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Three Bold Predictions for UGA Football's Season Opening Game vs. Tennessee State

Dean Legge|
Kirby Smart during the 2026 Sugar Bowl. (Amber Searls / Imagn Images)
Kirby Smart during the 2026 Sugar Bowl. (Amber Searls / Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Georgia Bulldogs

ATHENS - Kirby Smart’s No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs are set to tee it up Between the Hedges in Sanford Stadium to start the year against Tennessee State. Here are three bold takes on what will happen Saturday.

UGA Football won’t cover the spread against Tennessee State

Depending on the betting house you want to look at, this game has been listed as Georgia being favored anywhere from 45 to 47.5 points. That’s a lot of scoring the Bulldogs would have to do in order to cover such a massive line. It also assumes Tennessee State won’t score on any drive or turnover.

Smart is 5-5 against the spread in season openers - with many of the wins coming in what would be described as big games to start the season (2016 North Carolina, 2021 Clemson, 2022 Oregon and 2024 Clemson). The rest of the contests have seen the Dawgs not cover what is usually big lines at home, and that’s exactly what’s happening Saturday.

Ryan Montgomery is the Second Quarterback in the Game

That's a pretty bold take alright, but insiders have told Dawg Post over the last month that the fight between Ryan Montgomery and Ryan Puglisi has been neck and neck. In fact, Puglisi had at least one rough outing during a scrimmage in August. Montgomery was said to be steadier in that scrimmage.

Did that give him the upper hand heading into the Tennessee State game? We can’t know. Smart said recently the competition between the two could go into the season.

UGA Records at Least Three Sacks

Insiders told Dawg Post pressure on quarterbacks was more noticeable during scrimmages in August - that should transfer into games… particularly this one against a FCS foe. Smart said the Bulldogs are going to have to adjust the way they rush the passer because of a few pass rushers on the Dawgs’ roster missing right now.

“We are not where we need to be in terms of pass rush because we are missing some guys,” Smart said last week. “We're having to do it in other ways. We'll have to do that probably all year in terms of the way we create pressure and how we go about it.”

Expect Quintavius Johnson to have at least one sack, and watch for the return of Gabe Harris.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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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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