ATHENS — Regardless of how Georgia fans might feel about the SEC’s decision regarding the 2025 conference schedule format, at least they can be sure the Bulldogs will have a dynamic home schedule next year.
The SEC announced Wednesday it is sticking with an eight-game conference format for the 2025 season. The format will mirror the temporary model set for 2024. That is, whatever conference affiliates are playing home and away this year will do the opposite in the fall of 2025.
For Georgia, that means Alabama, Texas, Kentucky and Ole Miss will be coming to Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs are playing on the road against those four teams this season. Georgia’s road games will be against Auburn, Mississippi State, and Tennessee. The Bulldogs will play Florida in Jacksonville both this year and next, as per usual.
The only other requirement of the SEC’s new format is that is one of the non-conference games must be against an opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences or a major independent such as Notre Dame. That’s not a problem for the Bulldogs. They play Georgia Tech every year and already have a 2025 game scheduled against UCLA in Pasadena, California.
The format was approved by a vote of the SEC presidents and chancellors last week following a recommendation from the league’s athletic directors. Divisional play also was eliminated for 2024 and ‘25.
The 2024 season is the first under the SEC’s latest expansion, which brought in Oklahoma and Texas to increase to 16 teams. Since that agreement to add the former Big 12 members was made in 2021, there has been discussion of increasing to nine conference games each season. That apparently still could happen.
“We continue to monitor changes across college sports as they relate to future scheduling,” Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement released by SEC on Wednesday. “Continuing with our current format for the 2025 season provides additional time to understand the impact of the changes happening around us as we determine the appropriate long-term plan for SEC football scheduling.”
Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas are the only two teams with a neutral-site exception built into their conference schedules. The Bulldogs and Gators will play in their game in Jacksonville, as they have every year but two games since 1933, and the Sooners and Longhorns will continue to meet at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, at least through 2025.
Exact dates of the 2025 games will be released by the SEC at a later time.
A few schedule notes on UGA:
- Georgia will play host to Texas in Sanford Stadium for the first time in 2025. Next season’s meeting in Austin will be only the sixth in history, with three occurring in bowl games. The Bulldogs last played in Austin in 1958, losing 13-8. That came one season after Georgia and Texas played under the lights at Georgia Tech’s Grant Field, with Texas winning 26-7. The teams last met in the 2019 Sugar Bowl, and the Longhorns lead the series 4-1.
- Alabama’s trip to Athens in 2025 will be its first since 2015 and 21st overall. The last time they met in the regular season was 2020, and that was in Tuscaloosa in the pandemic-altered 10-game schedule.
- Georgia holds an 18-4-1 record over Ole Miss at home, including the Bulldogs’ 52-17 win over the Rebels in 2023.
- The Bulldogs welcome Mississippi State to town after last having played State in 2020 in Athens. That contest resulted in a 31-24 win for Georgia.
The Bulldogs will conduct their fifth spring practice of 15 on Thursday. The annual G-Day scrimmage is set for 1 p.m. April 13 at Sanford Stadium. The 2024 season kicks off Aug. 31 versus Clemson in the Aflac Kickoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
2025 SEC FOOTBALL OPPONENTS AND SITES
Alabama
Home: LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Away: Auburn, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina
Arkansas
Home: Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, Texas A&M
Away: LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas
Auburn
Home: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri
Away: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Florida
Home: Georgia (Jacksonville), Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas
Away: Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Georgia
Home: Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas
Away: Auburn, Florida (Jacksonville), Mississippi State, Tennessee
Kentucky
Home: Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas
Away: Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
LSU
Home: Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M
Away: Alabama, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Ole Miss
Home: Arkansas, Florida, LSU, South Carolina
Away: Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Oklahoma
Mississippi State
Home: Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas
Away: Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Texas A&M
Missouri
Home: Alabama, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M
Away: Arkansas, Auburn, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Oklahoma
Home: Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri
Away: Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (Cotton Bowl, Dallas)
South Carolina
Home: Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Away: LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas A&M
Tennessee
Home: Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt
Away: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State
Texas
Home: Arkansas, Oklahoma (Cotton Bowl, Dallas), Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Away: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State
Texas A&M
Home: Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina
Away: Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, Texas
Vanderbilt
Home: Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri
Away: Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
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