Georgia football is scrapping matchups with two ACC schools to make way for a nine-game SEC schedule.
The Bulldogs mutually agreed to cancel games at Louisville on Sept. 19, 2026 and a return game in Athens on Sept. 18, 2027, according to an announcement by Georgia on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
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Games against N.C. State in Athens on Sept. 17, 2033 and in Raleigh on Sept. 16, 2034 are also off, UGA said, with the schools agreeing to the move.
Georgia and Louisville are still exploring playing a game but at a neutral site on a later date, according to Georgia’s announcement.
Georgia will play 10 games against Power Four conference teams next season. There will be the nine SEC games for the first time and the annual game against Georgia Tech. Georgia also has games scheduled against Tennessee State and Western Kentucky at home.
Under terms of Georgia’s separate agreements made with both Louisville and N.C. State in 2021, a school would owe $2 million for cancelling the games for liquidated damages “unless cancellation of the game is by mutual consent of the parties.”
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Louisville coach Jeff Brohm on his weekly coaches show in October said, according to Card Chronicle: “We want to play Georgia. We’ve gathered some information where that’s — you know, I don’t want to speak out of turn — but I don’t know if it’s vice-versa. I’m hopeful that we can play the game, but I don’t know where that’s at right now.”
Georgia and Louisville were also scheduled to play in in 2011 and 2012, but Georgia canceled so the Bulldogs could open the 2011 season in Atlanta against Boise State in a kickoff game.
Georgia joins other SEC schools in changing their nonconference schedules to make way for an extra SEC game. Alabama canceled games with West Virginia, South Carolina canceled games with Miami and Florida scrapped games with Cal, N.C. State and Arizona State.
Georgia will host FCS Tennessee State next season. The date for that game is Sept. 5, according to fbschedules.com. The Western Kentucky game is on Sept. 12 in Athens.
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Georgia coach Kirby Smart talked about the toll a ninth SEC game will have on teams next year after the Bulldogs’ 28-7 SEC Championship win over Alabama Saturday.
“Those two teams were beat up tonight,” he said. “That was the ninth game of the year. We’re looking at next year having another game. I mean, the coaches in our league are concerned about it, very concerned about it. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t speak my piece and say it’s concerning.”
Georgia’s SEC schedule includes home games against Missouri, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, a game against Florida in Atlanta, and road games at Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss and South Carolina.
The SEC will announce dates for the 2026 conference games on Thursday night.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football cancels home-and-home games vs. Louisville, NC State