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ESPN's College Gameday Talks Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs Before 2026 Season Opener

ESPN’s College Gameday crew talked about the Dawgs and SEC before the 2026 season opener.
Dean Legge|
Pat McAfee on the ESPN Gameday (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
Pat McAfee on the ESPN Gameday (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Georgia Bulldogs

ATHENS - Kirby Smart’s No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs are kicking off the 2026 season Saturday afternoon Between the Hedges in Sanford Stadium against the Tennessee State Tigers. But before kickoff ESPN’s College Gameday crew talked about the Dawgs and SEC.

“No one's really taking about Georgia right now,” former West Virginia punter Pat McAfee said of the Bulldogs. “It's eerily quiet.”

Live Updates: Georgia Bulldogs vs Tennessee State Score

That could be because of the Dawgs’ underwhelming opponents to start the season. In previous years the Bulldogs have played marquee games to start the season against ranked teams. But back-to-back games against the Tigers and next weekend’s showdown with Western Kentucky doesn’t carry the same spotlight as LSU’s fight with Clemson this weekend or Texas-Ohio State and Michigan-Oklahoma over the next few weeks.

The Bulldogs’ youth and experience from a season ago has been a talking point for pundits this off-season, and former Alabama coach Nick Saban was quick to point out UGA is a year older this fall.

“They had a really young team last year,” Saban said - noting that fellow SEC contender Texas had the same challenges a season ago.

McAfee was more to the point about the Bulldogs as the segment concluded.

“They pound you in the face,” he said. “I love this UGA team.”

The Bulldogs and Tigers are expected to fight extreme heat Saturday afternoon. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 90s in Athens. Georgia has not started a game with temperatures over 92 degrees in the last 16 seasons. Smart said he was concerned about that factor.

“It's been really one of the hottest camps we've measured in terms of practices. We practiced outside, and we practiced inside. We measure all the outside ones against previous camps, and it stood out to be probably the hottest camp we've had,” Smart said. “We practice in it, and we did get to scrimmage in it. So I'd be interested to see as much about our players as I do about our fans and see if they can handle it.”

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Dean Legge
DEAN LEGGE

After two-plus decades of covering the Georgia Bulldogs and the SEC, Dean Legge is one of the definitive voices in Athens and beyond. Legge has authored two books - DAWGSTRUCTION and DOUBLE DAWGS - with each chronicling Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs' run to national titles in 2021 and 2022. Legge has been a Heisman Trophy voter since 2005 and a Biletnikoff Award voter since 2009. He’s covered SEC Championships, Peach Bowls, Orange Bowls, Sugar Bowls, the Rose Bowl Game, College Football Playoff National Championship Games, the NCAA Tournament, the College World Series as well as a slew of college football, basketball and baseball games. Legge graduated from Coker College in 1999 with a degree in Political Science. He played both tennis and basketball for the Cobras. After graduating, Legge completed his academic career at the University of Georgia where he earned a Master of Public Administration from the School of Public and International Affairs in 2001. In 2008, Legge was elected President of the Coker College Alumni Association. He served on the Board of Trustees at Coker from 2009 to 2017 and was a member of the Executive Committee, Student Services and Enrollment Committee and Athletic Committee in that time. Legge is a native of Tucker, Georgia.

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