Georgia is 97-27-3 all-time in season openers. This will be the twentieth time the Bulldogs have faced a ranked team in the first game, and they are 9-9-1 in the first 19 matchups. The last time the Dawgs faced a ranked foe in the season opener was also the first game that Kirby Smart coached the Bulldogs. In 2016, the No. 18 Georgia team defeated the No. 22 ranked North Carolina team in Atlanta.

Some of the season openers were historic, such as the "Flea Flicker" game against Alabama in 1965 and Herschel Walker's debut, when he ran over Bill Bates in 1980. Here's a deeper look at Georgia head coaches and how they fared in season openers since 1939.

Here are a couple other quick facts that you may not have known about Georgia and season openers:

• Georgia's first season opener was in 1892, when it defeated Mercer 50-0. The game was January 30th, and the first time Georgia had a season opener in September was in 1911. In that game, Georgia defeated Locust Grove 101-0.

• While the Jim Donnan scoring margin mentioned above is impressive, former coach W.A. Cunningham was the best at it. His teams outscored their opponents 487-0 in the eight seasons from 1910 to 1919 combined! (They did not play in 1917-18 due to WWI.)

• Some former UGA players had big opnening games, especiually Robert Edwards, D.J. Shockley, and Todd Gurley. After playing cornerback his first two seasons, Edwards switched to running back, and in 1995 he torched the Gamecocks by rushing for 169 yards and four touchdowns, and had a receiving touchdown as well. Shockley was the backup to David Greene for three seasons, and got his chance to shine in 2005. Against No. 18 Boise State, Shockley threw for five touchdowns and added a running score as well in the win. In three season openers, Gurley rushed 35 times for 452 yards (12.9 average) and seven touchdown runs. He didn't stop there, as he also added two kickoff return touchdowns, too.

Two of those games with Gurley were against Clemson. Do you know where Clemson ranks in order of times Georgia has defeated an opponent? Surprisingly, it's pretty high, despite how often they play.

A few facts about the Georgia/Clemson rivalry:

• Georgia holds a 42-18-4 advantage over Clemson all-time, but once trailed in the series 7-3. Georgia has won 39 and tied four times, losing just 11 times in the last 54 meetings.

• Charlotte, North Carolina is the third different neutral site that these two teams have played. They previously played seven times in Augusta, Georgia from 1907 to 1913 and also played in Anderson, South Carolina in 1916.

• Georgia had a 10-game win streak against Clemson from 1920 to 1954. They are just one of six different opponents Georgia has had a ten-or-more win streak against (Mercer - 22, Ole Miss - 12, Kentucky - 11 and 10, Vanderbilt - 11, South Carolina - 10 [twice] and Clemson - 10).

• This is the 11th time Clemson has been Georgia's first opponent. In three of the previous ten matchups, the Bulldogs won the SEC (1946, 1982, 2002).

• Georgia and Clemson opened the 2003 season with the Bulldogs shutting out the Tigers, 30-0. It was the last time Clemson has been shut out.

Switching gears to some individual Dawgs, there has been a lot of hype about the two quarterbacks. JT Daniels and D.J. Uiagalelei have impressive credentials, with Daniels having a little more experience with his time spent at USC. Both played a decent amount last season, as you can tell by this graphic.

• As for Georgia's running game, the Bulldogs return a slew of talent. This group averaged over 174 yards a game and 4.6 yards an attempt last season. Zamir White had 11 touchdowns and had at least one in nine of ten games. James Cook was the only player in the SEC to have a 100-yard rushing game and a 100-yard receiving game last season. Kenny McIntosh also showed he can catch the ball, as he had the second most receptions in the bowl game against Cincinnati with five. Daijun Edwards had a 100-yard rushing game when he had 103 against Missouri. Kendall Milton showed some burst when he ran for at least ten yards in eight of his 35 attempts. How will will the Dawgs use their backs this season? Here is how their top five backs ran last season.

• Even with the current injury status, Georgia returns a bevy of talent. Such as 157 of the team's 178 team's receptions (88 percent) from last season are on this season's squad. George Pickens and Darnell Washington accounted for 43 of those 157 receptions. Many of the returning players had big games for the Dawgs last season. Four of the six highest yard-receiving games in the Kirby Smart era happened last season.

• The 197 yards receiving by Jermaine Burton was the fourth highest ever by a Bulldog in a single game. Several Dawgs had 40-yard catches in a game last season (Kearis Jackson and Burton led the team with three, Cook had two, Arian Smith, Pickens and Tre' McKitty each had one).

• The offensive line has a lot of four and five-star players on their roster, but not many have started. Georgia loses both Ben Cleveland and Trey Hill among others from the guys up front. Only six Bulldogs return with starting offensive line experience, and no one has more than 12 games starting experience.

Switching to defense, Georgia should be primed for another big season. Georgia held its opponent to ten points or fewer three times last season (including No. 7-ranked Auburn) and held its opponent to fewer than 300 total yards in six contests. Georgia's offense struggled against Alabama and Florida last season, as those teams were led by Heisman finalist quarterbacks. Overall, how did the defense rank, compared to other Kirby Smart Bulldog teams?

Last season, it was the fifth time the Bulldogs led the nation in rushing defense (1971, 1981, and 1985 were the other three not listed). The 723 total yards rushing allowed during the entire season was the second fewest in a season (the 1941 team allowed 596).

Georgia's defense had 36 sacks last season. Seven of the 11 players who registered at least one sack return to the 2021 team led by Adam Anderson's 6.5.

This can't be said about the team's interceptions. None of the team's nine interception makers from 2020 are on this season's squad. However, Latavious Brini and Lewis Cine had picks in 2019, and they're back. Also, transfers Derion Kendrick has three career interceptions and Tykee Smith has four.

On special teams, Georgia returns stars just like the rest of the positions. Jack Podlesny and Jake Camarda are among the nation's best. Podlesny became the fourth Bulldog in the last 25 seasons to have at least three field goals of at least 50 yards, with the 53-yarder with three seconds left in the Peach Bowl against Cincinnati being the biggest. It wasn't the 100,000-mile field goal that Kevin Butler booted against Clemson in 1984, but it did just fine. Speaking of 50 yards, Camarda had 17 of his 36 punts last season go for at least 50 yards (47 percent). The return games for the Dawgs are in very good hands with Kearis Jackson's 27.1 average kickoff return last season being ranked the top-10 highest in Bulldog history.