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We are now less than 10 days from the start of Georgia’s season. And the biggest game on Georgia’s schedule for this season is very likely the season-opener against Oregon.

The Ducks are the highest-ranked team on Georgia’s schedule, as the Ducks will start the season as the No. 11 team in the country. It will be a neutral-site game, though Georgia fans will be well represented in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Georgia is a heavy favorite in the opener against the Ducks, with some sportsbooks having Georgia as a 17.5-point favorite. But this is not a game Georgia can afford to play around in. The Ducks are still one of the more talented teams in the country, even with all the turnover in going from Mario Cristobal to Dan Lanning.

A loss in the opener could be damaging to Georgia’s playoff chances, largely because of what the Bulldogs would have to do the rest of the way. That is how ESPN’s Heather Dinich sees it, as she laid out a list of 20 College Football Playoff contenders.

“Yes, it can be overcome, and a one-loss SEC champ will finish in the top four,” Dinich wrote. “But ... Georgia would almost certainly have to win the SEC -- which it didn’t do last year. Without the Oregon win, Georgia’s nonconference résumé includes Samford, Kent State and Georgia Tech. It would need the SEC title to overcome that.”

Per ESPN’s metrics, Georgia still has an excellent chance of returning to the playoff. The Bulldogs have a 75.2 percent chance of making the playoff per ESPN’s Playoff Predictor, with only Ohio State and Alabama having a higher percentage to make the final four.

Only twice in the history of the College Football Playoff has the defending champion not made it back to the College Football Playoff the next season, with the 2015 Ohio State and 2020 LSU teams holding that distinction.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart has spent the offseason preaching to his team about some of those past teams that have not been able to sustain success after winning college football’s ultimate prize.

“We have a long way to go to get where we need to go, and that has nothing to do with Oregon, that has nothing to do with anybody we play, that has to do with the Georgia Bulldogs,” Smart said earlier in August. “We have to look ourselves in the eyes, as coaches, and figure out what guys we have to do the best and get them to go execute that at the best.”

The Bulldogs have now begun prepping for Oregon in earnest. The non-conference game is one of the most intriguing of the opening weekend, as it is one of three contests where both opponents are ranked.

Georgia has lost just one non-conference game under Smart, which came back in his first season against Georgia Tech. In the two seasons Georgia made the College Football Playoff, both featured signature non-conference wins away from Sanford Stadium. In 2017, Georgia went on the road and beat Notre Dame, while last season saw Georgia edge out Clemson in a matchup between top-5 teams.

Georgia football can make a bold statement against Oregon

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