Latest news with #KirbySmart
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Where the Georgia Bulldogs rank among SEC fan bases
Georgia Bulldogs fans have been ranked as the fifth-best fan base in the SEC according to College Sports Wire. Georgia is ranked behind the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers, the No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks, the No. 2 LSU Tigers and the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide. Of course, the rankings aren't without some controversy. Alabama is ranked No. 1 partially because "crimson-clad Tide fan stays until the final whistle in the game, even if they are up by 60" even though this is just not true. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban criticized Crimson Tide fans multiple different times for leaving early during blowouts. Advertisement Let's be real though. Georgia fans aren't perfect either. At the Georgia-Georgia Tech game in 2024, Georgia fans either didn't have faith (Georgia trailed 17-0 at halftime and by 14 late in the fourth quarter) or were tired of the cold. As a result, thousands of Georgia fans hit the exits early and missed one of the greatest college football games of all-time. Georgia beat Georgia Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes in front of a Sanford Stadium that was not close to completely full. Still, it is better for fans to leave early than to throw bottles on the field. Georgia is ranked well ahead of Texas, who checks in at No. 13. Bulldog fans are part of the reason why UGA has won a college football-best 31 straight home games entering the 2025 season. Georgia is 17-0 in home night games (entering 2025) during the Kirby Smart era. Georgia Bulldogs fan in the stands against the Clemson Tigers Georgia fans deserve to be ranked ahead of one team on the list: Tennessee. Volunteer fans famously threw a mustard bottle among other debris on the field after a controversial call during a 2021 home loss to Ole Miss. To some that may qualify as having a wild fan base, but for most that's just being obnoxious and bad sportsmanship. Advertisement Back to Georgia fans. What does it entail to be a Georgia fan? "Jawja,"said Lauren Beasley of College Sports Wire. "If you grew up around UGA, you learned two things by the time you could walk: 1) never walk under the Arch before graduation, and 2) always say 'Go Dawgs!' Game day starts with the Dawg Walk, where thousands of students and fans line the stadium entrance and streets as the team comes in, with the most famous dog in college football, Uga." Georgia fans travel well Georgia Bulldogs fans take over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's stadium in 2017 Georgia's Sanford Stadium now fits 93,033 fans after recent renovations in 2024. Bulldog fans always support the Dawgs well in Athens. Georgia fans also travel quite well on the road. Advertisement "After big wins, rabid Bulldog fans make the trek to ring the old chapel bell. Georgia fans travel extremely well, too, especially down to the Jacksonville annual liquor-fest against their rival, the Florida Gators. Bottom line: these Dawg fans chew up the miles between Knoxville, Columbia, and everywhere in between," added Beasley. Georgia fans notably took over Notre Dame's stadium in 2017. Bulldogs fans regularly take over Vanderbilt and sometimes other SEC road venues. Follow UGAWire on Instagram or Threads! This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Georgia Bulldogs fans ranked among the SEC's best
USA Today
14 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Where the Georgia Bulldogs rank among SEC fan bases
Where the Georgia Bulldogs rank among SEC fan bases Georgia Bulldogs fans have been ranked as the fifth-best fan base in the SEC according to College Sports Wire. Georgia is ranked behind the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers, the No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks, the No. 2 LSU Tigers and the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide. Of course, the rankings aren't without some controversy. Alabama is ranked No. 1 partially because "crimson-clad Tide fan stays until the final whistle in the game, even if they are up by 60" even though this is just not true. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban criticized Crimson Tide fans multiple different times for leaving early during blowouts. Let's be real though. Georgia fans aren't perfect either. At the Georgia-Georgia Tech game in 2024, Georgia fans either didn't have faith (Georgia trailed 17-0 at halftime and by 14 late in the fourth quarter) or were tired of the cold. As a result, thousands of Georgia fans hit the exits early and missed one of the greatest college football games of all-time. Georgia beat Georgia Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes in front of a Sanford Stadium that was not close to completely full. Still, it is better for fans to leave early than to throw bottles on the field. Georgia is ranked well ahead of Texas, who checks in at No. 13. Bulldog fans are part of the reason why UGA has won a college football-best 31 straight home games entering the 2025 season. Georgia is 17-0 in home night games (entering 2025) during the Kirby Smart era. Georgia fans deserve to be ranked ahead of one team on the list: Tennessee. Volunteer fans famously threw a mustard bottle among other debris on the field after a controversial call during a 2021 home loss to Ole Miss. To some that may qualify as having a wild fan base, but for most that's just being obnoxious and bad sportsmanship. Back to Georgia fans. What does it entail to be a Georgia fan? "Jawja,"said Lauren Beasley of College Sports Wire. "If you grew up around UGA, you learned two things by the time you could walk: 1) never walk under the Arch before graduation, and 2) always say 'Go Dawgs!' Game day starts with the Dawg Walk, where thousands of students and fans line the stadium entrance and streets as the team comes in, with the most famous dog in college football, Uga." Georgia fans travel well Georgia's Sanford Stadium now fits 93,033 fans after recent renovations in 2024. Bulldog fans always support the Dawgs well in Athens. Georgia fans also travel quite well on the road. "After big wins, rabid Bulldog fans make the trek to ring the old chapel bell. Georgia fans travel extremely well, too, especially down to the Jacksonville annual liquor-fest against their rival, the Florida Gators. Bottom line: these Dawg fans chew up the miles between Knoxville, Columbia, and everywhere in between," added Beasley. Georgia fans notably took over Notre Dame's stadium in 2017. Bulldogs fans regularly take over Vanderbilt and sometimes other SEC road venues. Follow UGAWire on Instagram or Threads!
