ATHENS – Georgia football fans will look to flood another away stadium when the DawgNation Invasion tailgate infiltrates Knoxville, this time by water.
The DawgNation Riverboat Cruise is a three-hour “sailgate” on the Tennessee River with food, drinks and entertainment before Georgia faces Tennessee on Nov. 18. The Bulldogs have all the momentum in the rivalry, having won 11 of the last 13 matchups.
Georgia fans have raised eyebrows across the country with stadium takeovers before. “DawgNation Invasion” tailgates have served as pregame rituals for some of the most eye-popping away game turnouts of the Kirby Smart era.
Bulldog fans likely won’t cover Neyland Stadium in red and black like they have in some arenas. Their cheers will ring louder than the rest of Rocky Top by the fourth quarter, though, if the result resembles Smart’s first three games in Knoxville.
The Bulldogs are 3-0 at Tennessee under Smart and 6-1 against the Volunteers overall.
Some of the most memorable away games of Smart’s tenure at Georgia are not simply significant for the score, but the way DawgNation’s presence overwhelmed a neutral or hostile environment. Here’s a look at the top five DawgNation Invasions over the past seven years.
#5 Georgia-Florida, 2017
TIAA Bank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida
Georgia rolled into Jacksonville with plenty to prove despite a clear advantage over Florida in 2017. The No. 3-ranked Bulldogs were 7-0 with four dominant SEC wins while the Gators were 3-3 riding a two-game losing streak.
Doubt still surrounded the Bulldogs, namely freshman quarterback Jake Fromm. Fromm was called out earlier in the week by a Florida defender for the ease and simplicity of his job compared to the average quarterback.
Georgia had also lost three straight in Jacksonville, all by double digits.
That’s what made the Bulldogs’ dominant 42-7 beatdown of the Gators so signficant. Georgia scored early and often, leaning on a run game that churned out 292 yards on 35 attempts.
Safety JR Reed sent the already scattered Florida crowd packing with a 3-yard scoop-and-score. The red half of TIAA Bank Stadium roared, celebrating a 35-0 third quarter lead as Gator fans filed out of the stadium.
Florida fans were certainly few and far between by the time the Gators scored their first and only touchdown with less than three minutes remaining.
#4 Georgia-Clemson, 2021
Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina
Georgia and Clemson both started the 2021 season as top-five teams but ended the night on two very different trajectories.
The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs were coming off a frustrating 2020 season that seemingly produced nothing but questions at the quarterback position.
Georgia didn’t calm any offensive concerns with the 10-3 win over the No. 3-ranked Tigers, but a show-stopping night from its defense solidified an identity that led the team to a national championship.
Bulldog fans roared as the defense sacked Clemson seven times and surrendered just 180 total yards. Safety Christopher Smith’s 74-yard pick six scored Georgia’s first points of the season as the Bulldog faithful erupted in Charlotte.
UGA is 35-1 since beating Clemson. The Tigers, who had won two of the last five national championships entering the 2021 season, are 25-8 since the loss.
#3 Georgia-Auburn, 2017
Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia fans had plenty of reason to watch the 2017 SEC Championship Game from home despite an 11-1 record and the No. 6 ranking.
Sure, the Bulldogs were headed to their first conference title game in five years with a shot at the program’s first College Football Playoff berth. In its way stood Auburn, though, which had just beat Georgia 40-17 three weeks prior to strip its No. 1 ranking.
The Tigers were also fresh off an upset of then-top-ranked Alabama to put themselves in playoff contention.
Georgia fans showed up in force despite the doubt and enjoyed a 28-7 win, the school’s first SEC title since 2005. Quarterback Jake Fromm led the offense with 183 yards and two touchdowns on 22 completions.
The esteemed defensive front forced two key fumbles and blocked a field goal as Georgia fans booked tickets to the College Football Playoff.
#2 Georgia-Oregon, 2022
Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia was favored in its Week 1 matchup against Oregon, but the domination that ensued still shattered the 17-point spread.
Sprinkles of green and yellow were drowned out by a wave of red and black in Atlanta as the No. 3-ranked Bulldogs hammered the No. 11-ranked Ducks, 49-3.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett’s decision to return after Georgia’s first national championship was not welcomed by the entire fanbase. Bennett quickly showed the country he was ready to lead the Bulldogs back into championship contention, finishing 25-of-31 passing with 368 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Georgia also intercepted fourth-year quarterback Bo Nix twice and surrendered 313 total yards in the win.
The sparse Oregon crowd only thinned throughout the game as UGA sent a resounding message to the rest of the country.
#1 Georgia-Notre Dame, 2017
Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana
As impressive as Georgia’s 20-19 win over Notre Dame was in 2017, it was DawgNation’s invasion of South Bend that made the night momentous.
Roughly half of the historic Notre Dame Stadium was covered in red and black as the No. 15-ranked Bulldogs gutted out a win in a primetime NBC slot.
It was also the first start for Jake Fromm, who threw for 141 yards and a score while the Bulldogs run game added 185 yards of their own.
UGA fans fully made their presence known entering the fourth quarter. Georgia’s Redcoat Band blasted “Kypton Fanfare” and the massive Bulldog crowd lifted flashlights, lighting up half of South Bend’s renowned stadium.
Those same fans continued to roar into the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs kicked a go-ahead field goal at the 3:34 mark and sealed the win with a strip sack a couple drives later.
Georgia will aim for its fourth-straight win at Tennessee on Nov. 18 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.
DawgNation also plans to conquer international waters in April. The four-night Cruise with DawgNation upon Royal Carribbean’s Independence of the Seas will make stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, Bahamas while enjoying an NFL Draft watch party, Georgia football trivia and more.
