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25 Days til Kickoff: Ranking the Best 25* Games of the Kirby Smart Era
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- 25 Days til Kickoff: Ranking the Best 25* Games of the Kirby Smart Era
Photo Credit: Brett Davis
With 25 games to go until Georgia kicks off their 2026 campaign, I decided to stroll down memory lane and rank the 25 best games (all wins, of course) of Kirby Smart's tenure in Athens. Although it seems like just yesterday that Smart took over, with Nick Saban's retirement and Mark Stoops' run at Kentucky coming to an end, Smart is now the longest tenured SEC coach entering his 11thseason as the head coach of the Bulldogs.
I say 25 with an asterisk though, as I couldn't decide on just 25, so we are going to cheat a little bit and group some games together categorically that doesn't have much differentiation to them yet deserves to be mentioned.
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#25: 2016 UNC (33-24) and 2016 Auburn (13-7):To start off the list, let's go all the way back to win #1 against UNC, and later in the year against Auburn. The Kirby Smart era got to a rousing start in the Georgia Dome, highlighted by Nick Chubb 's 222 rushing yards and game sealing 55 yard touchdown run; and his first big upset of his head coaching career came later against #15 Auburn, which was capped off by Maurice Smith's 34 yard pick six which proved to be the difference in the game.
#24: 2016 at Missouri (28-27) and 2022 at Missouri (26-22):Next, we have two nail biters in Columbia, which will be remembered for Jacob Eason finding Isiah McKenzie for a 4thdown touchdown with 90 seconds left in 2016 and then coming back from down 13 and scoring the final two touchdowns in a gritty comeback in 2022.
#23: 2021 Orange Bo wl vs. Michigan (34-11):Georgia entered the 2021 College Football Playoff with uncertainty after losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship, however, Michigan was no match for Georgia as the Bulldogs took a commanding 27-3 halftime lead and never looked back, defeating the Big Ten champs 34-11.
#22: 2023 Ole Miss (52-17):In the first game of what has become an intense rivalry over the last few years, Carson Beck threw for 306 yards as Georgia whooped on the Rebels in front of a nighttime Sanford Stadium crowd against a top 10 foe.
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#21: 2017 at Georgia Tech (38-7) and 2018 Georgia Tech (45-21):These games pretty much killed off the Paul Johnson and triple option era at Georgia Tech. Following Tech's upset in 2016, Kirby Smart unleashed stud linebackers Roquan Smith and D'andre Walker who held the vaunted triple option to 188 and 153 yards rushing in their respective years.
#20: 2023 at Auburn (27-20):In what can be known as the Brock Bowers legacy game, the #1 ranked Bulldogs were pushed to the brink in the not-so-friendly confines of Jordan-Hare as Georgia survived being down 10 points, led by Bowers' 157 receiving yards capped off by the game winning 40 yard touchdown.
#19: 2018 Florida (36-17), 2019 Florida (24-17), 2025 Florida (24-20):Next in our list is a trio of Florida games where Georgia was battle tested until the end but proved to be the tougher and better team, which has summed up the Florida era post-Urban Meyer. Georgia survived Dan Mullen's two best squads in 2018 and 2019, followed by surviving the interim coach bump in 2025. Each game featured memorable touchdown receptions by Jeremiah Holloman, Lawrence Cager , and Noah Thomas respectively.
#18: 2017 at Notre Dame (20-19) and 2019 Notre Dame (23-17):Although not the prettiest games offensively, Georgia swept a home and home against Notre Dame which featured Terry Godwin 's legendary one handed catch in 2017 and D'Andre Swift's hurdle in 2019. Defense proved to be just as important, as Davin Bellamy sealed the 2017 game with a forced fumble and JR Reed had a crucial fourth quarter interception in 2019.
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#17: 2020 Peach Bowl vs. Cincinnati (24-21):Georgia capped off the forgettable pandemic impacted 2020 season with an unforgettable game, coming back from down 21-10 in the third quarter with Jack Podlesny 's 53 yard field goal with 3 seconds left and a safety as time expired on the ensuing ill-fated kickoff return by the Bearcats.
#16: 2018 at Kentucky (34-17):Georgia went to Lexington as Kentucky was aiming to clinch their first SEC East title ever, and quickly made light work of the Wildcats. Led by D'Andre Swift's 83 yard touchdown and 174 scrimmage yards, Georgia clinched back-to-back SEC Championship appearances for the first time since 2011 and 2012.
