A Classic Rivalry

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Tuesday’s Tip

They called each other cheaters the first time they squared off on a football field.

One hundred and 11 years later, Georgia Tech and Georgia can't even agree how many times they've played.

So we set out to set the record straight on the Peach State's most contentious rivalry, a series that began 63 years before Uga I arrived in Athens and a decade before the denizens of North Avenue became the Yellow Jackets.

Here, with help from the schools and various other sources, are (25) facts you ought to know heading into Saturday's game in Athens.

1. Uga's meal

The Bulldog mascot eats the same thing 364 days a year, a special science diet made by Hills Dog Food. The only day the portly pooch wavers from the routine, says Uga owner Sonny Seiler of Savannah, is on Thanksgiving, when he's fed a little turkey (his favorite) and dressing.

2. Steve Spurrier

The ol' ball coach didn't always have Georgia's number. He was 0-1 in this series; Tech's quarterbacks coach in 1979 couldn't prevent a 16-3 loss.

3. On TV

The Food Network's chef Alton Brown is a Georgia graduate. Vern Yip of The Learning Channel's "Trading Spaces" earned a master's in architecture at Tech.

4. Coach's salary

Tech coach Chan Gailey's base pay is $297,675 this year, plus $99,225 in apparel fees, $360,706 in radio and TV money, $200,000 in speaking fees, for a total of $957,606 before incentives and benefits. Georgia coach Mark Richt's base pay is $201,600 this year, plus $400,000 for product endorsement (Nike), $600,000 in radio and TV money, $100,000 for his football camp, for a total of $1.3 million before incentives and benefits.

5. No peewees

Pop Warner coached Georgia in 1895 and 1896, but never against Tech.

6. Old school ties

Hargrave Military Academy produced five of the players on this year's Georgia and Georgia Tech rosters; they're all Bulldogs. Stephenson's five alumni are split: Quarterback Reggie Ball and defensive tackle Josh Tittle play for Tech; split end T.J. Gartrell, injured tailback Kregg Lumpkin and cornerback Demario Minter play for Georgia.

7. Few upsets

Saturday will be the 32nd time one team entered this game ranked in the AP poll and the other didn't. The ranked teams are 29-2 in those games, with Tech knocking off No. 18 Georgia 35-18 in 1984 and No. 20 Georgia 20-16 in 1985. When both teams are ranked, the lower-ranked team has a 4-3 advantage.

8. Herschel

Herschel Walker ran for 225 yards against Tech in 1981, the most by any player in one game in this series.

9. The missing years

Georgia fielded no team in 1917 and 1918 because of World War I. The series didn't resume until 1925 after Tech took offense to floats in a Georgia parade that questioned Tech's patriotism during the war.

10. Most points

Tech's 51-48 victory in 1999 not only marked the highest combined point total for both teams in the series but also the most ever scored by Georgia in a loss to anyone.

11. Fewest points

Here's a record that can't be matched. Georgia and Tech combined for zero points in 1902, 1915, 1932 and 1938. Overtime rules these days mean somebody has to score eventually.

12. Student bodies

Georgia has 24,452 undergraduates; Tech 11,545.

13. Student brains

Average SAT scores for this fall's Tech freshmen: 1337; average for this fall's Georgia freshmen: 1237.

14. School rankings

U.S. News & World Report ranks Tech 10th and Georgia 19th among the nation's public universities.

15. Team rankings

Georgia is eighth in the AP poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today poll; Tech is unranked in both.

16. Tech's last ranking

Georgia was No. 19 and Tech No. 21 heading into the 2001 game, which Georgia won 31-17. Tech hasn't been ranked since.

17. Best Georgia high school alum not in this game

Auburn's Ronnie Brown of Cartersville is a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award presented annually to the nation's top running back.

18. The visitors' take

Tech gets $300,000 plus 8,500 tickets and 100 sideline passes under terms of the four-game contract signed in 2001, which also provides for an ACC officiating crew for games in Athens and an SEC crew for games in Atlanta.

19. Heisman Trophies

Georgia: Two -- Frank Sinkwich, 1942; Herschel Walker, 1982.

Tech: Zero -- just runners-up Billy Lothridge, 1963, and Joe Hamilton, 1999.

20. A trophy of a coach

John Heisman coached Tech from 1904-19 and was 7-4-1 against Georgia. Tech hired Heisman for $2,500 a year and 30 percent of the gate.

21. Freshman/JV game

From 1933-93, the schools played a freshman/junior varsity charity game on Thanksgiving. Tech won that series 30-28-1.

22. Eat your ribs out?

One of Georgia's greatest victories came in 1997, when Tech scored a go-ahead touchdown with 48 seconds left, only to see Mike Bobo win it 27-24 on an 8-yard pass to Corey Allen with 8 seconds left. "It was like having your rib cage ripped out," Tech coach George O'Leary said.

23. Mascots

Tech's Buzz was named to Capital One's 2002 All-America Mascot Team. Georgia's Uga V made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1997 as the nation's best college mascot, and Uga IV, dressed in black tie, attended Herschel Walker's Heisman Trophy banquet.

24. Bowl records

Georgia: 21-15-3

Tech: 21-11

25. Both in bowls

This is the eighth consecutive season and the 17th time overall that both teams will go to a bowl. Georgia is 11-5 against Tech when both are bowl-bound.