start, but you better look quick. The fifth-year senior and Heisman Trophy candidate likely won’t stay in the game long. The majority of Saturday’s offensive snaps likely will come with backup Gunner Stockton under center. But there is considerable intrigue surrounding who might come in as the Bulldogs’ third quarterback, transfer Jaden Rashada or freshman Ryan Puglisi.
Next game: The Bulldogs will head to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC opener. The Wildcats (1-0) feature a pair of former Bulldogs playing prominent roles. Junior Brock Vandagriff is the starting quarterback and senior Jamon Dumas-Johnson (aka “Pop”) starts at middle linebacker. Kentucky faces South Carolina (1-0) and both team’s SEC opener at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Kroger Field in Lexington.
They said it: “Does he still want the check?” – Smart when informed the Tennessee Tech coach is “not excited” about playing the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs between the hedges.
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