#15: 2017 Miss State (31-3), 2017 at Tennessee (41-0), 2017 Florida (42-7):Another trio of games takes us to 2017, where Georgia proved the Kirby Smart era would be different with three blowouts, including Tennessee's first shutout in Neyland since 1994 and Georgia' largest margin of victory over Florida since 1982. The Miss State game gave us one of Joe Tessitore's best calls ever with "guess which Dawgs are barking first" on UGA's opening drive flea flicker.
#14: 2021 Clemson (10-3) and 2022 Oregon (49-3):Georgia opened up both national title campaigns with neutral site games and didn't give up a touchdown in either one. Clemson was a defensive struggle highlighted by Christopher Smith's 74 yard pick six and Georgia sacking Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei seven times, while Oregon was an all around shellacking highlighted by Stetson Bennett 's 368 passing yards and Malaki Stark's acrobatic interception of Bo Nix.
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#13: 2021 Arkansas (37-0):In a top 10 matchup in Sanford Stadium highlighted by a College Gameday visit, Georgia got the party going early, forcing back to back false starts on Arkansas's first drive, and then blocking a punt for a touchdown to go up 21-0 in the first quarter. Combined with the aforementioned Clemson game, Georgia's historic defense would now be recognized by the masses on the way to a national championship.
#12: 2024 at Texas (30-15) and 2025 Texas (35-10):Georgia's recent regular season tilts with Texas welcomed them to the SEC, as Georgia went into Austin and were led by Trevor Ettienne's three touchdowns, 7 sacks of Quinn Ewers , and an interception by Daylen Everette . Georgia then completed the schedule sweep in Athens, dominating the fourth quarter highlighted by a surprise onside kick and Gunner Stockton's rushing touchdown dagger.
#11: 2025 at Tennessee (44-41) and 2025 Ole Miss (43-35):Although the 2025 season ended in a thriller that resulted in disappointment, the regular season was highlighted with 2 thrillers where Georgia came out victorious. Georgia trailed by 14 in Knoxville and 9 against Ole Miss, yet won both with some 4thdown heroics. Down 8 in Knoxville, Gunner Stockton found London Humphreys for the touchdown on 4thand 6 and tied the game on a 2-point conversion; and down 9 against the Rebels, Josh McCray eluded defenders on 4thand 1 to pick up the first down on the way to a touchdown drive that cut the Ole Miss lead down to 2.
#10: 2022-23 CFP National Championship vs. TCU (65-7) and 2023 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State (63-3):Entering the top 10, we now find a pairing of the two biggest blowouts in FBS postseason history, as Georgia clinched their second national title in a row beating TCU by 58 and following it up with a 60 point blowout against Florida State in the Orange Bowl the following year. Although each blowout had their own circumstances, neither program has been the same since facing Georgia. Terrible football games as a neutral, but some of the most fun as a Georgia fan.
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#9: 2025 SEC Championship vs. Alabama (28-7):In a string of SEC Championship victories, our first one on the list is the most recent one, as UGA beat a banged-up Alabama to win back to back SEC Championships for the first time in the stand-alone game era, and first time since 1981 and 1982. Despite losing in the regular season, Georgia got revenge holding the Bama offense in check and capped off the game with a shifty Zachariah Branch touchdown dagger.
#8: 2022 SEC Championship vs. LSU (50-30):Our next SEC Championship victory comes against LSU, where Georgia got off to a roaring 35-7 lead and never looked back. LSU made the box score and scoreline respectable in the second half but could not match the Dawgs' bite after Christopher Smith's field goal block return touchdown and the iconic image of Jalen Carter holding up LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels with one arm after a sack.
#7: 2017 SEC Championship vs. Auburn (28-7):Kirby's first SEC Championship was a revenge matchup after losing at Auburn earlier in the season, and the Dawgs clinched their first SEC title since 2005 and first ever College Football Playoff berth on the hands of Roquan Smith's two fumble recoveries and D'Andre Swift's 64 yard game clinching touchdown.
