Georgia has beaten Georgia Tech 15 out of the last 18 seasons, furthering its dominance in the rivalry game known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. And by the way, Tech’s three wins over that stretch came by a combined 10 points.
This will be the 113th meeting between the two in-state programs and it’s looking like another Georgia win is on its way. The Jackets are 3-8, but for some reason incredibly confident right now after beating a 4-7 NC State team by two points.
Despite the history and the strong hatred between the rivals that still exists today, there are Georgia who would like to see the Bulldogs drop the Yellow Jackets from their schedule in exchange for a more challenging opponent.
Tavarres King, Georgia’s fourth all-time leading receiver with 2,602 yards, never had any trouble waking up for the Yellow Jackets during his time (2008-2012) with the Bulldogs and thinks this game means too much to be overlooked.
King, A Georgia boy from Mount Airy, played in four games versus Tech. For two of those games it would have been easy to overlook the rival due to the fact that the Dawgs had a date with the SEC Championship to look forward to the following weekend.
But he said that was never the case.
“No, we wanted to win them all,” King texted when asked if it was hard to wake up for the regular season finale vs Tech, especially in 2011 and 2012 when the Dawgs knew they had an SECCG to prepare for.
“Our goal was to ‘keep the main thing the main thing’ in the words of Mike Bobo. And that was winning ball games.”
This game may have no conference standing implications, but a Georgia loss would eliminate the Dawgs from the national title race not just this year, but probably every year. Additionally, understanding how big football in the state of Georgia is, the importance of holding bragging rights over your in-state rival is immeasurable.
That’s why King thinks the game has not lost its allure.
“Every game is BIG because we are playing, but this game is special because it’s for state bragging rights.”
Georgia has run the state for years, and that does not seem to be coming to an end any time soon. Coach Kirby Smart, a Georgia boy who played college ball at UGA, is one who understands the importance of this game as well. He recently told a story about how Tech beat his Bulldog team on Smart’s senior day and he wanted to make sure that none of his players ever feel the way he did.
King’s another one of those guys who grew up in the Peach State and is proud to have played for the red and black. Helping to keep Georgia as the top football school in the state was one of the reasons this game meant so much to him.
“It was big to me because of tradition,” King said. ”It’s a fight for who represents the Georgia name. When you hear ‘Georgia’ do you think Bulldawgs or Yellow Jackets?!”
King, who was taken in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, has played for a number of teams as a pro – most recently the Minnesota Vikings. He was in Athens last weekend signing autographs with his friend and former Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno ahead of the Texas A&M game.
This weekend, King is thinking the Dawgs leave Atlanta with another win over Tech by a score 27-10.
“THE only real team in Georgia!”
Georgia vs Georgia Tech will kickoff at noon and air on ABC.
