ATHENS — Georgia has one game scheduled in Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season but could end up playing at least four times there before the CFP Championship Game trophy is hoisted into the air.
The new 12-team College Football Playoff has much to do with what would be a scheduling anomaly, as no post-BCS Era team (1998-) has played four games — including a national title matchup — at the same neutral site in one season.
The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs open the regular season at noon next Saturday against No. 14 Clemson in a much-anticipated contest at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But if the seedings were to fall just right, there’s a chance Georgia could play in the state-of-the-art Atlanta facility three or more times this season.
Look Ahead
The Bulldogs have appeared in five of the past six SEC Championship Games, and this year’s league title tilt will once again be played in Atlanta on Dec. 7.
The CFP begins with teams seeded 5-12 playing at the highest-seeded team’s home field before the quarterfinals take place at four pre-determined sites.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of those CFP quarterfinal sites, with the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl scheduled to host a playoff game featuring two of the final eight teams at 1 p.m. on Jan. 1.
The final trip this season that every Georgia football fan hopes for could be the CFP Championship Game, which takes place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 20.
Looking Back
The Bulldogs have played in a CFP Championship Game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium before — a 26-23 overtime loss to Alabama that still triggers pangs of hurt in Georgia fans.
That loss, along with three other defeats to the Tide in that building in SEC title game matchups, has left some UGA fans with a Mercedes-Benz Stadium hangover.
This, even though Smart is 5-5 in one of the most beautiful and well-equipped professional stadiums in the world.
A panel of writers from The Athletic recently ranked Mercedes-Benz Stadium eighth among NFL venues, and Georgia has won two of its past three contests there and four of six since the 2020 season.
But the most recent trip there, in December, was a 27-24 loss to Alabama in last season’s SEC Championship Game.
Come next Saturday, it will be familiar old rival in Clemson across the sideline in Atlanta’s retractable-roof stadium.
The Bulldogs beat the Tigers the most recent time the teams met in 2021, scoring a defensive touchdown in a classic 10-3 neutral site showdown in Charlotte, N.C.. It was a win that spring-boarded Smart’s program to the first of two consecutive national championships.
History In The Making
Part of the allure of this season’s Georgia-Clemson opener is the two programs have combined to win four of the past eight national championships.
The SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season will carry great historical significance, too, as it’s the first since the league moved away from the traditional divisional setup that had been in place since 1992.
The top two teams in the newly expanded 16-team SEC will meet to decided which team gets a valuable first-round bye in the CFP.
RELATED: SEC announces official tiebreaker rules, complexity abound
The playoffs, themselves will be unique, to the extent there’s technically an extremely remote chance UGA could end up playing five games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in one season.
Scenarios
The very unlikely scenario of Georgia playing five times in Mercedes-Benz Stadium would involve a UGA opponent choosing to designate Mercedes-Benz Stadium as their “home” venue for an opening round playoff game in the matchups involving the 5-12, 6-11, 7-10 and 8-9 seeds, in which the higher seed hosts the game.
A quarterfinal matchup in Mercedes-Benz is much, much more likely for Georgia, as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (1 p.m., Jan. 1) represents one of four designated venues.
The semifinal games (Final Four) of the CFP are the Orange Bowl (Jan. 9, Fort Lauderdale) and the Cotton Bowl (Jan. 10, Arlington).
Here’s a look at how Georgia has fared in Mercedes-Benz Stadium (opened in 2017), and the league title games and playoff game times, dates and venues.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Kirby Era
(Georgia is 5-5)
2023
Alabama 27, Georgia 24, SEC Championship Game
2022
Georgia 42, Ohio State 41, Peach Bowl CFP Semifinal
Georgia 50, LSU 30, SEC Championship Game
Georgia 49, Oregon 3, season-opener
2021
Alabama 41, Georgia 24, SEC Championship Game
2020
Georgia 24, Cincinnati 21, Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
2019
LSU 37,Georgia 10, SEC Championship Game
2018
Alabama 35, Georgia 28, SEC Championship Game
2017
Alabama 26, Georgia 23 (OT), CFP Championship Game
Georgia 28, Auburn 7, SEC Championship Game
College Football Postseason Schedule
The SEC Championship Game
4 p.m., Dec. 7, Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium
The Big 12 Championship Game
Time TBD, Dec. 7, Arlington, AT&T Stadium
The Big Ten Championship Game
8 p.m. Dec. 7, Indianapolis, Lucas-Oil Stadium
The ACC Championship Game
8 p.m. Dec. 7, Charlotte, Bank of America Stadium
CFP First-rounds games
(teams designate home stadiums, TBD)
8 p.m., Dec. 20, Location TBD
Noon, Dec. 21, Location TBD
4 p.m., Dec. 21, Location TBD
8 p.m. Dec. 21, Location TBD
CFP Quarterfinals
7:30 p.m., Dec. 31, Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Az., State Farm Stadium
1 p.m., Jan. 1, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium
5 p.m., Jan. 1, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Rose Bowl Stadium
8:45 p.m., Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, Caesars Superdome
CFP Semifinals
7:30 p.m., Jan. 9, Orange Bowl, Fort Lauderdale, Hard Rock Stadium
7:30 p..m., Jan. 10 Cotton Bowl, Arlington, AT&T Stadium
CFP Championship Game
7:30 p.m., Jan. 20, CFP Championship Game, Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium
