Georgia vs. Georgia Tech ‘means so much to everyone’ but won’t be played in 2020
Ninety-four years have passed without the heated in-state rivalry between Georgia and Georgia Tech being played.
The COVID-19 pandemic that shut sports down for months has different plans. The Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate — a matchup with plenty of memorable wins on each side — will take a hiatus in 2020.
“That game means so much to everyone. It’s unfortunate that it was affected,” Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said on a Zoom video call with reporters. “It wasn’t able to work out, but we look forward to resuming that rivalry in 2021.”
A break in the series comes after the SEC released a 10-game conference-only schedule on Thursday afternoon. The season will begin on Sept. 26, and the Bulldogs will have four home games (with a plan for socially-distanced fan attendance), five road games and the neutral-site game against Florida in Jacksonville.
The scheduling model did not follow that of the ACC, which allowed for the potential addition of one non-conference game to occur within the team’s home state. At that moment, the in-state game seemed to be a possibility, but the SEC had privately wrapped up its decision an hour prior.
McGarity said those within the SEC were “shocked” to see the ACC’s announcement come as early as Wednesday evening.
Nonetheless, the decision by the SEC to eliminate all non-conference games came after narrowing down a large variety of models. McGarity indicated the elimination of the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry made sense due to 10 of the 14 SEC institutions not having in-state rivalry games outside of the conference.
“It’s more efficient and you don’t have to worry about trying to schedule when those games happen and how it’s fair to the other schools,” McGarity said shortly after the conference’s announcement was made. “That led to the decision to play SEC (games) only.”
Georgia and Georgia Tech won’t play for the first time since an eight-year break in the series from 1917 to 1924. The 1943 and 1944 games are vacant in Georgia’s record books, albeit Georgia Tech wins, due to World War II.
“While it’s certainly disappointing for our student-athletes, coaches and fans that we will not have our annual rivalry football game with Georgia this year, I also understand and respect the decision of the SEC,” Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury said through a statement. “We hope to finalize our non-conference opponent for the 2020 season in the near future and very much look forward to meeting Georgia again on the gridiron in 2021.”
Georgia’s other three non-conference games were canceled, too, as a result of the announcement. The Bulldogs will not play Virginia, East Tennessee State or Louisiana-Monroe. The season-opener against the Cavaliers was axed after McGarity spoke with Virginia athletic director (and former Georgia assistant athletic director) Carla Williams and said: “We’re not coming to Virginia. Let’s make sure that’s very clear.”
Georgia will consult with a legal team to work through the payouts and force majeure clauses in contracts with East Tennessee State and Louisiana-Monroe.
Georgia owed East Tennessee State a $550,000 payout, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. Louisiana-Monroe was set to receive $1.8 million, according to the Monroe (Louisiana) News Star. Georgia will work with the schools to evaluate the possibility of rescheduling the games, McGarity said.
In regards to resuming the in-state rivalry in 2021, the locations remain a question. Georgia Tech was scheduled to make a 70-mile trip to play at Sanford Stadium in November, then play in Atlanta next fall. The rotation could change due to the cancellation.
“We’ll have a discussion on what we can do,” McGarity said. “There’s so much that has happened to where Todd and I haven’t huddled up on that.”
Despite the two bye weeks, including the league-wide off date on Dec. 12 prior to the SEC Championship game, there will be no effort to play the in-state rivalry in 2020. The SEC’s model mandates a 10-game conference schedule.
“I don’t think (Georgia head coach) Kirby Smart would be too excited to play 10 SEC games, then play Tech the week before (a potential) SEC title game in Atlanta,” McGarity said.
The series went to pause for unforeseen circumstances nearly a century ago. And in 2020, a cancellation between two foes occurs once more.
For those who have known the rivalry for so long, Georgia could’ve never predicted it.
“It’ll really sink in over the next couple of days,” McGarity said. “There are so many abnormal situations that are in play. They’ll certainly create a lot of disappointment, but the pandemic creates so many oddities. So many things are almost out of your control.”
New 2020 schedules
Georgia: A new, 10-game Georgia football schedule is expected to include the previously announced eight SEC opponents: Home games vs. Vanderbilt, Auburn, Florida and Tennessee; and road games at Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina and Kentucky. According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, “a separate scheduling model — composed by the league office using strength of schedule — will determine the two additional opponents for 2020.”
Georgia Tech: In the modified 2020 ACC schedule, Georgia Tech will host Duke, Clemson, Louisville, Notre Dame and Pitt. The Jackets have road games at Boston College, Florida State, Miami, N.C. State and Syracuse. An 11th, non-conference opponent is to be determined. Georgia Tech’s game against Notre Dame will be played at the Yellow Jackets’ Bobby Dodd Stadium and not nearby Mercedes-Benz Stadium as was originally planned.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 6:15 AM with the headline "Georgia vs. Georgia Tech ‘means so much to everyone’ but won’t be played in 2020."