USA Today
15 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
As Big Ten, SEC squabble, the College Football Playoff wins
As Big Ten, SEC squabble, the College Football Playoff wins As SEC and Big Ten infighting continues over College Football Playoff's future format, it offers a runway for a worthy compromise to emerge. Show Caption Hide Caption Kirby Smart on college football's future Kirby Smart urges leaders to prioritize the game's future over personal or conference agendas in playoff talks. Mommy and Daddy are fighting again. Or, at least, they're not operating in lockstep. Excellent. College Sports Inc. isn't your typical family unit, where it's better if parents get along. When the SEC and Big Ten – the joint heads of college sports' household – squabble, like they are now over the College Football Playoff's future format, it offers a runway for a compromise solution to emerge. And compromise could result in a sensible playoff. The SEC is the only conference powerful enough to check the Big Ten's playoff-bending power, and vice versa. Conference commissioners exited a Wednesday summit in North Carolina without aligning on a playoff format for 2026 and beyond. The Big Ten and SEC are not united behind the same format, with each exercising its checks-and-balance powers. A few potential formats have surfaced, without consensus. That's well enough, for now. That we have no playoff format for 2026 yet means the two conference power brokers didn't sync up and stampede their way to a rigged playoff that explicitly preassigns rewards to the 'Super Two' conferences – though not for the Big Ten's lack of trying. The Big Ten favors a rigged 16-team playoff format that would preassign four automatic playoff bids to the Big Ten, four more to the SEC, two apiece to the ACC and Big 12, and one more auto bid remaining up for grabs for another conference champion, along with three at-large bids. This plan also could include play-in games to determine the automatic bids. The ACC and Big 12 disavow this format that preemptively stacks the deck against them, but they carry water pistols. Only the SEC possesses the bazooka to fend off this format that would reward a conference's preseason clout and prestige as much as in-season merit. The SEC, at first, expressed openness to the Big Ten's auto-bid idea, but support for the plan faded after the SEC's coaches and athletic directors gathered in May for conference meetings, where they gained more information about formats under consideration. By the time those SEC meetings ended, the mood within the conference seemed to shift in favor of a 5+11 playoff format that would more explicitly weight strength of schedule. This model would preserve auto bids for the top five conference champions and leave open 11 at-large bids. The ACC and Big 12 also favor a 5+11 format. So, what's the issue? Well, the Big Ten won't submit to this plan – not just because it prefers a different postseason format, but because it reportedly would like the SEC to tweak its regular-season schedule. The Big Ten and Big 12 play nine conference games. The SEC and ACC play eight. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey wants a ninth conference game, but his membership feels squeamish about adding another conference game that would guarantee another loss for half its members. The conference insists its teams already endure an unparalleled gauntlet, and yet no conference plays more cupcake opponents than the SEC. To that end, Illinois coach Bret Bielema cried foul and conveyed the Big Ten's mood when he spoke to reporters this week at an event in Chicago. 'I don't think there's any way we could do a 16-team playoff if (the SEC) is not at nine (conference) games,' Bielema said. If the Big Ten and SEC don't align behind a playoff expansion format, the playoff could remain at 12 teams in 2026 and beyond, CFP executive director Rich Clark told reporters Wednesday. Would that be so bad? The four-team playoff lasted for 10 years. I wouldn't mind getting a second look at the 12-team playoff before ramrodding through another format. Anyway, we haven't even seen the 12-team playoff yet since commissioners tweaked the seeding rules earlier this year. If playoff expansion occurs, I retain hope the conference infighting and checks-and-balances underway between the SEC and Big Ten will uncork a compromise that expands the playoff without rigging it, and also incentivizes teams to play tougher regular-season schedules, with fewer cupcake opponents. What could a compromise look like? ∎ The SEC stands its ground on a 5+11 format that more explicitly weights schedule strength when determining at-large bids. The Big Ten accepts this format, if … ∎ The SEC agrees to add a ninth conference game, or otherwise requires members to play a minimum of 10 games against Power Four opponents. Currently, most SEC teams play nine games against Power Four competition, while most teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC play at least 10 opponents from that tier. A Dec. 1 deadline looms to determine a 2026 format. If the Big Ten and SEC remain entrenched in their preferences, compromise could be the only path forward to a 16-team playoff. A compromise that would expand and improve the postseason, while bolstering the regular-season schedule, would be well worth this offseason bickering between Mom and Pop. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia Predicted to Win Heated Recruiting Battle Against Alabama
