University of Tennessee Athletics
Inside The T - Closest Of Series
October 09, 2015 | Football
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
Tennessee and Georgia is a series that, literally, could not be closer heading into Saturday’s game.
Entering the 45th meeting between the schools, the all-time record is exactly even, 21 wins for each, two ties.
If those numbers seem low for two school that play each year, you’re right. Though Georgia has been an annual opponent since the Southeastern Conference expanded and split into divisions in 1992, the border war was not even a frequent foe prior to that.
The two teams met just 21 times over the first 90 years of the series from 1899 to 1989. The first three games featured a total of 10 points scored. The Volunteers won the initial meeting, 5-0, in Knoxville in 1899. Four years later, Georgia returned to Knoxville to return the favor by the same score. Tennessee made its first trip to Athens in 1906 for a scoreless tie.
More recent history has been almost as even, though a little higher-scoring. The last four games between the two have been decided by eight points or fewer, with only three points separating the teams in each of the last two seasons. Georgia has won five straight in the series, matching its longest run against the Volunteers from 1909-24.
The Vols’ longest run of consecutive victories in the series came just as the annual rivalry began. Tennessee won the last meeting between the teams before expansion in 1989, then reeled off eight wins in eight years from 1992-99, for a nine-game win streak. Since then, UT has won back-to-back games in the series just once in 2006-07.
Both of those wins proved to be large in the respective seasons.
In 2006, the Vols fell behind early to the Bulldogs and trailed 24-7 late in the first half. But Erik Ainge sparked a rally with a late TD to cut the halftime lead to 24-14. UGA led 27-24 headed to the final period before Tennessee exploded for 27 4th quarter points to win 51-33.
Ainge threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Arian Foster scored three TDs, each of them from 1-yard out. It was the second-highest point total for an opponent in Athens in Georgia history, a point less than the 52 that Florida scored in 1995.
A year later, an unranked Tennessee team rushed to a 28-0 halftime lead on the 12th-ranked Bulldogs en route to a 35-14 victory. The Vols had begun SEC play with a loss at Florida, but the win over Georgia started a run that carried Tennessee to an Eastern Division championship and an appearance in the SEC Championship Game.
So what will Saturday hold in Neyland Stadium? The numbers say it could be another tight battle with major implications. The Bulldogs and Volunteers are second and third in the SEC in rushing yards, respectfully. UGA and UT rank third and fourth in points scored.
A big-time game in front of a sold-out Neyland Stadium crowd with the team debuting the new Smokey Grey uniforms? Sign me up.
History says this will be a close game in a series that has always been close. The statistics say the same. Should be a fun Saturday afternoon for football.
Brian Rice is the writer for UTSports.com. You can contact him after the run through the T on Twitter @briancrice or by email at UTSportsMailbag@gmail.com.
