Georgia learned its 2024 SEC opponents this week, as the league announced conference foes for the year Texas and Oklahoma officially join the league.

The Bulldogs will face eight SEC foes, with the league hoping to ultimately expand to a nine-game schedule.

Georgia football 2024 SEC opponents

  • at Alabama
  • at Texas
  • at Ole Miss
  • at Kentucky
  • Florida -- in Jacksonville, Fla.,
  • Auburn -- in Athens, Ga.
  • Tennessee -- in Athens, Ga.
  • Mississippi State --in Athens, Ga.

The new schedule certainly produces some exciting matchups — to Texas and Alabama in particular — but there are a few matchups still out there that would be pretty exciting for Georgia fans.

Georgia vs. LSU -- Athens, Ga.,

You could make the case for either venue really. The 2018 loss in Tiger Stadium was one of the worst of Smart’s tenure, with the Bulldogs losing 36-16 to Ed Orgeron and the Tigers.

But the reason this game is in Athens is because the last time LSU came to visit Sanford Stadium was back in 2013. That game, a 44-41 thriller, is on the shortlist for best Georgia home games of the 2010s. Only the 2022 Tennessee game tops it from an atmosphere standpoint since Smart took over.

These two teams met in last year’s SEC championship, with Georgia winning 50-30. Some think there’s a good chance we see LSU and Georgia once again in Atlanta at the end of the 2023 season. If that comes to pass, that should make the inevitable meeting between these two foes all the more exciting.

Georgia at Oklahoma -- Norman, Okla.

You could make the case that Texas and Oklahoma both have to come to Athens and you’d be right.

But this game was supposed to happen in 2023, only for it to get taken away by the SEC. The return trip was set for 2031, well after the Sooners were set to join the league. Instead of Oklahoma, Georgia will play Ball State this season.

Georgia and Oklahoma last met in the 2018 Rose Bowl, producing one of the best games of the 21st century. There are clearly a few Oklahoma fans, Baker Mayfield most prominently, who haven’t forgotten how that game ended.

It would sure send a message as well to Texas and Oklahoma if both schools suffered early home defeats to Georgia.

Georgia at South Carolina -- Columbia, S.C.

This matchup could go either way. The last Georgia night game came against South Carolina in September of 2021. Last year’s game was a mauling, with Georgia winning 48-7.

Still, Shane Beamer seems to be building a promising program. There’s also significant crossover between the two programs, with Georgia assistants Mike Bobo, Will Muschamp and Bryan McClendon all coaching for South Carolina in the past decade. Beamer meanwhile was on Smart’s initial staff as tight ends coach.

In the event the SEC does go to a nine-game schedule, it seems like Kentucky will be the third permanent opponent instead of the Gamecocks. We wouldn’t exactly call Georgia-South Carolina a rivalry on the same level as Georgia-Auburn, but this is still a game that has had some meaning over the past decade-plus.

At least South Carolina has beaten Georgia since Smart became the head coach, something Kentucky has not yet done.

Georgia vs. Texas A&M -- Athens, Ga.

You probably think is a typo. It is not.

Even after joining the league in 2012, Georgia has still not visited Texas A&M. That will not change in 2024, with the Aggies drawing neither Georgia nor Alabama.

At this point, we hope the SEC continues to put off the long, overdue trip for Georgia to College Station, Texas.

Georgia will be playing Texas in Austin before it visits Jimbo Fisher and company. The only way this situation gets funnier is if Texas A&M were to have to come to Athens and Sanford Stadium again before Georgia plays at Kyle Field.

The Bulldogs beat Texas A&M the one time they have met as conference opponents, with Georgia winning 19-13 during the 2019 season.

More Georgia football stories from around DawgNation