Why Georgia can't be blamed for perceived 'easy' schedule

On3’s J.D. PicKell has heard the noise surrounding the Georgia Bulldogs strength of schedule. And on a recent episode of The Hard Count, the college football expert delivered a message for all the Bulldogs scheduling critics.

“Everyone wants to talk bad about Georgia and the schedule and what they’re not doing, who they’re not playing,” said PicKell. “It’s like, listen, man, if I go to the gym and meet up with a personal trainer. He says J.D. lift that bar, and I lift that bar, and I do it without any problems. Is that my fault, or is that the bar’s fault? Is it the bar’s fault for not being heavier, or is it my fault for lifting it easily? You see where I’m going with this? Georgia has to play who they have to play.

“Is it Georgia’s fault that they’re lifting the bar, or is it Florida’s fault for not being better, Auburn’s fault for not being better, (and) Missouri’s for not being better? There’s no reason why they can’t be better teams. The schedule is the schedule. George is not responsible for how Auburn’s gonna play, how Missouri is gonna play, how Vanderbilt is gonna play. It’s not on Georgia to figure that out. Georgia shows up, is told to lift the bar, (and) they lift the bar.”

While there are those who are critical of Georgia’s 2023 schedule, their schedule would be demanding for practically every program that is not the Bulldogs, at least the conference portion of it. Of the eight SEC teams the Bulldogs have to face, only one of them failed to be bowl eligible — the Auburn Tigers, who missed the postseason by just one game.

The biggest knock on Georgia’s schedule for 2023 would likely be their non-conference schedule. Besides their annual contest against Georgia Tech for bragging rights in the state, the Bulldogs will take on Tennessee Martin and Ball State this season. But it’s not like the Bulldogs did not try to schedule more highly competitive opponents, as PicKell explained.

“So I understand the frustration from the outside looking in saying, ‘why isn’t Georgia playing anybody?’ (They) tried to schedule Oklahoma,” said PicKell. “It didn’t get done through no fault of Georgia, in my estimation. The SEC schedule is the SEC schedule. But let’s not blame Georgia for not being able to one, play themselves and two, play a Florida team that’s trying to figure it out. I don’t think that these teams that I named they’re going to stay how they are. But in reality, with what we’re looking at right now, the bar is the bar, and Georgia, I expect to lift it.

“Now it will get heavier, should Georgia run the table how they expect to in Athens, they’ll get to have some more difficult opponents in the SEC title game, in the College Football Playoff. Georgia is going to earn theirs. But as for the schedule, you play who you play. You take care of business, you put on the blinders, regroup, and do it again next Saturday.

“So, is Georgia’s schedule really that easy based on how strong Georgia is lifting that bar for them right now? It should be. But you still got to play the games.”

To wrap everything together, PicKell highlighted the critical point for all the arguments against Georgia scheduling — you still got to play the games. Not to suggest that the Bulldogs will suffer an upset in 2023, but games are won on the field and not on paper. And in the SEC, no matter who the opponent is on the other side, you have to take them seriously. Otherwise, you could be crushed by the bar that you thought would be a cakewalk to lift.