# 2020 Georgia Bulldogs football team

The 2020 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia and were led by fifth-year head coach Kirby Smart. For the first time since 2016, the Bulldogs did not win the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), finishing second behind rival Florida.

## Preseason
### SEC Media Days

In the preseason media poll, Georgia was predicted to finish in second in the East Division behind Florida. Georgia received the second-most votes (tied with LSU) to win the SEC Championship Game.

### Recruiting

Georgia's 2020 college football recruiting class was rated as the best in the country by Rivals.com, 247Sports, and On3. Highly-rated recruits included cornerback Kelee Ringo, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, offensive tackle Broderick Jones and Tate Ratledge, linebacker Mekhail Sherman, and tight end Darnell Washington.

## Schedule

Georgia announced its 2020 football schedule on August 7, 2019.
The Bulldogs had games scheduled against East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, Louisiana–Monroe and Virginia, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first season since 1924 that the Bulldogs did not play Georgia Tech.
Georgia played two additional SEC West opponents this season: Arkansas and Mississippi State. The game scheduled against SEC East opponent Vanderbilt was postponed and eventually canceled.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 26 | 4:00 p.m. | at Arkansas | No. 4 | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback StadiumFayetteville, AR | SECN | W 37–10 | 16,500 |
| October 3 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 7 Auburn | No. 4 | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (College GameDay / Deep South's Oldest Rivalry) | ESPN | W 27–6 | 20,524 |
| October 10 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 14 Tennessee | No. 3 | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (rivalry) | CBS | W 44–21 | 20,524 |
| October 17 | 8:00 p.m. | at No. 2 Alabama | No. 3 | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL (College GameDay / rivalry) | CBS | L 24–41 | 19,424 |
| October 31 | 12:00 p.m. | at Kentucky | No. 5 | Kroger FieldLexington, KY | SECN | W 14–3 | 12,000 |
| November 7 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. No. 8 Florida | No. 5 | TIAA Bank FieldJacksonville, FL (rivalry) | CBS | L 28–44 | 19,210 |
| November 21 | 7:30 p.m. | Mississippi State | No. 13 | Sanford StadiumAthens, Georgia | SECN | W 31–24 | 20,524 |
| November 28 | 7:30 p.m. | at South Carolina | No. 9 | Williams–Brice StadiumColumbia, SC (rivalry) | SECN | W 45–16 | 16,444 |
| December 12 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 25 Missouri | No. 9 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECN | W 49–14 | 10,830 |
| January 1 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. No. 8 Cincinnati* | No. 9 | Mercedes-Benz StadiumAtlanta, GA (Peach Bowl) | ESPN | W 24–21 | 15,301 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 4 | 4* | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 (1) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 7 |
| Coaches | 4 | 4* | 4 | 3T | 4 | 3T | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### At Arkansas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Bulldogs | 0 | 5 | 22 | 10 | 37 |
| Razorbacks | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas
* Date: Saturday, September 26, 2020
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 80 °F (27 °C) • Wind: S 11 mph
* Game attendance: 16,500
* TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), D. J. Shockley (analyst) and Tera Talmadge (sideline)
* Pregame line: Georgia −28 • Odds to win: Georgia 91.8%
| Statistics | UGA | ARK |
| First downs | 19 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 89–387 | 67–280 |
| Rushes–yards | 42–121 | 28–77 |
| Passing yards | 266 | 203 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 28–47–1 | 20–39–3 |
| Time of possession | 35:46 | 24:14 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia | Passing | Stetson Bennett | 20/29, 211 yards, 2 TD |
| Georgia | Rushing | Zamir White | 13 carries, 71 yards, 1 TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | Kearis Jackson | 6 receptions, 62 yards |
| Arkansas | Passing | Feleipe Franks | 19/36, 200 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Arkansas | Rushing | Trelon Smith | 6 carries, 38 yards |
| Arkansas | Receiving | Treylon Burks | 7 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD |

### No. 7 Auburn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 7 Tigers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| No. 4 Bulldogs | 10 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
at Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia
* Date: Saturday, October 3, 2020
* Game time: 6:38 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Fair • Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: 5 mph E
* Game attendance: 20,524
* Referee: James Carter
* TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Allison Williams (sideline reporter)
* Pregame line: Georgia −7.5 • Odds to win: Georgia 57.3%
| Statistics | AUB | UGA |
| First downs | 15 | 25 |
| Plays–yards | 63–216 | 73–442 |
| Rushes–yards | 22–39 | 45–202 |
| Passing yards | 177 | 240 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 21–41–1 | 17–28–0 |
| Time of possession | 25:56 | 34:04 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Auburn | Passing | Bo Nix | 21/41, 177 yds, 1 INT |
| Auburn | Rushing | Tank Bigsby | 8 carries, 31 yds |
| Auburn | Receiving | Anthony Schwartz | 8 receptions, 57 yds |
| Georgia | Passing | Stetson Bennett | 17/28, 240 yds, 1 TD |
| Georgia | Rushing | Zamir White | 19 carries, 88 yds, 2 TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | Kearis Jackson | 9 receptions, 147 yds |

