Greg McElroy: I think Georgia's schedule is absolutely brutal

The 2024 schedule reveal for SEC football has concluded, and it’s now known who’s playing who in the conference with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas. In the SEC, every game is a battle and should not be taken lightly. Still, with that being said, some opponents are undoubtedly more dangerous than others. So, which SEC team got stuck with the most difficult conference schedule in 2024? According to ESPN college football expert Greg McElroy, it is none other than the current back-to-back defending national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs.

“I’ll tell you what; I think Georgia’s schedule is absolutely brutal. You get five games away from home, similar to Oklahoma,” said McElroy. “But when you look at what they have, and granted, this is two years from now, so take it with a slight grain of salt. Their games played outside of Athens in 2022; they went a combined 40-25 [in 2022]. That includes an 11-2 Alabama, 8-5 Texas, 8-5 Ole Miss, 7-6 Kentucky, and then Florida being the one team that they play away from Athens that went under .500. And we all know what that rivalry is like and what might be here two years from now, as Billy Napier continues to hopefully get the Florida Gators back on track. I think this schedule is brutal, especially given what should be a relatively manageable 2023 campaign for the Dawgs.”

As McElroy highlighted, like the Oklahoma Sooners, Georgia will only play three conference games at home. One of the games counting as a home game for the Bulldogs will be their annual rivalry showdown against Florida that will take place in Jacksonville, FL. On top of that, all four of Georgia’s road games will be against opponents who qualified for a bowl game in the 2022 season.

As for Georgia’s home games in 2024, the Bulldogs will take on Auburn, Mississippi State, and arguably their biggest SEC east rival, the Tennessee Volunteers. Like Alabama, Tennessee finished the year 11-2 and just missed a berth in the College Football Playoff. Mississippi State finished 2022 with a 9-4 record and was third in the SEC West. Auburn, in comparison, was one of the worst teams in the conference last season, finishing the year 5-7, failing to qualify for a bowl game.

There is still a whole season, the 2023 season, that will be played before Georgia can start looking forward to their 2024 opponents. But as it currently stands, given the production of the Bulldogs’ opponent in 2022, McElroy believes they have the most brutal schedule for the 2024 season.