ATHENS — League contests at home against Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina and Kentucky -- as well as the program’s first-ever regular-season game against Notre Dame -- highlight the 2017 University of Georgia football schedule, released Tuesday night by the Southeastern Conference.
Georgia’s away game schedule — in addition to the Sept. 9 contest against the Fighting Irish — includes trips to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Auburn and Georgia Tech, as well as its annual neutral-field matchup with Florida in Jacksonville. Mississippi State will replace Ole Miss as UGA’s rotating Western Division opponent, marking the first game between these two programs since 2011.
The Bulldogs’ trip to Notre Dame will be the first of a home-and-home series between the two teams. They are scheduled to complete the series in Athens during the 2019 season. The only previous meeting between UGA and the Fighting Irish came on Jan. 1, 1981, when the Bulldogs defeated Notre Dame 17-10 to earn the consensus national championship.
Georgia will open its season by playing host to non-conference foe Appalachian State, whose only previous visit to Sanford Stadium came in 2013. The Bulldogs will also entertain Samford in the two teams’ first-ever matchup.
Georgia’s Nov. 4 home game against South Carolina — historically an early-season opponent for the Bulldogs — marks the first time since 1980 they’ve faced each other in the month of November.
The SEC office announced schedules for all 14 league teams Tuesday.
Following is the complete 2017 Georgia football schedule:
Sept. 2 APPALACHIAN STATE
Sept. 9 at Notre Dame
Sept. 16 SAMFORD
Sept. 23 MISSISSIPPI STATE
Sept. 30 at Tennessee
Oct. 7 at Vanderbilt
Oct. 14 MISSOURI
Oct. 28 Florida (Jacksonville)
Nov. 4 SOUTH CAROLINA
Nov. 11 at Auburn
Nov. 18 KENTUCKY
Nov. 25 at Georgia Tech
(Home games in CAPS)