### No. 14 Tennessee

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Volunteers | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| No. 3 Bulldogs | 7 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 44 |
at Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia
* Date: Saturday, October 10, 2020
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 79 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 20,524
* Referee: David Smith
* TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), and Dawn Davenport (sidelines)
| Statistics | TENN | UGA |
| First downs | 13 | 24 |
| Plays–yards | 63-214 | 77-431 |
| Rushes–yards | 27-(-1) | 50-193 |
| Passing yards | 215 | 238 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 23-36-1 | 16-27-0 |
| Time of possession | 23:22 | 26:38 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tennessee | Passing | Jarrett Guarantano | 23/36, 215 yds, 1 INT |
| Tennessee | Rushing | Eric Gray | 8 carries, 25 yds |
| Tennessee | Receiving | Joshua Palmer | 4 receptions, 71 yds |
| Georgia | Passing | Stetson Bennett | 16/278, 238 yds, 2 TD |
| Georgia | Rushing | Kendall Milton | 8 carries, 56 yds |
| Georgia | Receiving | Kearis Jackson | 4 receptions, 91 yds, 1 TD |

### At No. 2 Alabama

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Bulldogs | 7 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| No. 2 Crimson Tide | 7 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 41 |
at Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama
* Date: Saturday, October 17, 2020
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear skies • Temperature: 61 °F (16 °C) • Wind: ESE 4 mph
* Game attendance: 19,424
* Referee: Ken Williamson
* TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color) and Jamie Erdahl (sideline)
| Statistics | UGA | ALA |
| First downs | 20 | 33 |
| Plays–yards | 48-414 | 67-564 |
| Rushes–yards | 30-145 | 43-147 |
| Passing yards | 269 | 417 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18-40-3 | 24-33-1 |
| Time of possession | 26:01 | 33:59 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia | Passing | Stetson Bennett | 18/40, 269 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT |
| Georgia | Rushing | Zamir White | 10 carries, 57 yds, 1 TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | James Cook | 4 receptions, 101 yds, 1 TD |
| Alabama | Passing | Mac Jones | 24-32, 417 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT |
| Alabama | Rushing | Najee Harris | 31 carries, 152 yds, 1 TD |
| Alabama | Receiving | DeVonta Smith | 11 receptions, 167 yds, 2 TD |

### At Kentucky

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
at Kroger Field • Lexington, Kentucky
* Date: Saturday, October 31, 2020
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Mostly Sunny • Temperature: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind: 5 SE mph
* Game attendance: 12,000
* Referee: Matt Loeffler
* TV announcers (SECN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst) and Cole Cubelic (sideline)
| Statistics | UGA | UK |
| First downs | 20 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 58-346 | 65-229 |
| Rushes–yards | 43-215 | 39-138 |
| Passing yards | 131 | 91 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 9-14-2 | 15-25-0 |
| Time of possession | 25:00 | 35:00 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia | Passing | Stetson Bennett | 9/13, 131 yds, 2 INT |
| Georgia | Rushing | Zamir White | 26 carries, 136 yds, 1 TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | James Cook | 4 receptions, 62 yds, |
| Kentucky | Passing | Joey Gatewood | 15-25, 91 yds |
| Kentucky | Rushing | Chris Rodriguez | 20 carries, 108 yds |
| Kentucky | Receiving | Josh Ali | 5 receptions, 35 yds |

### Vs. No. 8 Florida

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Florida | 14 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 44 |
| No. 5 Georgia | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
at TIAA Bank Field • Jacksonville, FL
* Date: November 7, 2020
* Game time: 3:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: ENE at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
* Game attendance: 19,210
* Referee: James Carter
* TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, Jamie Erdahl
* Boxscore
| Statistics | UGA | FLA |
| First downs | 12 | 29 |
| Plays–yards | 58-277 | 80-577 |
| Rushes–yards | 29-165 | 37-97 |
| Passing yards | 112 | 474 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 9-29-3 | 30-42-1 |
| Time of possession | 22:34 | 37:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia | Passing | Stetson Bennett | 5/16, 78 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Georgia | Rushing | Zamir White | 7 carries, 107 yds, 1 TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | Kearis Jackson | 3 receptions, 48 yds, 1 TD |
| Florida | Passing | Kyle Trask | 30-43, 474 yds, 4 TDs, 1 INT |
| Florida | Rushing | Dameon Pierce | 15 carries, 52 yds, 1 TD |
| Florida | Receiving | Malik Davis | 5 receptions, 100 yds, 1 TD |

