It goes without saying that any loss by the Georgia Bulldogs to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, no matter what the endeavor, is a bad thing. However, because I consider a Red and Black loss to the Ramblin’ Wreck at historic Grant Field on Saturday to be an inevitability, and because Orson Swindle recently suggested the Doctor’s robot companion K-9 as a successor to Uga VII, I am reminded of the line from "Doctor Who" to the effect that, even out of an evil as great as that of the Daleks, some good must come.
With that in mind, I now provide you with a chronological listing of the five "best" Georgia losses to Georgia Tech:
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December 3, 1927: Georgia Tech 12, Georgia 0. Because of the lack of an adequate facility in Athens, the Bulldogs were compelled to play this game in Atlanta for the 18th consecutive series meeting, the last rivalry clash in the Classic City having taken place in 1899. Georgia came into the game undefeated, and, with a Rose Bowl berth on the line, the Bulldogs came up short, much to the disgust of Steadman Vincent Sanford. Sanford immediately began the capital campaign to build a new stadium in Athens, which was dedicated two years later, in the same month and year as the stock market crash. Had the setback suffered in the City Too Busy To Hate not given Sanford the impetus to raise the arena that bears his name, the Great Depression might have delayed the construction of Sanford Stadium by a decade or more.
November 30, 1963: Georgia Tech 14, Georgia 3. Johnny Griffith’s third loss to the Engineers in as many tries brought his all-time ledger against season-ending foes Florida, Auburn, and Georgia Tech to 1-8. The loss was Coach Griffith’s last before alumni pressure forced him from the head coaching post and newly-named Georgia athletic director Joel Eaves tapped the Auburn Tigers’ freshman coach, Vincent Joseph Dooley, to succeed him. Over the course of the next quarter-century, Georgia would go 19-6 over the Bulldogs’ in-state rivals.
November 30, 1974: Georgia Tech 34, Georgia 14. On a dismal cold and rainy day in Athens, the Golden Tornado blew through the Classic City Canines to conclude the worst defensive season in Bulldog history. Erk Russell recognized that changes were needed, so he made alterations to his scheme, enlisted the aid of the Redcoat Band in calling attention to stellar defensive plays, and established the "Junkyard ‘Dawgs," who would win four SEC championships and one national title over the next eight years.
November 25, 2000: Georgia Tech 27, Georgia 15. In keeping with the tradition established with Johnny Griffith, the Bulldogs’ third consecutive loss to the Yellow Jackets required firing the Red and Black’s head coach. Jim Donnan was sent packing and was replaced with Mark Richt, who took seven straight series meetings from the Ramblin’ Wreck while claiming a pair of SEC crowns and winning ten or more games six times in his first eight years.
November 28, 2009: Georgia Tech a lot, Georgia a lot less. I mean, obviously. The final nail in Willie Martinez’s coffin forced the change in Georgia defensive coordinators that ended the Bulldogs’ brief downcycle and got the Mark Richt era back on track.
As negative as I try to be, I still make the effort to look for the silver lining for the men in silver britches, and, right now, this is the best I can do.
Go ‘Dawgs!
