ATHENS, Ga. — The rivalry was as intense as any Georgia had at the time. For a dozen years, the Bulldogs and this opponent played every year, home and away, with an even split: Six wins apiece. Five of the games were decided by one possession. These were good teams: Georgia was named a national champion in two polls, and the other team went to the Sugar Bowl twice and the Rose Bowl once.
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Then almost as soon as the rivalry heated up, it petered out: First, they went a decade without playing before playing five more close games in the 1950s. Then the other team left the SEC, and if by now you’re aware that team was Tulane, then reward yourself with a beignet.
As important as tradition is in college football, they come and go, especially in scheduling. Georgia and Tennessee may seem like forever rivals, but they went 31 years without playing at one point. And sometimes familiarity does not create rivalries: Kentucky and Georgia have played almost continuously since 1939, including every year since 1956, and it remains a one-sided series that few would miss on the annual calendar.
New rivalries can develop. And the allure of matchups isn’t always about history: Being able to visit certain towns, playing a marquee opponent, even the opponents’ uniforms, can all add luster to a matchup.
That’s the unique thing about college football: The fewer games per season makes them special. But in an ever-growing SEC, it also means missing some teams every year. The good news is the SEC seems settled on two possible formats that will guarantee seeing every other conference team at least twice over a four-year span.
The bad news is one of them, the eight-game format, would mean only one opponent would be an every-year opponent. Rivalries like Auburn-Georgia, Alabama-Tennessee, Texas-Texas A&M, would not be played every year.
This all gets us to thinking: What are Georgia’s most important SEC rivalries? What are the games that are the most important – for reasons of history, location and luster – to be on the annual calendar? Here’s a ranking of the 15, including the two newbies set to join the league in 2025, going in reverse order of most desirable UGA rivalries:
15. Mississippi State: Look, this isn’t to bang on Stark-Vegas. It just … it is what it is, OK? The Mike Leach factor does make it interesting on the field, but Leach won’t be there forever.
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14. Missouri: The first trip to (the other) Columbia was fun, and a classic game, with Jarvis Jones’ near pick-six sealing the Georgia win. Missouri winning the SEC East the next two seasons added some luster to the game. But as the years have gone by the game has had less and less meaning, and the trip itself is a bear unless you’re lucky enough to get a direct flight into Columbia.
13. Arkansas: The Ozarks (the mountains, not the Netflix show) are beautiful during the fall, so a trip that way every four years is nice. Otherwise, there isn’t a huge amount of history between the two programs. Sam Pittman’s presence adds a nice storyline for now, but it’s also a nice story, as in Georgia fans would probably say that if anyone has to beat them they’d be glad it was Pittman. That’s not so much a rivalry.
12. Ole Miss: The Grove, Oxford, it all makes for a fun trip, and once every four years is sufficient. Of course, if Lane Kiffin stays there for the long haul and makes the Rebels a consistent threat, the matchup becomes much more intriguing.
11. Vanderbilt: There are plenty of Georgia fans who will miss going to Nashville every other season. There are some coaches who will miss the (almost always) guaranteed win. But moving it to a less frequent basis will make the Opry trip a little more special, and given Georgia’s ascent, there are plenty of other easy wins on the SEC schedule.
10. Kentucky: There’s no reason to keep this as an annual game, but plenty of reason to look forward to when it is played, especially Georgia fans wanting to visit Keeneland. Legend has it that was one of the reasons Vince Dooley lobbied for the game to be earlier in the schedule, for the sake of Georgia fans who liked to bet the horses. Beyond that, however, in a division-less SEC, this becomes just another game for both programs.
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9. Texas A&M: The two fan bases are big and passionate enough that each will enjoy visiting the other, and Jimbo Fisher’s recruiting has made things juicy enough that you wish they could play in the next few years. Alas, Georgia will not go to College Station until 2024, its first-ever visit there. And the Aggies’ first visit to Athens as an SEC member, in 2019, came late in the season, on a cold night, tempering the turnout. Going forward, however, this looks like it should be the kind of matchup everyone can’t wait to see.
8. LSU: Georgia and LSU have only played each other 12 times since 1992, but it was even less frequent before that. (Twenty times between 1928 and 1991.) That’s a shame, given the similarity in the programs, and everyone enjoys going to Baton Rouge, and/or staying in New Orleans.
