Welcome to ‘Dawg Debates, in which we debate the issues of the day in Bulldog Nation with a mix of style, grace, and intellect that disqualifies Lugnut Dawg and MaconDawg from ever again being asked to explain the proper use of pecaan vs. pee can.
Today’s topic is one centered all around hate. Yes, during this week of thankfulness, we’re also focused on that of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate. That the naming structure that the Georgia and Georgia Tech Rivalry has, and this year’s matchup raises an even bigger question:
Is this the biggest Georgia-Georgia Tech game ever?
Lugnut Dawg: The stakes could not be any higher, so this is the biggest matchup that there has ever been
Yes, I am sure some of our more seasoned followers may bristle at the belief that this game is one of, if not the biggest version of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate.
Heck, Theron Sapp’s jersey is retired for literally being the reason for Georgia Tech’s eight-game winning stream against the Bulldogs being snapped.
The 2001 win ended a three-year drought and ushered in an era of dominance over the Yellow Jackets, and a 2009 win brought a measure of revenge from a Tech win the year before.
This time, it’s different. Georgia Tech has a team that does not just want to be competitive against Georgia, it has one that believes that it can win and should expect to.
It’s easy for those from the North Avenue Trade School to espouse their hate for Georgia. You can hate paying for school-zone camera traffic tickets all you want, but that does not change the fact that you can’t do anything about it. Tech is a team that is healthy and plays a hard-nosed brand of football. Even if Georgia was banged up with injuries last year, it was still a game in which Tech hung close for four quarters. The Yellow Jackets hate Georgia and feel able to do something about it.
That’s a confidence that should concern Georgia fans.
But that’s not what makes this game even bigger.
It’s simple, really.
Georgia Tech can ruin Georgia’s playoff hopes by knocking them off. Sure, Georgia could lose Friday and win the SEC title. But what’s more damaging to a postseason resume? Losing to a lower-rated team in the regular season or a loss to Texas or Texas A&M?
If you lose to Tech, you likely have to win the SEC title to be in the top 12. A win over the Yellow Jackets, however, could gain more sympathy even if you lose in a conference championship game.
Tech hates Georgia all year long, and it’d love nothing more than to be able to end up being why the Bulldogs miss the 12-team playoff.
That’s what makes this game bigger than any other played before between these two teams.
Macon Dawg: This game means a lot. But it doesn’t mean that much
As Lugnut Dawg correctly noted there is a lot at stake in this game. But not that much. Don’t get me wrong, if you don’t think this is a rivalry, see what happens when you lose it.
But now that we know Georgia will be playing in the SEC Championship Game next weekend that game becomes the most important of the season. The Bulldogs could lose to the Jackets then turn around and beat a flawed Texas A&M, or a Texas team they’ve already beaten, and not only make the playoff but secure a first round bye. That renders this game emotionally important, but objectively insignificant. Sort of like Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket football.
Would I like to lose to the bugs and have them be able to lord that over us for an entire year? Absolutely not. I’m old enough to have watched Georgia lose three in a row* in this series between 1998 and 2000. It was terrible. Terrible in a way that fans whose experience encompasses only the Richt and Smart years haven’t experienced. It is painful to lose to those losing losers.
And I want to beat them badly every single season. But the truth is that the stakes in this one are actually fairly low, Unlike in prior iterations of the series no one’s getting fired if they lose tomorrow. Georgia Tech is going to a mid-tier bowl either way. And all of Georgia’s goals for the season will remain in front of it even with a loss.
In a way that’s what worries me about this game. If Georgia needed to win it to make the College Football Playoff I’d feel comfortable that Kirby would absolutely have the guys dialed in on the mission at hand. The potential for this to become a look ahead game for a team that’s shown a remarkable facility for looking past games this season is worrisome.
Georgia could survive losing this one. But I’d rather not take that risk. Let’s beat those Nerds like a bass drum stuffed full of additional Nerds who each get their own beating.
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
- Jasper was down, dadgummit.