I mentioned this in passing last week, but I want to elaborate on how rare the game with Alabama really is. After researching this extensively last week, I have only found nine instances in the entire history of Georgia football where two Top 10 teams battled each other in Athens. (Image: AJC)
Top 10 vs. Top 10 Match-ups in Athens:
- 1942 --- #2 GT at #5 Georgia (W)
1946 --- #7 GT at #3 Georgia (W)
1966 --- #5 GT at #7 Georgia (W)
1971 --- #5 Auburn at #7 Georgia (L)
1976 --- #10 Alabama at #6 Georgia (W) Added
1982 --- #9 Clemson at #7 Georgia (W)
1983 --- #3 Auburn at #4 Georgia (L)
1998 --- #5 Tennessee at #7 Georgia (L)
2002 --- #10 Tennessee at #6 Georgia (W)
Like I said, I'm still not 100% sure that I exhausted all the possibilities. However, I worked with the UGA media guide and the online media guides from some of our opponents to search this.
What games am I missing? If you can post a link proving that I missed one, I'm more than happy to edit the post.
Update: Due to user emails and feedback, I added the '76 Bama game. I thought that was the season opener so I had originally missed it. I was mistaken. (The '42 Bama game was played in Atlanta).
See Also:
-- Georgia Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Tickets
PWD
*I used whichever poll had the Dawgs and/or their opponent rated higher. For instance the '82 Clemson game had Clemson ranked #9 in one poll and #11 in the other.
22 comments:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we're 5-0 against Bama when both teams are ranked in the top 10.
As an Alabama fan, I'm surprised that we haven't ever played y'all in Athens in a Top-10 matchup. That somewhat confirms my sense that the two teams have usually been mismatched - one is up while the other is down - over a long period of time, and is of course also due to the fact that we haven't played each other regularly in decades.
What was Alabama ranked when we beat them in Athens in 1976?
PWD,
You missed one... In '76 against Alabama, Georgia was #6 in both major polls coming in. Alabama was #10 in the AP, #9 in the UPI.
Yes, we are 5-0 against Bama when both are top 10 but not sure if all were in Tusc
Yes, this will be one of those "I was there" games. And we all thought the tickets to the UGA/Georgia Southern game were hard to come by. You better have your tickets in hand before you get to the game. Otherwise, you'll be watching the game on TV in a bar like everyone else that thought they could pick up some tickets on gameday. Good Luck!
Classic City and Anon,
Where are you getting those 5 games against Bama when both were in the Top 10. I went to site and I couldn't find that many games. I only found 2 total. Both in Athens.
UGA was pretty bad in the 50s. In the 60s we stopped playing them every year. Really about 4 times per decade after the saturday evening post scandal. So there weren't many chances to play them when both were ranked highly.
According to georgiadogs.com......
The Bulldogs matchup against the Crimson Tide marks only the sixth time in the history of the series where both teams are nationally ranked. Georgia holds a 5-0 record in those games, including a 21-10 win over Alabama during the Bulldogs’ 1942 national championship season. The Bulldogs were ranked second in that matchup while the Crimson Tide was third.
......So, it's 5-0 when "nationally ranked" not Top 10.
Correction - '42 Bama game was played in ATL. (Thanks Jim)
Ok....that's right.
1942 - Bama #3 vs. UGA #2 (Atlanta)
1946 - Bama 15 vs. UGA 5 (Athens)
1976 - Bama 10 vs. UGA 6 (Athens)
2002 - Bama 22 vs. UGA 7 (Tuscaloosa)
2007 - Bama 16 vs. UGA 22 (Tuscaloosa)
Okay, that's right. I couldn't remember the stat exactly.
A taste of Bama state of mind from www.rollbamaroll.com:
"Georgia is sitting ducks
bring on the blackout and whatever else they want to try. ASU was missing their best defensive player, MLB gerald munns. If they’d of had him in the game it would have been closer. BAMA certainly has what it takes to keep the georgia rushing attack under wraps, and stafford only has one WR to throw to. Kareem Jackson and Javier Arenas should be able to hold it down in cover 1 situations while we stack up the box. add to all that the fact that BAMA has yet to be in a close game, meaning, we haven’t had to break out page 2 of the playbook. I bet we see some of the young guys, like BJ and Julio, take some direct snaps and other trickery…… All 5 of our O-Line starters should be healthy and in good condition, many of the back ups have seen valuable time as well. We have 4 badass running backs and a stable of WR’s….. the stage is set, BAMA is ready, meanwhile Georgia is just trying to keep their head above water before they get to their bye week.
I smell an upset."
^^In response to that Bamer comment - I would consider 20-6 over TULANE a close call.
This is going to be a war, no doubt, but c'mon, Arkansas sucks.
Let them think that we only have one wide receiver to go to--then watch MoMass do to them what he did on his touchdown in last year's Athens blackout.
In 59, I think the DAWGS and auburn were both ranked in the top 10. I was at that game and it was one of the best games ever played in Sanford. I think we were ranked 5th going into that game.
Let's not forget the weapon by the name of Tavarres King. He is under the radar but if needed I think he could possibly be the #2 in a 1-2 knockout beside AJ Green.
As one of the authors of Roll Bama Roll, it's a little misleading to attribute that quote to the site when it was taken from the comments section. I don't think you'll find many people on our site that agree with that comment either. Sure, there's a few people hyping a big Bama win, but I think more folks are in line with this type of post about our "points of concern" with UGA....and there are many points of concern for us in this game.
Um, I would double check the '04 LSU game because I distinctly remember it being #4 UGA vs #3 LSU. I remember LSU had a close call the week before against an unranked team and only won b/c of a missed field goal or an extra point or both, but I don't remember them dropping until we beat them.
Anon 1:30,
LSU lost to Auburn the week before playing us in 2004 in Athens.
PWD
Nice of the AJC to rip off your post.
In 1982, UGA and Clemson opened the season in Sanford Stadium. The teams were national champions in '80 and '81. Both had to be highly rated, but I cannot remember the actual rankings.
Georgia will lose big this weekend mark my words, they are just a slightly above average team this year and their offensive line is going to get demolished.
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