#6: 2024 SEC Championship vs. Texas (22-19):Despite what the Auburn SEC Championship meant to the program at the time, the 2024 Texas win comes in as our highest ranked conference title game, mainly due to what the Dawgs had to endure to win it. Following Carson Beck's injury, the team rallied behind Gunner Stockton to take a 13-6 lead before Texas tied it to force overtime. In overtime, Gunner Stockton got de-cleated with his helmet coming off, resulting in one-armed Carson Beck coming in and handing off to Trevor Etienne for the game winning 4 yard touchdown.
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#5: 2022 Tennessee (27-13):The first College Football Playoff ranking of 2022 had Tennessee at #1, resulting in the CFP and AP's #1 teams colliding the following Saturday in Athens. The committee and Tennessee radio hosts did the Vols no favor, as UGA got out to a 27-6 lead and held the vaunted Vols offense to no touchdowns until 4 minutes remaining in the 4th. One of the loudest games in Sanford Stadium history, the game was notable for when Stetson Bennett ran in for a touchdown and mimicked a phone ringing after Tennessee fans found his number the night before. In addition, the game was notable for a sack near the end zone that wasn't called a safety and resulted in a first play bomb to Ladd McConkey on the ensuing drive, and the second half downpour that somehow made Sanford Stadium even louder.
#4: 2024 Georgia Tech (44-42):The best regular season game of the Kirby Smart era was probably one of the most dramatic games in all modern college football, as Georgia defeated arch nemesis Georgia Tech in a wild 8 OT game on Black Friday. Tech had dominated the first half, going up 17-0. However, Georgia clawed back from a 14 point deficit with 5 minutes remaining in the game, bolstered by a controversial Dan Jackson forced fumble of Haynes King . In overtime, each team traded blows in the first two overtime periods, before Nate Frazier finally found the end zone in the 6thperiod of the 2-point conversion shootout and the 8thoverall period of overtime to win by 2.
#3: 2021-22 CFP National Championship vs. Alabama (33-18):Although not the prettiest game offensively by either team, Georgia found a way to get revenge after an SEC Championship defeat and clinch its first national championship since 1980 on a cold, frigid night in Indianapolis. With both teams in an offensive stalemate and field goal fest, James Cook 's 67 yard run propelled the Dawgs to the game's first touchdown, and following a controversial strip sack of Stetson Bennett that resulted in Alabama regaining the lead, late game heroics from Stetson Bennett finding AD Mitchell and Brock Bowers on back to back drives to re-take the lead was capped off with Kelee Ringo 's iconic pick six that sealed the game and allowed in the words of Chris Fowler, for demons to be gone as Georgia finally conquered the Crimson Tide.
#2: 2022 Peach Bowl vs. Ohio State (42-41):How does a dramatic national championship win not result in the top spot? You know, just due to two of the best games of all time. These top two games should be no surprise, and the first one on our list was an offensive flurry as Stetson Bennett went toe to toe with CJ Stroud and the Ohio State Buckeyes on New Years Eve in Atlanta. UGA found themselves down 21-7 and later 38-24 before Arian Smith 's iconic 76 yard touchdown, Brock Bowers acrobatic 4thdown conversion, and the go-ahead touchdown to AD Mitchell gave them the lead with 54 seconds left. Ohio State was able to get down to the fringes of field goal range, however, Noah Ruggles shanked the kick at the stroke of midnight and UGA capped off the first few minutes of the new year with one of the most dramatic victories in recent memory. It would take even more drama to top that one…
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#1: 2017-18 Rose Bowl vs. Oklahoma (54-18):Georgia's Rose Bowl win against Oklahoma is our top game of the Kirby Smart era, with little surprise. In Georgia's first ever College Football Playoff game, Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield put his mark on the game as the Sooners raced out to a 31-14 lead just before half. However, a failed squib kick gave UGA prime territory to kick a field goal as time expired to cut the lead to 14, and UGA were able to hold the OU offense in check to tie the game at 31 and eventually take the lead on the backs of Nick Chubb, Sony Michel , and a Dominick Sanders interception. However, OU rallied back to re-take the lead on a fumble recovery touchdown, until Nick Chubb found the end zone with 55 seconds left. In overtime, Roquan Smith stonewalled the Sooners on third down and short, and both teams traded field goals. In the next overtime period, history was made as Lorenzo Carter blocked Oklahoma's kick and Sony Michel scored the game winning touchdown to give Georgia one of the greatest victories in program history .