7. Oklahoma: They may be geographically far apart — 939 miles, a mere 14-hour-and-23-minute drive — but as competitors, they’re pretty close. The only time they have ever met, the 2018 Rose Bowl, was as good a college game as anyone has seen. And they’re already scheduled for a nonconference series, albeit one that has been made moot by Oklahoma joining the conference. (The series, which was to have Georgia visit Norman in 2023, is still officially on, but it seems very unlikely to happen now.)
6. Texas: A lot of people believe Austin is the best college town in America. A lot of people believe it’s actually Athens. A lot of people have long believed Texas will soon be back as a national power. Georgia beat them to it. A lot of people believe Uga is the best college mascot, and that unlike Bevo he doesn’t attack helpless reporters. Anyway, there are a lot of reasons to look forward to this game, which is why Kirby Smart originally scheduled a nonconference series with the Longhorns (2028-29). We probably won’t have to wait that long.
5. Alabama: The temptation is to say: Well, they’ll play at some point in the postseason anyway, so no need to force it in the regular season. But in an expanded SEC, the chances are better that someone else will make the conference championship game, and with all the recent history now between these two national powers, it makes for a compelling matchup before December as well. (Although both teams would prefer it only happens once an expanded Playoff comes along.)
4. Tennessee: So why did Georgia and Tennessee not play between 1938-1967? That required a call to Loran Smith, historian extraordinaire for Georgia, who said he thinks that during those days, when the SEC office wasn’t dictating schedules, the slate was often decided by the coaches. “The trend was people scheduled games with their friends. I don’t think there was ever any issue between General Neyland and coach (Wally) Butts.” But Neyland also tended to only play Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and then weaker opponents. It also didn’t help that the Athens to Knoxville road trip was “brutal” in those days before plane trips between the two cities became more commonplace.
Even when Georgia and Tennessee began playing again, they only played eight times between 1969 and 1991. It was only when SEC expansion came about in 1992, making the two division opponents, that the matchup was played every year.
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But since then it has taken off, in a way that it could be argued it is a key Georgia rivalry. And many would give it higher priority than playing South Carolina. But most of that history with the Volunteers is much more recent than people realize.
3. South Carolina: The history with the Gameco*cks is more extensive (74 games vs. 51 against Tennessee) and goes back further (1894 vs. 1899 for the first Tennessee game). Columbia is also closer than Knoxville. But the rivalry with Tennessee has been more competitive, with a 26-23-2 edge against the Vols, while the series with South Carolina is 53-19-2.
But the recent history is tilted in South Carolina’s favor, beating Georgia five times since 2010, while Tennessee has only done it twice. And as much as the Hobnail Boot and other moments stick in people’s memories, the recent evidence — on-field performance, recruiting, facilities, resources — says Tennessee is not that far ahead of South Carolina as a program, if at all. So the nod goes to history and geography.
Plus, South Carolina will likely end up being Georgia’s third permanent rival, if the SEC goes to the nine-game schedule. That’s mainly because the Gameco*cks don’t have a bigger SEC rival than Georgia — but don’t diminish what playing South Carolina every year should mean to the Bulldogs.
2. Auburn: There is some thought that both schools aren’t pressing that hard for the game to continue, especially Auburn, which has been on the losing end more often lately, and also has Alabama on its permanent schedule. But indications are both schools still appreciate what the game means to their fan bases, and there’s no question that as long as the SEC allows for more than one permanent opponent, the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry will continue.
But the nine-game conference schedule is still a question, so the only clear annual guarantee for the Bulldogs will be:
1. Florida: Not much need for explanation on this one. A game so ingrained it’s guaranteed not only a spot on the calendar, but also a time slot. And yes, the location of the game is part of the equation, but even in the unlikely event it ever moved to campus sites the Gators would remain Georgia’s No. 1 rival.
(Top photo: Kim Klement / USA Today Sports)
Seth Emerson is a senior writer for The Athletic covering Georgia and the SEC. Seth joined The Athletic in 2018 from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and also covered the Bulldogs and the SEC for The Albany Herald from 2002-05. Seth also covered South Carolina for The State from 2005-10. Follow Seth on Twitter @SethWEmerson
