Georgia–Vanderbilt football rivalry

The Georgia–Vanderbilt football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Georgia Bulldogs and Vanderbilt Commodores. Both universities are founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and currently members of the SEC's Eastern Division with a total of 83 meetings. This rivalry is both Georgia and Vanderbilt's fourth longest football rivalry. Georgia leads the series 61–20–2.^[2]

Georgia–Vanderbilt football rivalry

Georgia Bulldogs Vanderbilt Commodores
First meeting	November 7, 1893 Vanderbilt, 35–0
Latest meeting	October 14, 2023 Georgia, 37–20
Statistics
Meetings total	83
All-time series	Georgia leads, 61–20–2^[1]
Largest victory	Georgia, 62–0 (2021)
Longest win streak	Georgia, 11 (1974–1984, 1995–2005)
Current win streak	Georgia 6, (2017–present)

150km
100miles

Vanderbilt

Georgia

  

Locations of Georgia and Vanderbilt

Notable games

 

The 2011 game.

1895: Vandy wins on a fumble

Georgia's Pomeroy fumbled and Vanderbilt's Elliott recovered the fumble and scored a touchdown. Georgia protested that Pomeroy was down, and coach Pop Warner took his team from the field in protest.^[3]

1898: Georgia's first win

 

A. Clarence Jones of Georgia, a renowned punter.

Prior to the game, the bets were 2 to 1 that Georgia would not score.^[4] In front of 2,000 fans at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, the Bulldogs beat the Commodores for the first ever time, 4 to 0. The score came on a run by Georgia back F. K. McCutcheon. At one point Vanderbilt disputed a John Edgerton fumble, and threatened to leave the field until Georgia's captain Walden said he would withdraw his men from the game if the decision were reversed.^[4] Georgia quarterback Kid Huff saved a touchdown when he tackled and forced a fumble from the big Wallace Crutchfield of Vanderbilt.^[4] The punting of Georgia fullback A. Clarence Jones featured throughout.^[4]

1921: Onside Kick from Scrimmage ties SIAA Championship

The Georgia Bulldogs won the SIAA championship in the prior year of 1920. The toughest Southern opponent left for either school, both with undefeated conference records, the Georgia-Vanderbilt game would decide the SIAA title. Georgia was the favorite to win this first meeting of the two schools since 1912, in part because the Bulldogs may have outplayed Harvard and defeated Auburn earlier in 1921.^[5] Georgia had the greatest line in the South,^[6] featuring four All-Southern linemen by the names of Puss Whelchel, Bum Day, Owen Reynolds, and Artie Pew.^[7] Not one team all year scored on Georgia through its line.^[8][9] Vanderbilt at this point was 6–1 against Georgia all time, the score all time was 184 to 4 in the Commodores' favor.^[10]

The first score came after a punt from the Commodores was returned by Georgia some 15 yards to around Vanderbilt's 30-yard line.^[11] The Bulldogs would complete an 18-yard pass from Hartley to halfback Jim Tom Reynolds,^[12][13] to Vanderbilt's 12-yard line. Three punches at the line were stopped for short gains. Hartley gained five yards and Vanderbilt was penalized for offsides. Three line bucks netted three yards. Jim Reynolds, gaining a yard or so, went over for the touchdown with a counter on the following series. It was such a close call that it brought forth considerable argument.^[14] Pew kicked goal. The half ended with Georgia gaining 113 yards on offense to Vanderbilt's 9.^[6]

 

Snapshot from the game.

