Georgia is in somewhat unfamiliar territory this week.

Well, very unfamiliar territory. Yes, Georgia will be traveling to Austin for just the second time ever (and the first since 1958). But Georgia will be doing so as an underdog. In the Kirby Smart era, the Bulldogs have been a betting underdog 11 times. Saturday’s game against the top-ranked Longhorns will be No. 12.

At DraftKings, the Longhorns opened as a 3.5-point favorite.

Texas is 6-0 and will be coming off an emotional 34-3 win over Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry. Georgia is 5-1 on the season, but, curiously, the Dawgs are just 1-5 against the spread. They’ve failed to cover the spread in each of their last 5 games, including as a 21-point favorite against Auburn and a 33-point favorite against Mississippi State.

Georgia is still trying to get in gear this season, with key faces from last year’s squad proving a bit more difficult to replace. It likely wasn’t a huge surprise to see the Dawgs open as a dog.

Still, it’s a bit unprecedented.

Including postseason games, Georgia has been favored in 49 consecutive games. The last time the Bulldogs closed as an underdog on the betting market was Sept. 4, 2021, when they opened the season against No. 3 Clemson.

Georgia won that game 10-3.

The Bulldogs closed as an underdog in a game 5 times during the 2016 season — Smart’s first in Athens. The Dawgs went 2-3 in those games, including a 31-23 win over TCU in the bowl game.

Since, Georgia has been an underdog only 6 other times. The Dawgs are 2-4 in those games.

While the Dawgs have a losing record outright as an underdog under Smart, Georgia is 7-4 against the spread in those games.

Below is every instance in which Georgia has been an underdog:

  1. Sept. 4, 2021: 3-point underdog vs. No. 3 Clemson (10-3 win)
  2. Oct. 17, 2020: 6-point underdog at No. 2 Alabama (41-24 loss)
  3. Dec. 7, 2019: 7.5-point underdog vs. No. 1 LSU (37-10 loss)
  4. Dec. 1, 2018: 11-point underdog vs. No. 1 Alabama (35-28 loss)
  5. Jan. 8, 2018: 3.5-point underdog vs. No. 4 Alabama (26-23 loss)
  6. Sept. 9, 2017: 5.5-point underdog at No. 24 Notre Dame (20-19 win)
  7. Dec. 30, 2016: 3-point underdog vs. TCU (31-23 win)
  8. Nov. 12, 2016: 10-point underdog vs. No. 8 Auburn (13-7 win)
  9. Oct. 29, 2016: 7-point underdog vs. No. 14 Florida (24-10 loss)
  10. Oct. 1, 2016: 3.5-point underdog vs. No. 11 Tennessee (34-31 loss)
  11. Sept. 24, 2016: 7-point underdog at No. 23 Ole Miss (45-14 loss)

Smart said after his team’s win over Mississippi State that Georgia did not look ahead at all, even during the team’s off week. They focused on who was immediately ahead of them. Now, they’ll turn their attention to Texas.

“I know it’s the SEC environment. I know it’s a top-10 matchup. I mean, you’re talking about powerhouse programs,” Smart said. “So, at least we played at Kentucky, which was really hard. We played at Alabama, which was really hard. And so we’ve got some experience in that environment. But it’ll be a road environment.”

And a little bit different.