The History Between Georgia and Oregon
From the surface, there doesn't appear to be much history between the Bulldogs and the Ducks heading into their week one matchup. The one and only time the two teams played one another was back in 1977 when Georgia got the best of Oregon in their 27-16 win.
However, the history between these two teams goes much deeper than just a single matchup that occurred 45 years ago.
The first is the Duck's new head coach, Dan Lanning, who spent the last four seasons serving as the Bulldog's linebackers coach and then would later be promoted as the team's defensive coordinator. Lanning's ties with Georgia head coach, Kirby Smart, date all the way back to 2015, when both were a part of Alabama's coaching staff. Lanning was an analyst at the time that worked directly under Smart.
Needless to say, both head coaches are very familiar with one another but have no experience coaching against the other, meaning that it will be interesting to see how both head coaches game plan for the other.
One coach on the Oregon staff who does have experience going against Coach Smart is offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham. Back in 2019, Dillingham served as the Auburn Tiger's offensive coordinator for one season before heading off to Florida State. In Dillingham's one game against Georgia, his offense scored just 14 points.
Another face that will be very familiar to Georgia from the Duck's offense is quarterback Bo Nix, who was Dillingham's quarterback in 2019 and is now reunited with him in Eugene.
Coach Lanning has not officially named a starting quarterback for Saturday, but Bo Nix would appear to be the front runner. Prior to Oregon, Nix spent three seasons at Auburn as the starter and is no stranger to going up against the Bulldogs.
In three games against Georgia, Nix threw for 639 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions at a 56% completion percentage. On top of that, Nix and his offense were outscored 82-30 in his three games against the Bulldogs. Numbers that Nix will be wanting to improve upon during round four with the Bulldogs.
The two football programs in themselves may not have a lot of history with one another, but there certainly will be a lot of familiarity between the two sidelines and could play a major factor during Saturday's game.
You Might Also Like:
- UPDATE: Betting Line Continues to Move Between Georgia and Oregon
- What We Know: Who Starts at Cornerback Opposite of Ringo?
- Two Former Bulldogs Turning Heads in the NFL
Join the community:
Follow Brooks Austin on Twitter: @BrooksAustinSI
Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @BulldogMaven & follow us on Twitter at @BulldogsSI.
