ATLANTA–You have to love college football.
It's the only American sports pastime that can get away with hyping a game four years from now ... even though the vast majority of current Dawgs and Ducks won't be on the roster come then.
On Tuesday, UGA and Oregon offered a joint media announcement about the 2022 clash, as part of that year's Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
There were whispers of the powerhouse programs doing a home-and-home series in the near future, but the logistics of this plan might have been difficult to execute.
As a wonderful consolation, though, Bulldog Nation won't have to travel very far to see UGA in its home away from home, MBS Stadium.
Sept. 3, 2022 (Saturday) will be the official date; and like many things in modern college football, kickoff times and participating TV networks will be determined sometime in the future.
"We're thrilled to be able to bring together two historic programs for the first time in more than four decades," said Bob Somers, Peach Bowl, Inc. chairman. "The Ducks and Bulldogs will be the focal point of unrivaled opening weekend celebration in the capital of college football."
For those with long memories, Oregon last traveled to Athens in 1977 and incurred a season-opening defeat of 27-16.
And for those with really long memories, Oregon hasn't played a football game within Georgia state lines since that 1977 meeting.
To be blunt, the Ducks weren't very good in the 1970s–never collecting more than four seasonal wins from 1972-78–so that 41-year-old matchup barely registered a blip on the national radar.
Things could be drastically different for the 2022 matchup. Who knows, both programs could easily be ranked in the top 10 then.
"When you think about major season-opening kickoff games with the opportunity for huge College Football Playoff implications, this is the type of matchup you dream about," Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan said. "Both Kirby Smart and Mario Cristobal should be recognized for their willingness to have their teams compete at the highest level in a game like this."
“We’d also like to thank athletic directors Greg McGarity and Rob Mullens for their aggressive stance on scheduling,” Stokan added. “Both Georgia and Oregon will play 10 Power Five conference games that year on top of their already rigorous SEC and Pac-12 schedules that will surely serve to elevate their programs in the minds of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee."
CHICK-FIL-A KICKOFF HISTORY
2008 (9) Clemson vs. (24) Alabama (Tide won, 34-10)
2009 (5) Alabama vs. (7) Virginia Tech (Tide won, 34-24)
2010 (16) LSU vs. (18) North Carolina (Tigers prevailed, 30-24)
2011 (5) Boise State vs. (19) Georgia (Broncos rolled, 35-21)
2012 (25) N.C. State vs. Tennessee (Vols won, 35-21)
2012 (14) Clemson vs. (24) Auburn (Clemson pulls out a 26-19 win)
2013 (1) Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (Tide prevailed, 35-10)
2014 (18) Ole Miss vs. Boise State (Rebels in a rout, 35-13)
2014 (2) Alabama vs. West Virginia (Tide won, 33-23)
2015 (25) Louisville vs. (6) Auburn (Tigers prevailed, 31-24)
2016 (18) Georgia vs. (22) North Carolina (Dawgs win a 33-24 thriller)
2017 (3) Florida State vs. (1) Alabama (Tide sink Seminoles, 24-7)
2017 (25) Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech (Vols pull out the 2OT victory, 42-41)
2018 (6) Washington vs. (9) Auburn
2019 Alabama vs. Duke
2020 West Virginia vs. Florida State
2020 UGA vs. Virginia
2020 Auburn vs. North Carolina
2021 Alabama vs. Miami
2021 Louisville vs. Ole Miss
2022 Oregon vs. UGA
