JD PicKell breaks down Georgia's light non-conference schedule

Georgia doesn’t have to answer to anyone based on what they’ve done on the field over the last two seasons. Still, if there was one complaint about the Bulldogs from outside of Athens heading into 2023, it would be the defending champion’s lackluster schedule.

For On3’s JD PicKell, though, he doesn’t blame the Bulldogs for what’s on the slate for them this fall. In a recent episode of ‘The Hard Count’, he says it might be too early to truly judge what’s on their schedule considering how easy some people are making it seem at the moment.

“What you see right now in May is kind of what you get and it’s not really Georgia’s fault,” PicKell said. “Everyone’s looking at the non-conference schedule and saying, ‘Really, Georgia? This is who you’re scheduling?’ You’ve got UT Martin, you’ve got Ball State, and you’ve got UAB. You’re back-to-back national champs. That’s who you’re scheduling in the non-conference?”

Georgia’s non-conference run is the biggest point of contention with critics. The Skyhawks, Cardinals, and Blazers will be given little to no chance inside Sanford Stadium over the first four weeks. Additionally, once you include a road game in Atlanta against Georgia Tech to close the season, these four games should give the Bulldogs little to no resistance.

Even so, PicKell reminded everyone that this isn’t exactly on UGA as it is on the SEC. Considering the Sooners were at one point on the schedule, he says the Southeastern Conference is at least equally in part to thank for what could be considered a layup at points for the ‘Dawgs.

“(Let’s) say woah, woah, woah. Let’s pump the breaks a little bit there. For Georgia? They tried to schedule Oklahoma! They had Oklahoma on the schedule for this coming season. (And) the SEC put the kibosh on it and said no no,” PicKell explained. “That’s the reason why you have that Ball State game on there I believe.”

“So is it all Georgia’s fault? No. But is it a rigorous non-conference schedule? Also no,” said PicKell.

ESPN’s FPI gives Georgia a 22.4% chance to win out and projects them to win 11.7 games during the season. That would be quite the third year for the Bulldogs considering the past two where they’ve beaten non-conference opponents by an average of nearly 32 points per game. However, at the end of the day, PicKell wants everyone to take it easy as he says the blame for this schedule doesn’t fall solely on the two-time defending champs.