First meeting | November 11, 1899 Tennessee, 5–0 |
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Latest meeting | November 18, 2023 Georgia, 38–10 |
Next meeting | November 16, 2024 |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 53 |
All-time series | Georgia leads 28–23–2 [1] |
Largest victory | Tennessee, 46–0 (1936) |
Longest win streak | Tennessee, 9 (1989–1999) |
Current win streak | Georgia, 7 (2017–present) |
The Georgia–Tennessee football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Georgia Bulldogs football team of the University of Georgia and Tennessee Volunteers football team of the University of Tennessee. The series is led by Georgia 28–23–2. [2] Both teams are founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Georgia and Tennessee are the second (867) and third (855) winningest football programs in SEC history, behind only Alabama. The rivalry has never been contested anyplace besides Knoxville, Tennessee or Athens, Georgia, and alternates between the two respective campuses. Games in odd-numbered years are played in Knoxville, and even-numbered years in Athens.
From 1899 to 1989, UT and UGA met only 21 times before the Southeastern Conference (SEC) expanded to twelve members and split into two divisions of six members each, West and East. (The conference expanded by 2 members ( Texas A&M and Missouri) in 2012; therefore the SEC West and East divisions have currently seven members each.) UGA held a 10–9–2 series lead in the rivalry before annual play began in 1992. Since 1992, the Dawgs and Vols have both been in the SEC's Eastern Division and have met annually on the football field. The largest margin of victory overall was Tennessee by 46 points in 1936 at Sanford Stadium in Athens in their 46–0 victory. The largest margin of victory for Georgia is by 44 points in 1981 at Sanford Stadium in their 44–0 victory. The longest win streak for Georgia is 7, from 2017–2023. The longest win streak for Tennessee is 9 from 1989 to 1999. [2] [3]
Throughout the 1990s, Tennessee went 9–0 vs Georgia, holding a nine-game win streak. Georgia ended the streak in 2000 under head coach Jim Donnan when they defeated the Volunteers 21–10. In 2001, the Mark Richt era began at Georgia. He led the Bulldogs to wins against the Volunteers in his first three seasons, beginning with a memorable upset in Knoxville in 2001. In 2007, Tennessee defeated Georgia 35–14 to win the tie-breaker for the conference title game. In the 2009 game, the Vols defeated Georgia 45–19 under first and only season under Lane Kiffin. Georgia held a 6–4 advantage over the Volunteers in the 2000s.
In 2010, Derek Dooley became the Tennessee head coach. Throughout his tenure he went 0–3 vs Bulldogs, and Georgia extended a five-game winning streak against Tennessee. Georgia continued their streak until 2015 when Tennessee defeated the Bulldogs 38–31 in Knoxville, under head coach Butch Jones. From 2011 to 2016, every game in the series was decided by eight points or less, including one overtime thriller in 2013. In 2016 Kirby Smart succeeded Mark Richt as Georgia head coach. That year, Tennessee won by a Hail Mary pass with 4 seconds left on the clock. In the 2017 meeting, Georgia defeated Tennessee 41–0 in Knoxville, giving Tennessee its worst home loss since 1905. [2] [4] In 2018, Georgia defeated Tennessee 38–12 in Athens at Sanford Stadium. [2] [5] Georgia's 2019 victory gave UGA the series lead for the first time since Tennessee had taken the lead in 1993. Georgia currently holds a 7 game win streak in the rivalry after their victory in the 2023 game.
Rankings are from the AP Poll.
Georgia victories | Tennessee victories | Tie games |
|
City | Hosted | Record |
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Athens, GA | 26 (1906–present) | Georgia leads; 14–11 (1 tie) |
Knoxville, TN | 27 (1899–present) | Georgia leads; 14–12 (1 tie) |
The Georgia–Tennessee rivalry is alluded to in country singer Megan Moroney's single " Tennessee Orange", in which Moroney sings from the point of view of a girl, who grew up a Georgia native and a Bulldogs fan, dating and falling in love with a boy who attended rival Tennessee, especially with the hook "In Georgia they'd call it a sin/I'm wearing Tennessee Orange for him." [24]