Outside of maybe the 3:30 p.m. Eastern time kickoff on CBS, teams often would love to play at night in front of a packed home stadium. Entering Saturday, Georgia is 1 of 2 FBS programs that have yet to host a team under the lights.

The other program? A 3-4 rebuilding Virginia squad. The top-ranked Bulldogs are currently 7-0 and look to be the front-runners to win the SEC entering November.

Fans might be annoyed at the early start times, but Bulldogs’ coach Kirby Smart has been more than fine for knocking out games before dusk. The reason? Recruiting.

Smart said that it’s easier to spend time with recruits visiting when kickoff is no later than the 3:30 p.m. kick. To his credit, recruiting has been at its peak under Smart. Entering 2023, the Bulldogs rank No. 2 in the recruiting cycle.

“You actually get to see them. The night game, number one it is not great for your team,” Smart said, via DawgsNation.com. “You are sitting around all day. You get more time with the recruits on the front end but less time on the back end. The 3:30 gives you time on the front end and the back end, but I am not complaining or looking for anything.”

Week 9 will once again feature a midday kick for the Bulldogs as they play host to No. 3 Tennessee. With the current schedule, the only game left for the Bulldogs to play at night would come against Georgia Tech in the season finale on Nov. 26.

The Bulldogs will travel to Jacksonville to take on Florida this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.