‘Records are thrown out’: Georgia understands significance of Georgia Tech rivalry

Kirby Smart doesn’t remember the three games he won over Georgia Tech as a player. He remembers the one game he lost while wearing the Georgia No. 16 jersey.

The year was 1998. Smart stepped into the confines of Sanford Stadium for what he thought would be the final time. After the joys of celebrating his final home game concluded, the rest of that afternoon brought back traumatic memories for Smart.

The in-state rivals battled it out until the end of the fourth quarter, but the Yellow Jackets prevailed on a 35-yard field goal from kicker Brad Chambers. A play earlier in the drive of Georgia Tech’s 21-19 win, however, resonates with that group of Bulldogs forever. Georgia thought it recovered a fumble, but the referees ruled quarterback Joe Hamilton down. Just like that, the record for Smart’s senior class was tarnished.

“You remember the bad,” Smart said. “Thank God I got into coaching; I got to fix (my last memory at Sanford Stadium).”

Twenty-one years later, the rivalry lives on. Some people might not think it has much luster as Georgia is 10-1 and searching for a playoff berth. Georgia Tech, on the other hand at 3-8, had a campaign featuring two ACC wins and a loss to The Citadel under first-year head coach Geoff Collins. But these two have seen too much to believe that type of chatter to be true.

Georgia leads the series 67-41-5 and has won 14 of 15 inside Bobby Dodd Stadium. The two teams will renew the rivalry in that stadium Saturday (Noon, ABC). But the history between these two programs is rich.

Notable Yellow Jackets’ coach George O’Leary had the best of Bulldogs’ coach Jim Donnan over a brief stretch. Paul Johnson went into Athens and beat Georgia in his first season wearing the navy-and-gold after taking over for Chan Gailey. Georgia has claimed the majority of wins, but most of them haven’t come without intrigue.

“Records are thrown out,” Smart said. “None of that matters.”

Collins sees this rivalry as a massive opportunity. He remembers its history and all of the bells and whistles that came with it. He remembers sitting in the stands as a 13-year-old boy and watching the Georgia-Georgia Tech junior varsity games on Thanksgiving Day. He strives for this series to inch its way closer to national recognition — where both teams are widely respected and more eyes are on it.

He sees that as an advantage in the fertile in-state recruiting ground. That’s a chance to build Georgia Tech’s program. The other reason is simple: passion for this game.

“I was born to love this rivalry,” Collins said.

Smart and Collins squared off in this rivalry, actually. The year after Smart lost to Georgia Tech to finish his football career, he was an administrative assistant for the Bulldogs in 1999. Collins was in the first of a three-year tenure as a graduate assistant for the Yellow Jackets.

Once more, it didn’t go in Smart’s favor. Georgia sniffed the goal line in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. The teams were tied and Bulldog running back Jasper Sanks fumbled on a controversial call, and Georgia Tech recovered. That led to overtime, the Yellow Jackets prevailed with a 51-48 victory and Georgia hasn’t lost in Atlanta since.

Now, fast forward to 2019.

Amongst all of the conversation, there have been many discussing the value of Georgia and Georgia Tech meeting every year. Some argue a more-formidable Power 5 opponent should meet the Bulldogs yearly — let’s say fellow ACC foe Clemson. Others think Georgia can brush by Saturday’s game and prepare for the SEC Championship vs. LSU. Ask Smart, who has had those aforementioned experience.

“(If) you don’t think it’s important,” Smart said, “then lose it and then it will be really important.”

This current group of seniors lost in their freshman season to Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets beat the Bulldogs in the first season of Smart’s tenure, and raced to the hallowed hedges to take a souvenir back to Atlanta. As a bit of motivation, Georgia taped images of that scene around the underbelly of Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall to remind players.

“We have pride in our facilities,” long snapper Steven Nixon said. “It just kind of rubs us the wrong way.”

Throughout practice, there has been a different intensity. Some of the preparation differs, even now given that Georgia Tech still has some triple-option elements after the Johnson era. Georgia doesn’t want to lose this game, because it knows the stakes.

“This one is the one you look at,” tight end Charlie Woerner said. “There’s a different kind of grit and passion that says ‘you cannot lose this game.’ You want it so bad.”

Before the conference title game comes the state championship. There’s a factor of bragging rights, and hoisting a victorious trophy after the buzzer sounds has significance. Some players take it personally, and losing to Georgia Tech leaves a scarring impression.

So once Smart puts on his headset for a matchup of teams with lopsided records, he knows that anything can happen. The rivalry is still alive. Smart doesn’t want this group of Bulldogs to have the same feeling he did in 1998.

“Some wins are more exciting than others,” Georgia inside linebacker Monty Rice said.