Georgia came in at No. 3 in the CBS Sports way-too-early Top 25 for the 2026 college football season last month.  Georgia is set to open the 2026 season on Sept. 5 at home against Tennessee State. The top 25 matchups on Georgia’s schedule based on the CBS Sports way-too-early Top 25 are No. 10 Oklahoma at home on Sept. 26, at No. 15 Alabama on Oct. 10,  at No. 20 Ole Miss on Nov. 7, vs No. 17 Missouri on Nov. 14, and at No. 25 South Carolina on Nov. 21. This week CBS Sports selected the 26 most important games of the 2026 college football season. Georgia is involved in three of them.

At No. 19 is the Sept. 26 home game against Oklahoma.

Two touchdowns should be enough to win this one between the hedges, pitting two hard-hitting and technically-sound defenses. You’re not going to find two head coaches better at their crafts defensively matched up against one another next season. These two blue bloods haven’t played since Georgia’s overtime thriller against Baker Mayfield’s Sooners back in the 2017 Rose Bowl.

At No. 9 is Georgia’s Oct. 10 road matchup at Alabama.

As long as the Crimson Tide avoids being upset at home early or fails to escape a pair of SEC road games against programs that failed to reach bowl eligibility last fall, this one has all the trimmings of an expected top-10 matchup between unbeatens in Week 6. Georgia’s SEC Championship romp in December was only Kirby Smart’s second win in nine tries against Alabama, with five losses coming by a single possession.

At No. 4 is the Nov. 7 game at Ole Miss, which CBS Sports notes is the third-lowest-ranked game being played that day.

Go ahead and cancel all weekend plans on Nov. 7 next season. Three of college football’s most important games of the year with playoff implications will all be played that Saturday. The selection committee’s debut rankings are relatively meaningless, considering this slate is coming a few days after their reveal. This is where the end-of-season SEC hierarchy is established.

Georgia is coming off a 12-2 season, winning the SEC Championship for the second year in a row, and losing in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl for the second year in a row. The Bulldogs went 1-1 against the Rebels last season, winning the regular-season matchup at home and losing in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl.

Kirby Smart felt the difference in the outcome of the two games between Ole Miss and Georgia was Chambliss playing at an elite level.

“They ran the same plays, and they ran them well,” Smart said after the 34-39 loss in New Orleans. “There’s several plays where they’ve got the quarterback running around out there and he makes unbelievable plays. The play to [Kewan] Lacy on our sideline where we blitz a corner and he does a complete circle around [David] Lalaian, and then he hits a deep over on Ellis [Robinson IV] and scrambled. Their scrambles were explosive, and you think about Gunner’s [Stockton] scrambles that he had that were explosive. Both quarterbacks made some plays with their legs. A lot of credit to that kid and their offense.”

As far as starters departing, as of now, on offense, Georgia loses wide receivers Zachariah Branch, Dillon Bell, Colbie Young, and Noah Thomas, tight end Oscar Delp, offensive tackle Monroe Freeling, and offensive guard Micah Morris. On defense, they lose defensive tackle Christen Miller, linebacker CJ Allen, and cornerback Daylen Everette. Punter Brett Thorson has also exhausted his eligibility.

The Bulldogs return 17 starters this fall, adding three from other programs. On offense, Georgia returns quarterback Gunner Stockton, running back Nate Frazier, wide receiver Isiah Canion, tight end Lawson Luckie, offensive tackle Earnest Greene, center Drew Bobo, and right guard Dontrell Glover. On defense, Georgia returns defensive tackle Jordan Hall, defensive tackle Xzavier McLeod, defensive end Gabe Harris, outside linebacker Quintavius Johnson, linebacker Raylen Wilson, cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, safety Kyron Jones, safety Khalil Barnes, safety Ja’Marley Riddle, and safety KJ Bolden. Georgia also returns placekicker Peyton Woodring.