Georgia football learns game time, television for first two games of 2023
Georgia fans won’t complain about much from the 15-0 National Championship season they experienced in 2022 but one thing is sure to get them started. The Bulldogs didn’t get a home night game and haven’t since September of 2021. Well, that’ll change in week one of the 2023 season.
ESPN announced on Wednesday that Georgia’s season opener with UT Martin will kick at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+/SEC Network+. Georgia also learned its week-two time slot and television assignment. It will host Ball State at 12 p.m. ET on September 9 with the SEC Network televising the game.
CBS announced on Tuesday that Georgia vs. South Carolina will be a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on September 16. The same is true for The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party with Florida.
Georgia lack of a home night game in 2022…
Georgia had several 3:30 p.m. ET kickoffs in 2022 and a couple of those contests, including a dominant 27-13 win over No. 1 Tennessee inside Sanford Stadium, finished under the lights. UGA had four true evening kickoffs on the year with two being on the road and the other two in the College Football Playoff.
It won at Missouri in come-from-behind-fashion by a score of 26-24. That game kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. local. Then, in November, UGA beat Mississippi State 45-19 in Starkville in a game that kicked off at 7 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. local. The Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl win over Ohio State started at 8 p.m. ET and the National Championship thrashing of TCU was a 7:30 p.m. ET start and a 4:30 p.m. PT kickoff.
Bulldogs vs. Gamecocks in final year of SEC East…
The 2023 season is likely the last that Georgia and South Carolina will play as SEC Eastern Division rivals. Divisions are going away once Texas and Oklahoma join the league in 2024, and this year’s border war between the two programs could prove interesting.
Shane Beamer is entering his third season as the Gamecocks’ head coach and Spencer Rattler is entering his second as the starting quarterback. The Bulldogs have shellacked South Carolina in each of the past two seasons and that includes a thorough beating in Columbia a year ago.
Still, Beamer and Company ended last season on a high note. They went 8-5 and stood in 23rd in the final AP poll. The College Football Playoff rankings viewed South Carolina as the No. 19 team in America once the dust settled.