Soon after the start of the fourth quarter,^[15] Jess Neely intercepted a pass, weaving for a return of 25 yards to Georgia's 40-yard line before being brought down by Jim Reynolds.^[16] Two long pass attempts failed, and Thomas Ryan lined up to punt. Rupert Smith snuck in behind Ryan, and rushed to recover the 25-yard onside kick, jumping up to get the ball off the bounce among a hoard of Bulldogs, after they had let it bounce,^[17] including the outstretched arms of the Bulldogs' Hartley, and raced for a 15-yard touchdown.^[18][19] Rupert added his own extra point and the game ended as a tie, 7–7. Georgia would go on to beat both Alabama and Clemson handily in the following weeks, while the next week Vanderbilt handled Sewanee in the mud, giving both Vanderbilt and Georgia an equal right to the claim of a 1921 SIAA title.^[12] A freshman Lynn Bomar's play at the linebacker position was especially noted, "Georgia would have trampled Vanderbilt to atoms but for Lynn Bomar," observed Nashville Tennessean sportswriter Blinkey Horn. It was said he stopped five Georgia touchdowns that day.^[20][21] One source credits this as the first successful onside kick in the history of football.^[22]

1923: "Dixie's top team" licked by Commodores

On November 17, the Vanderbilt Commodores beat the Georgia Bulldogs at Dudley Field by a lopsided score of 35 to 7. Fred Russell would say this was when "the Gold and Black hit the season's peak."^[6] Morgan Blake, sportswriter in the Atlanta Journal, wrote "No southern team has given the Georgia Bulldogs such a licking in a decade."^[23] Georgia was labeled "Dixie's top team;"^[6] its only loss coming against traditional powerhouse Yale. Georgia's defense had previously shut out all its Southern Conference opponents, with no southern team crossing the Bulldogs' 20^[6] or 25^[23] yard line. Vanderbilt halfback Gil Reese would star in this game, including two punt returns for touchdowns and two more touchdowns on the ground. Reese ran for over 200 yards for the second week in a row,^[24] with 232 yards on his five largest plays and over 300 total yards. Former Vanderbilt coach Wallace Wade, who was at the game scouting Georgia, said the Commodores that day were "the smartest I ever saw."^[6]

1924: Lynn Bomar injured

 

Hall of famer Lynn Bomar suffered a career ending injury against Georgia.

1924 brought the first victory for Georgia over Vanderbilt in twenty-seven "long years,"^[25] having failed to win the last seven matches. The Commodores did well in the first quarter, but never threatened again after that. Georgia had 12 first downs to Vandy's 7, and the Bulldogs gained 284 yards to the Commodores' 128. The furthest the Commodores penetrated was to Georgia's 31-yard line. Thrice the Bulldogs got to within Vanderbilt's 10-yard line, but all three times the Vanderbilt defense stiffened and prevented a score.^[25] Bulldog quarterback "Scrappy" Moore made the 32-yard drop-kick which broke the scoreless tie in the fourth quarter. It was the last field goal kicked by a Bulldog until seventeen years later when Frank Sinkwich did so against Florida with a broken jaw in 1941.

1923 consensus All-American Lynn Bomar suffered an injury this day which would tragically end his career with Vanderbilt football. A kick to the chin from a cleat gave him a severe brain hemorrhage, leaving him with half of his body paralyzed for two days. It was figured he would never play football again. "Not a player on the team could talk of Bomar's injury without tears coming to his eyes."^[6] The next year, he would defy the odds and play professional football in the inaugural season for the New York Giants, leaving after 1926 from a different injury.^{[citation needed]}

Game results

Series record sources: College Football Data Warehouse.^[2]

