Friday March 29th, 2024 12:45AM

The Last Time: Georgia at Georgia Tech

It's time for some Clean Old Fashioned Hate, and time to erase those memories of yester-year.

(It's also time for turkey.)

It's a game I've been looking forward to since an ill-fated squib quick in 2014.

It's Georgia and Georgia Tech.

The last time...

1) These teams met:

We've hinted at it, and we won't harp on it. But here's the skinny of last year's game.

A back-and-forth contest looked like it was ready to end when QB Hutson Mason found WR Malcolm Mitchell on a short touchdown to give Georgia a 24-21 lead inside the game's final minute.

But an ill-advised squib kick let Georgia Tech get in position to kick a tying field goal as time expired.

The Yellow Jackets went on to win 30-24 in overtime.

Moving on.

2) Georgia lost in Bobby Dodd Stadium:

Mark Richt has never lost at Historic Grant Field.

The Bulldogs haven't lost in that building since the infamous Jasper Sanks "fumble" that led to a 51-48 (OT) Yellow Jacket victory in 1999, when Jim Donnan was still the head coach in Athens.

Since then, Georgia is 7-0 on the road against Tech, and 11-1 since 1991.

If not for the "fumble" we'd be talking about potentially 12 straight road victories for the Bulldogs over the Jackets.

Interestingly, those stats don't come with wide point spreads. Eight of those games were decided by one possession, with two going to overtime.

3) Georgia Tech led the overall series:

Georgia holds a 64-40-5 lead in the series, and the Yellow Jackets haven't had the edge since 1963.

Their 14-3 victory pushed them into a 27-26-5 lead.

It only lasted a year though. The Bulldogs won the next five in the series, and they've never looked back.

Tech would have to win every year through 2039 to retake the lead.

4) Georgia lost to Georgia Tech while un-ranked:

Some Bulldog fans have been griping that their 8-3 team needs to be ranked, insetad of solidly in the "Others Receiving Votes" category.

Maybe they should hold back a minute.

Georgia, when un-ranked, hasn't lost to the Yellow Jackets since 1990.

Georgia Tech won 40-23 on the way to a shared national championship that season, but since then they've never beaten an un-ranked Bulldog team.

Georgia is 8-0 when playing this game un-ranked over that span.

5) Georgia Tech held a lead before the game's final play:

The Yellow Jackets haven't had a lead going into the final snap since September 12, when they whipped Tulane 65-10.

That moved No. 15 Tech to 2-0 on the season before completely unraveling.

They've lost 8 of 9 since then, with their only victory coming on a field goal return as time expired against Florida State, 22-16.

That's more than two months of agony in Atlanta.

6) Georgia had a rushing touchdown by a non-wide receiver in regulation:

The implementation of the jet sweep and Wild Dog formation into the offense has certainly brought a bit of a spark, but also created some interesting stats.

With the exception of Sony Michel's OT touchdown to beat Georgia Southern, no running back had scored a rushing touchdown since Michel's one-yard plunge with 6:28 left in the 3rd against Kentucky.

Since then, the Bulldogs have scored six touchdowns (five in regulation). They came in the form of wide receivers rushing (2), catching (1) and returning punts (1), and running back Keith Marshall's touchdown at the end of the Kentucky game.

7) Georgia Tech scored less than 30 points against Georgia and won:

The Yellow Jackets have not done too well in Clean Old-Fashioned Hate when the game is low-scoring.

The last time they won while scoring less than 30 was in 2000, when they won 27-15 in Athens.

Since then, Georgia Tech is 0-10 when scoring less than 30 against Georgia. For the record, only three of those games saw the Bulldogs score less than 30 as well (although three others saw them score 30 or 31).

BONUS: What about scoring less than 20?

The Jackets haven't beaten Georgia while scoring less than 20 points since 1977, when they notched a 16-7 win.

Since then, they are 0-22 when scoring less than 20 points, though 16 of those games were decided by 14 points or less.

8) Mark Richt notched his 13th win against an opponent:

A win Saturday for Georgia would be the 13th for Coach Richt in 15 tries against Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets would join ... Vanderbilt and Kentucky (the most recent), as the only schools with that honor.

Earlier this year, Richt notched his 13th win in 15 tries against the Commode Doors with a 31-14 win in Nashville, and then did the same thing in early November with a 27-3 win over the Wildcats.

In case you're wondering, here is Richt's records against his yearly opponents (excluding Missouri):

Vanderbilt (13-2)
Kentucky (13-2)
Georgia Tech (12-2)
Auburn (10-5)
Tennessee (9-6)
South Carolina (9-6)
Florida (5-10)

Not bad, with one exception.

9) Georgia Tech had more TD passes on the season than Georgia:

Here's a sobering stat for the Bulldog fans: the Yellow Jackets, in their option offense, have more TD passes (13) than Georgia (12).

If you're wondering, the INTs are also even, at 8 apiece.

If that trend continues, it would be the first time since 2006 that Georgia Tech beat the Bulldogs in that category.

That season (when Tech ran a pro-style offense under Chan Gailey), QBs Reggie "MVP" Ball and Taylor Bennett combined for 25 TD passes on a season where QB turmoil prevailed in Athens.

Matt Stafford, Joe Cox and Joe Tereshinski III combined for just 12 scoring strikes.

BONUS: What about Georgia having more rushing TDs than Georgia Tech?

This one is in no danger of being broken this year, as the Yellow Jackets have a fairly healthy lead, 30 to 20. (If the Bulldogs rush for 10 TDs Saturday, I'm hunkering down in a bunker before the apocalypse hits.)

But the last time Georgia led this category was 2007, the final year Gailey was the coach.

The Bulldogs rushed for 32 TDs behind a combined 24 from RBs Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno, while Tech ran for 28, led by 19 from RBs Tashard Choice and Jonathan Dwyer.

10) Georgia lost to Tennessee and Georgia Tech in the same season:

Perhaps that loss in Knoxville will provide a bit of a silver lining, since the Bulldogs haven't lost to both the Vols and Jackets in the same year since 1999.

Georgia fell 37-20 to Tennessee and 51-48 (OT) to Georgia Tech in the aforementioned "fumble" game.

Since then, they've either swept both rivals (2001-03, '05, '08, '10-13), beaten JUST Tennessee ('08, '14) or JUST Tech ('04, '06-07, '09).

***

Hopefully you've gotten your fill of stats and turkey this Thanksgiving.

We'll see how many of these stats come to fruition, though I'm sure fans of both sides wouldn't bet on too many scoring records getting broken.

Until then, enjoy the leftovers!

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