Mansell: Game-by-game predictions for Georgia in 2024

The calendar has turned to August and Georgia will begin preseason practice on Thursday. The Bulldogs are likely to be ranked No. 1 in the land but they have challenging schedule ahead. Below I take a look at that schedule and predict each game.

Aug 31 – Georgia vs. Clemson (Atlanta)

Not much needs to be said about an opening game like this one. Georgia opened up the season in Charlotte in 2021 and defeated the Tigers 10-3 in a defensive struggle. This game will not play out like that one. Georgia is close to a two-touchdown favorite as August opens up. It is a huge game for a lot of reasons, but I love this match up for the Bulldogs, especially up front and bringing back Carson Beck . Georgia needs to win more in that building, and they need to win several games in that building if they want to be National Champions again. Georgia gets it done and starts out with a strong message for the rest of the teams on its schedule. I like this even more if Trevor Etienne plays. That question has not been answered as I write this piece. Score: Georgia 31 – Clemson 13

Sept 7 – UGA hosts Tennessee Tech

It is going to be a blazing-hot kickoff in early September. Georgia is the much better team and I wonder how far the starters go in this one coming off a big opening weekend and going to Kentucky the following week. Look for many young faces and this should be a good opportunity to see other quarterbacks get multiple reps. Score: Georgia 48 – Tennessee Tech 7

Sept 14 – Georgia t Kentucky

Georgia starts out SEC play on the road, at night, in Lexington. They will most likely face face a few former UGA players including projected starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff and former captain Jamon Dumas-Johnson , both of whom transferred to Kentucky during the offseason. This one could be interesting. Georgia is the better team, road, night games in the SEC tend to produce a tight games. Look for the defense to take a step forward and I think Jalon Walker is the name, along with Damon Wilson , that fans around the country start to learn about. This is also a game that the offensive line can flex with a very talented defensive line in Lexington, especially with Deone Walker , a likely first-round draft pick. Score: Georgia 38 – Kentucky 16

Sept 28 – UGA at Alabama

My goodness at the potential storylines the storylines surrounding this game in Tuscaloosa. It’s another huge match up of the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide. This one is different however, because it will be Kalen Deboer ’s first SEC game and it comes against Georgia and Kirby Smart . Nick Saban is gone from the sidelines, but that roster is still an elite one DeBoer still has a quarterback, Jalen Milroe , who beat Georgia in the SEC championship last year. Milroe made some off-season comments about UGA that I am sure that will be played around the Butts-Mehre that week.

I expect this game to be as good as advertised, but when I really dug into the game and the new young secondary that Alabama will likely trot out that game, I trust Beck more here, especially late in the game. He has played in Knoxville and at Auburn, so the atmosphere should not be to much for him to handle. I think Georgia finally wins a close one against the Crimson Tide and it very well could come down to getting Milroe to the ground on big plays. He hurt them with his feet last year. I expect Georgia to come after him this time and play more like Michigan did. They only converted three third downs in the SEC Championship game vs. UGA, but he picked up some chunk plays when he left the pocket in other situations. Georgia only rushed for 78 yards in the 27-24 loss. It will have to be better. Score: Georgia 28 – Alabama 24

October 5 – Georgia hosts Auburn

Strange to say that Georgia plays Alabama and Auburn in back-to-back weeks but that is reality. Hugh Freeze will bring his team to Athens and this could end up being the first Sanford Stadium night game of the season. This was a tight game on The Plains last year with a late touchdown from Beck to B rock Bowers putting it away. The game was tied up 17-17 in the fourth quarter, but that was on the road. Auburn is recruiting well, but they are not built up front to come into Athens and knock off the Bulldogs. I wonder where Beck will be in the Heisman Trophy conversation after this game. Clemson, Alabama, Kentucky and Auburn will be a great sample size and he plays well, he will have some good momentum heading into October. Something tells me Dillon Bell is important to Georgia by this time and Beck is playing up to the hype. Score: Georgia 37 – Auburn 1 7

October 12 – UGA hosts Mississippi State

Another SEC home game with the Bulldogs from Starkville coming to town. It is hard to really break them down with a new coaching staff and new offense. Jeff Lebby will likely implement the running game more, but that will be easier said than done against Georgia. This might be the SEC home game where the Bulldogs from Athens flex their muscle. The last few years they have had a few of these and I expect UGA to roll in this one. Score: Georgia 48 – Mississippi State 10

