UGA vs. Michigan in 2010/2011?

Michigan fans react to this post.

Despite the rumors swirling around about a potential two game series between UGA and Michigan, we heard earlier this afternoon from a pretty good source that there's nothing to it. Certainly not now anyway. The rumor originated from the Michigan campus newspaper.

Additionally, Bill King the AJC fan blogger debunks the rumor via applying common sense to the situation; although, he made no indication of actually calling the athletic department and asking.

The original rumor had UGA traveling to the Big House in 2010 to open the season. King pointed out that UGA already has a season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette in 2010. However, that's not such a big problem according to the Athens Banner-Herald (05/18/09):

"Georgia would play Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 4, 2010 in the season opener, but that might be moved to a November date to accommodate another opponent the Bulldogs might add, [Arthur] Johnson said."

The real issues are these (some Bill outlined and some he didn't):
1. Georgia absolutely will not play a schedule with only five home games. To play a game at Michigan in 2010 (and the series would have to start there due to the UM schedule), UGA would only have 5 home games. For financial and political reasons that will never, ever, ever happen. Nor should it.

2. To avoid having only 5 home games, we would have to cancel the road game at Colorado in 2010 or move it. It would be extremely difficult to move that game given Colorado's schedule. So we'd have to buy the game out. Thereby reducing the financial incentive of playing Michigan in the first place. I would glady swap two games with Michigan for one game with Colorado. Or we could move the UF game out of Jax (kidding).

2. UGA's 2011 schedule is full. We've already moved the App State game once. I guess we could move it again. But we just booked NMSU so I'm doubting that we're about to move that one. That leaves the Louisville game. Pushing the first game in that series (home in 2011) out makes no sense because 2012-2014 is when the schedule turns more difficult with Bama and LSU returning to the rotation. So we'd have to cancel the series likely. Do you think that Georgia is going to pay the cancellation fees to end one game with Colorado and two games with Louisville just to play Michigan? That seems pretty expensive.

3. Michigan has only played three games in the Deep South during the regular season since the Great Depression. Those games include:

Chapel Hill - '65
Duke - '68
S. Carolina - '85

In my opinion, they aren't coming down here in September. You can pretty well forget that. Since 1922, Michigan hasn't traveled to the states of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missisippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Virginia, Texas or Oklahoma. During those years, schools from almost all of those states have played games in Ann Arbor without a return trip. Including Georgia (1957 and 1965).

I would be shocked out of my chair if this happened. Thrilled. But shocked.

Brian Cook, leading Michgan blogger, doesn't think it'll happen either; although, some of his details are wrong about UGA's scheduling issues.

PWD