Legendary Hall of Fame Georgia Football Coach Vince Dooley always called this one, “the biggest game of them all,” when it comes to the Bulldogs.
Spot on, and this one sure carries a whole lot more weight this season, as Georgia hosts the Yellow Jackets Friday night Between the Hedges.
This is one of Georgia’s most important games ever against the Yellow Jackets,
Along with the pride, bragging rights, and the memories (good and bad) that last a lifetime, a win by the 9-2 Bulldogs figures to punch a ticket to the 12-team College Football Playoff. Following one of the most upside-down, upset-filled Saturday’s in league history this past weekend, Georgia will play in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game the following Saturday. It’s another lifeline to the CFP, with a bye awaiting the winner. But all focus from iconic coach Kirby Smart, his staff, and his team, is on the Yellow Jackets.
Tech is coming in with a record of 7-4, the Yellow Jackets coming off an exciting 30-29 win over N.C. State last Thursday. The victory over the Wolfpack clinched a second straight winning season for Tech, and Friday night, the Yellow Jackets can win eight games in the regular season for the first time since 2016. That was Kirby Smart’s first season at the Georgia helm, and also the last time the Yellow Jackets beat the Bulldogs, who have won six straight in the series.
Georgia, which beat UMass 59-21 this past Saturday, has won a school record 30 in a row at home, the longest active streak in the country.
Those are two enormous points of pride, those streaks, plus the obvious playoff implications, that Tech would love to bring tumbling down.
The Jackets, playing this past Thursday, got a two-day head start on the Bulldogs, plus they were coming off an open date. It’s a short week for the Bulldogs.
There were some struggles against the Minutemen this past Saturday. The Jackets, sporting an outstanding best rushing attack, are certainly encouraged as the Bulldogs struggled to stop the run against UMass this past Saturday. Georgia has given up over 100 yards rushing to an opposing running back in back to back games.
Winning the state and winning at home are of paramount importance, and have been enormous points of emphasis since Smart took over as the head coach at his alma mater. If Georgia can check both of those boxes Friday night, then the ultimate goal and destination is still alive, presumably with margin for error.
But there is nothing more that Brent Key and the Yellow Jackets would love to do than beat Georgia and pour some salt in the wound when it comes to playoff implications.
Key, who took over as the interim coach on the flats after four games of the 2022 campaign, has a record of 18-14, and led the Jackets to a bowl victory over UCF last season. It was Tech’s first postseason trip since 2018.
The Yellow Jackets are clearly a program on the rise, and Key, who played at Tech from 1997-2000, has not been shy about publicly expressing his disdain for the Bulldogs.
To add a little extra spice to Friday night, in the Yellow Jackets win over the Wolfpack, their first touchdown was scored by Georgia transfer linebacker E.J. Lightsey on a 21-yard interception return. The touchdown that proved to be the game winner was an 18-yard run from freshman quarterback Aaron Philo, who played his prep ball just outside of Athens at Prince Avenue Christian. Philo had an outstanding game passing, while sharing quarterback time with Haynes King.
Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs have won 55 of the past 59 games. Georgia’s record against the rivals, and lengthy list of accomplishments, is astounding. But as the future Hall of Fame coach always preaches, “humility is just a week away.”
As the regular season winds down, the dreams of this season will be largely influenced by one of the biggest of the biggest of them all.