### Mississippi State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| No. 13 Bulldogs | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
Statistics
| Statistics | MSST | UGA |
| First downs | 20 | 18 |
| Total yards | 358 | 409 |
| Rushing yards | 22 | 8 |
| Passing yards | 336 | 401 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 32:07 | 27:53 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Mississippi State | Passing | Will Rogers | 41–52, 336 yards, TD |
| Mississippi State | Rushing | Dillon Johnson | 8 rushes, 19 yards, 2 TD |
| Mississippi State | Receiving | Jaden Walley | 7 receptions, 115 yards, TD |
| Georgia | Passing | JT Daniels | 28–38, 401 yards, 4 TD |
| Georgia | Rushing | Zamir White | 11 rushes, 21 yards |
| Georgia | Receiving | Jermaine Burton | 8 receptions, 197 yards, 2 TD |

### At South Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Bulldogs | 21 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 45 |
| Gamecocks | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
at Williams–Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC
* Date: November 28, 2020
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: • Temperature:
* Game attendance: 16,444
* TV: SECN
* Pregame line:
| Statistics | UGA | SC |
| First downs | 24 | 16 |
| Total yards | 471 | 273 |
| Rushes/yards | 46/332 | 43/83 |
| Passing yards | 139 | 190 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 10-16-1 | 18-22-1 |
| Time of possession | 31:09 | 28:51 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia | Passing | JT Daniels | 10-16, 139 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Georgia | Rushing | James Cook | 6 carries, 104 yards, 2 TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | Tre' McKitty | 2 receptions, 46 yards, 1 TD |
| South Carolina | Passing | Luke Doty | 18-22, 190 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| South Carolina | Rushing | Kevin Harris | 17 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD |
| South Carolina | Receiving | Nick Muse | 8 receptions, 131 yards, 1 TD |

### At No. 25 Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Georgia | 14 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 49 |
| No. 25 Missouri | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Vs. No. 8 Cincinnati

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UGA -7 | 50.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Bulldogs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
| No. 8 Bearcats | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia
* Date: Friday, January 1, 2021
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C) • Stadium Roof Closed
* Referee: Jeff Flanagan (ACC)
* TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), and Kris Budden (sideline)
* ESPN game summary
| Statistics | UGA | CIN |
| First downs | 19 | 16 |
| Plays–yards | 63–449 | 64–305 |
| Rushes–yards | 24–45 | 27–99 |
| Passing yards | 404 | 206 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 27–39–1 | 24–37–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:36 | 31:24 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Georgia | Passing | JT Daniels | 26/38, 392 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Georgia | Rushing | Zamir White | 11 carries, 41 yards, 1 TD |
| Georgia | Receiving | George Pickens | 7 receptions, 135 yards, 1 TD |
| Cincinnati | Passing | Desmond Ridder | 24/37, 206 yards, 2 TD |
| Cincinnati | Rushing | Jerome Ford | 8 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD |
| Cincinnati | Receiving | Michael Young Jr. | 4 receptions, 59 yards |

## Players drafted into the NFL

Georgia had nine players selected in the 2021 NFL draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 1 | 29 | Eric Stokes | CB | Green Bay Packers |
| 2 | 33 | Tyson Campbell | CB | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 2 | 50 | Azeez Ojulari | OLB | New York Giants |
| 3 | 92 | Monty Rice | ILB | Tennessee Titans |
| 3 | 94 | Ben Cleveland | OG | Baltimore Ravens |
| 3 | 97 | Tre' McKitty | TE | Los Angeles Chargers |
| 5 | 169 | Richard LeCounte | S | Cleveland Browns |
| 6 | 190 | Trey Hill | C | Cincinnati Bengals |

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Consecutive season at Georgia in current position |
| Kirby Smart | Head coach | 5th |
| Todd Monken | Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach | 1st |
| Matt Luke | Associate head coach / Offensive line coach | 1st |
| Scott Cochran | Special teams coordinator | 1st |
| Dan Lanning | Defensive coordinator/Outside linebackers coach | 2nd |
| Glenn Schumann | Co-defensive coordinator/Inside linebackers coach | 2nd |
| Cortez Hankton | Pass Game coordinator/Wide receivers coach | 3rd |
| Dell McGee | Run Game coordinator/Running backs coach | 2nd |
| Todd Hartley | Tight ends coach | 2nd |
| Tray Scott | Defensive line coach | 4th |
| Reference: |||