There were a few fireworks Wednesday when game times were announced for some early-season contests in the SEC.
Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek wasn’t too happy that the Razorbacks game against Georgia on Sept. 19 will be played at 11 a.m. local time. His official complaint stems from the fact that the early start comes a week after Arkansas plays at Utah in a game that will start at 9:15 p.m. CDT.
It’s a reasonable grievance.
It also highlights the absurdity of the typical SEC schedule when the Razorbacks will play a road game at one of the top programs in the Big 12 in addition to its nine-game conference slate.
Yet, in this case, don’t expect sympathy for Arkansas from UGA. When Georgia hosted Arkansas in 2021, the Razorbacks were 4-0 and ranked in the top 25. The game was big enough that it coincided with a visit from ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
However, that didn’t do much to help the Bulldogs get an advantageous start time. The game began at noon.
But DawgNation still created a raucous environment and helped propel Georgia to a 37-0 win — because that’s what winners do.
An early prediction is Arkansas will struggle to return the favor.
Check out the rest of our coverage below.
Trivia time
What was the final score of the Georgia-Arkansas game in 2021?
Answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia football game time, TV networks announced for first 3 games
The SEC announced the game times and television networks for three Georgia games during the 2027 season.
The Bulldogs open the season at home against Tennessee State on Sept. 5. That game will start at 3 p.m. EDT and air on SEC Network+.
Georgia’s second game of the season is a home contest against Western Kentucky on Sept. 12. Kickoff for that game is set for 12:45 p.m. EDT, with SEC Network broadcasting the game.
The Bulldogs open SEC play on the road against Arkansas on Sept. 19. That game is set for a noon start with ABC broadcasting the game.
The Bulldogs won their first 12 games of the season, with 11 coming by two scores.
Georgia was a dominant team. But in the age of a four-team College Football Playoff, a single loss proved to be enough to upend your season.
That loss came in the SEC championship game against Alabama, which dropped Georgia from first to sixth in the College Football Playoff rankings.
“That’s a tough one. Two-time national champ, back-to-back, go undefeated and lose one and you’re out,” Smart said. “It’s funny because people say the precedent’s been set and you can’t play in that game and slide out of the playoffs. And I said, oh, yes you can. It happened. It was only a four-team playoff, but it did happen, so it makes it tough.”
The 2023 season wasn’t the only time the Bulldogs have slid out of the College Football Playoff picture during conference championship weekend. It also happened in 2018 and 2019.
The Bulldogs are the only SEC team to make the CFP in both seasons since it expanded to 12 teams. Georgia will be expected to do so again this coming season, as Smart has put together one of the more talented teams in the country on paper.
But as seems to be the case on an annual basis, making the College Football Playoff requires a bit more than just winning games on the field. There’s politicking involved.
Georgia defensive back Dan Jackson (right) blocks the punt in the endzone by Arkansas kicker Reid Bauer, causing Georgia to recover for the touchdown to take a 21-0 lead during the first quarter on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in Athens. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Quote of the day
Smart on the nine-game SEC schedule:
“It’s going to be very interesting to look back this time next year of what the nine-game did because there’s so many people that believe your strength of schedule and all the numbers. Well you can play yourself into the playoffs, you’ve got another opportunity to play a great team.”
Arkansas AD calls out SEC and ESPN, wants Georgia game time changed
Georgia’s first SEC game of the season will be at Arkansas on Sept. 19.
Within an hour of that announcement, Yurachek took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to voice his displeasure.
Yurachek is so upset at the announcement that he has formally called on ESPN and the SEC to change the game time.
Before playing Georgia, Arkansas will visit Utah for a game that starts at 9:15 p.m.
“This assigned schedule will cost our student-athletes nearly a full day of rest and recovery that they would otherwise have available to them,” Yurachek said in a statement on X. “This is not simply a competitive disadvantage — it is a genuine welfare issue for the young men who represent our program and contribute greatly to the bottom line of our television partners.”