Georgia Predicted to Win Heated Recruiting Battle Against Alabama originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Georgia Bulldogs don't play the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2025 until September. But the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide are about to square off on the recruiting trail. Advertisement The two historic SEC programs are the final two schools in the recruitment for four-star edge rusher Khamari Brooks. On3's Jeremy Johnson wrote Thursday that Brooks is set to announce his college decision Monday. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine projected Brooks to commit to the Bulldogs. "Brooks has been working to make a decision on the top two of Alabama and Georgia. These two have been the focus for about two months now," Johnson wrote. "Alabama Christian Robinson has worked hard to put Alabama in a strong position here. Georgia is Brooks' hometown team. He's been on campus too many times to track, and he's got family ties to the program." "The North Oconee star is a major priority and has gotten visits from defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, outside linebacker coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe and head coach Kirby Smart." Georgia Bulldogs football head coach Kirby Smart© Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images On3's RPM gave Georgia a 62.7 percent chance of landing a commitment from Brooks. Advertisement The 247Sports Composite rankings have Brooks rated as the No. 13 Georgia prospect and No. 14 edge rusher in the 2026 recruiting class. Brooks is also the No. 112 overall recruit in the class. As Johnson mentioned, Georgia and Alabama have been the two favorites for Brooks for quite some time. The Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans were involved in the edge rusher's recruitment as late as the second week of June. However, On3's Hayes Fawcett reported on June 11 that Brooks cancelled his remaining official visits to Texas and USC. With that announcement, Brooks set his attention on Georgia and Alabama. Advertisement Related: Georgia Dealt Bad News on Highly Touted Star Before Final College Decision This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia Dealt Bad News on Highly Touted Star Before Final College Decision
Georgia Dealt Bad News on Highly Touted Star Before Final College Decision originally appeared on Athlon Sports. A highly touted defensive line prospect is set to make his final college decision on Saturday. The Georgia Bulldogs hosted that prospect for an official visit just a couple of weekends ago. Advertisement But, as per the latest reports, the Bulldogs aren't expected to land the prospect: four-star defensive lineman Vodney Cleveland. According to On3's recruiting prediction machine, Cleveland is very likely to commit to the Texas Longhorns. "Cleveland took an official visit to Georgia two weeks ago," On3's Jeremy Johnson wrote. "The Bulldogs made an impression, but the buzz is around Texas and Florida for the former Alabama commit." The RPM predicted a 93.5% chance of Cleveland committing to the Longhorns. Georgia Bulldogs football head coach Kirby Smart© Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Cleveland was originally scheduled to visit the Miami Hurricanes this weekend. But on Monday, he announced canceling that visit and revealed his intentions to make his final college decision this Saturday. Advertisement Although On3 identified Texas as the overwhelming favorite to land Cleveland, the Longhorns have competition. The Florida Gators are the other top contender. As it stands with under two days remaining until Cleveland's final college announcement, Georgia is a significant underdog in the recruitment of the four-star defensive lineman. Based on the 247Sports Composite rankings, Cleveland is the No. 8 Alabama prospect and No. 18 defensive line recruit in the 2026 recruiting class. Overall, he is also the No. 141 player in the entire class. The 247Sports crystal ball prediction has Cleveland landing with the Longhorns. Advertisement Georgia has 18 commitments in the 2026 class. The 247Sports rankings have the Bulldogs' class rated as No. 4 for 2026. Related: Georgia Gets News on Coveted Star on Wednesday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
