What’s at stake in the Birmingham Bowl between Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt?

The Commodores haven’t had a winning season in more than a decade. The Yellow Jackets are searching for new highs under Brent Pry.

Vanderbilt is back in the college football postseason for the first time in six years. Georgia Tech can reclaim a piece of the conference it left behind by handling the Commodores at the 2024 Birmingham Bowl.

While a showdown between a seven-win Yellow Jackets and a .500 Vandy squad isn’t especially appealing at face value, there’s plenty to watch when the two teams square off December 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET in Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.

The Commodores have Diego Pavia, the man who helped ruin Alabama’s College Football Playoff argument. He’s in search of Vanderbilt’s first bowl win — and winning season — since James Franklin left for Penn State after 2013.

Georgia Tech, on the other hand, is trying to build its own bowl streak following last year’s Gasparilla Bowl win over Central Florida. Head coach Brent Key has been a welcome breath of fresh air following the disastrous tenure of Geoff Collins. Beating the ‘Dores would give the Yellow Jackets eight wins — their most since 2016.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL TURNOVER:

Two intriguing subplots remain. Both teams played spoiler to blue chip programs with big 2024 aspirations. Vandy beat Bama. Tech started Florida State’s descent to 2-10 and knocked Miami out of the ACC title game. Who is the ultimate Power 4 ruiner?

But more important to fans with fond memories of pre-war football, this is a revival of a rivalry between SEC founders. Both the Commodores and Yellow Jackets were charter members of the juggernaut conference in 1932. Georgia Tech left in 1964 and hasn’t lost to Vandy in the six decades since (6-0-1).

Can Pavia snap a losing streak old enough to qualify for AARP membership and continue to thrive in Alabama-related situations? Can Haynes King keep the GT offense humming without top wideout Eric Singleton, who entered the transfer portal at the conclusion of the regular season? And which old-school SEC nerd school will reign supreme two days after Christmas?

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