October 19 – Georgia at Texas

This game, along with Alabama, is one of the most-circled on Georgia fans’ schedules. I am told that Texas only gave UGA 7,000 tickets and only 2,000 of those are in the lower level. Expect the same treatment when the Longhorns come to town in 2025. Make no mistake about it, ticket allotment aside, this is a very dangerous Texas team with a lot of talent and a great quarterback in Quinn Ewers . The Longhorns will face Oklahoma the week before and that’s a pretty heavy footnote. I can not even begin to imagine the hype surrounding this game in the lead up, especially if both are undefeated at the time. Going undefeated is hard. Going on the road in the SEC also hard. Georgia is built to win games like this but something tells me this is the game is one where they don’t get the breaks. I expect a classic. This very well could be the first of two games between these two in 2024. Look for Texas to make more plays late to seal this one. Score: Texas 38 – Georgia 35

Nov 2 – UGA vs. Florida (Jacksonville)

Catching the Bulldogs coming off a loss is not ideal, especially when they have had a week to stew over things and lick their wounds. Georgia has owned this series lately, winning six of the last seven games. UGA has really controlled the last three.  Beck going home to Jacksonville for the second and last time in college and should be a great opportunity for him and his Heisman candidacy. I see nothing as of now that tells me this is a game that will not go the Bulldogs way again. You would think Eteinne will have a big role in the game plan and you know he wants to have a big game against his former team. I think he does. Score: Georgia 42 – Florida 13

Nov 9 – Georgia at Ole Miss

Georgia absolutely embarrassed the Rebels in Athens last year. Ole Miss had no answers and Lane Kiffin openly admitted in the offseason that he had to make a change in his roster if he wants to compete with a team like Georgia. He brought some big-time transfers and got their quarterback, Jaxson Dart , to stick around for one more year. Ole Miss brought in Juice Wells from South Carolina at wide receiver and former five-star defensive lineman Walter Nolen to help. I do think they are a much better team, but this is a battled tested UGA team at this point in the season. Look for a four-quarter game, but I like Georgia and maybe Malaki Starks with pick-six late to seal it for the Bulldogs. Again it comes down to trusting Beck more than Dart in a close game. Score: Georgia 30 – Ole Miss 24

Nov 16 – UGA hosts Tennessee

Last year I was all over the Vols. I thought the game in Knoxville would be as tough as it gets. It was late in the yea and I thought it was going to be wild crowd and it was. I told everyone in every interview last year, you better circle that trip to Knoxville because it will be a tough one. I was right for one play then the Bulldogs calmly went about business and taught me another lesson about his team and this roster. It starts up front on both sides of the ball and Georgia is still much better than Tennessee on both sides. I love the upside of the Vols’ new quarterback. I think he is the real deal before his career is over. I just can not see them coming into Athens and making enough plays to beat a much bigger team in Georgia. Tennessee is recruiting more size and trying to get much more athletic on defense, it just won’t be enough on this trip. Score: Georgia 41 – Tennessee 21

Nov 23- Georgia hosts UMass

No offense to UMass and the program, but Georgia will welcome them to town and be very happy about it. After a very tough SEC schedule, this game will be much-needed to play some younger players and most likely get some other players a rest. If Beck is indeed in the Heisman talk, he will need to get some quality reps early on. Then I would imagine that we get another look at Gunner Stockton, Jaden Rashada, and maybe Ryan Puglisi under center on Senior Day. Score: Georgia 52 – UMass

Nov 29 – UGA at Georgia Tech

A very rare Friday night game between the hedges and it will happen against Georgia Tech. This game was interesting as late as the early 4th quarter last year. Brent Key ‘s team brought the juice. Haynes King had a big first year on The Flats for the Jackets. Look for a focused team in Athens and this Georgia team should really get rolling in the second quarter. I would imagine this will be a rowdy crowd with a lot of people treating it like a special occasion. I expect Sanford Stadium to be rocking for this one. Score: Georgia 48 – Tech 16

*** SEC Championship Prediction: Georgia vs. Texas

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