Georgia victories

Vanderbilt victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winning team Losing team 1 November 7, 1893 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 35 Georgia 0 2 November 23, 1895 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 6 Georgia 0 3 October 29, 1898 Atlanta, GA Georgia 4 Vanderbilt 0 4 October 19, 1901 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 47 Georgia 0 5 October 31, 1903 Athens, GA Vanderbilt 33 Georgia 0 6 November 4, 1911 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 17 Georgia 0 7 October 19, 1912 Atlanta, GA Vanderbilt 46 Georgia 0 8 November 13, 1921 Nashville, TN Tie 7 Tie 7 9 November 18, 1922 Athens, GA Vanderbilt 12 Georgia 0 10 November 17, 1923 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 35 Georgia 7 11 October 25, 1924 Nashville, TN Georgia 3 Vanderbilt 0 12 October 24, 1925 Athens, GA Georgia 26 Vanderbilt 7 13 October 23, 1926 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 14 Georgia 13 14 October 24, 1931 Athens, GA Georgia 9 Vanderbilt 0 15 October 22, 1932 Athens, GA Vanderbilt 12 Georgia 6 16 September 20, 1952 Nashville, TN Georgia 19 Vanderbilt 7 17 October 16, 1954 Athens, GA Georgia 16 Vanderbilt 14 18 September 24, 1955 Athens, GA Georgia 14 Vanderbilt 13 19 September 22, 1956 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 14 Georgia 0 20 September 28, 1957 Athens, GA Vanderbilt 9 Georgia 6 21 September 27, 1958 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 21 Georgia 14 22 September 26, 1959 Athens, GA #17 Georgia 21 Vanderbilt 6 23 September 24, 1960 Nashville, TN Georgia 18 Vanderbilt 7 24 September 30, 1961 Athens, GA Vanderbilt 21 Georgia 0 25 September 29, 1962 Nashville, TN Georgia 10 Vanderbilt 0 26 September 28, 1963 Athens, GA Georgia 20 Vanderbilt 0 27 September 26, 1964 Nashville, TN Georgia 7 Vanderbilt 0 28 September 25, 1965 Athens, GA Georgia 24 Vanderbilt 10 29 October 19, 1968 Athens, GA #10 Georgia 32 Vanderbilt 6 30 October 18, 1969 Nashville, TN #14 Georgia 40 Vanderbilt 8 31 October 17, 1970 Athens, GA Georgia 37 Vanderbilt 3 32 October 16, 1971 Nashville, TN #8 Georgia 24 Vanderbilt 0 33 October 21, 1972 Athens, GA Georgia 28 Vanderbilt 3 34 October 20, 1973 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 18 Georgia 14 35 October 19, 1974 Athens, GA Georgia 38 Vanderbilt 31 36 October 18, 1975 Nashville, TN Georgia 47 Vanderbilt 3 37 October 16, 1976 Athens, GA #11 Georgia 45 Vanderbilt 0 38 October 15, 1977 Nashville, TN Georgia 24 Vanderbilt 13 39 October 21, 1978 Athens, GA #18 Georgia 31 Vanderbilt 10 40 October 20, 1979 Nashville, TN Georgia 31 Vanderbilt 10 41 October 18, 1980 Athens, GA #6 Georgia 41 Vanderbilt 0 42 October 17, 1981 Nashville, TN #9 Georgia 53 Vanderbilt 21 No. Date Location Winning team Losing team 43 October 16, 1982 Athens, GA #4 Georgia 27 Vanderbilt 13 44 October 15, 1983 Nashville, TN #8 Georgia 20 Vanderbilt 13 45 October 20, 1984 Athens, GA #14 Georgia 62 Vanderbilt 35 46 October 19, 1985 Nashville, TN Tie 13 Tie 13 47 October 18, 1986 Athens, GA Georgia 38 Vanderbilt 16 48 October 17, 1987 Nashville, TN #18 Georgia 52 Vanderbilt 24 49 October 8, 1988 Athens, GA #15 Georgia 41 Vanderbilt 22 50 October 21, 1989 Nashville, TN Georgia 35 Vanderbilt 16 51 October 20, 1990 Athens, GA Georgia 39 Vanderbilt 28 52 October 19, 1991 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 27 #17 Georgia 25 53 October 17, 1992 Athens, GA #10 Georgia 30 Vanderbilt 20 54 October 16, 1993 Nashville, TN Georgia 41 Vanderbilt 3 55 October 15, 1994 Athens, GA Vanderbilt 43 Georgia 30 56 October 14, 1995 Nashville, TN Georgia 17 Vanderbilt 6 57 October 19, 1996 Athens, GA Georgia 13 Vanderbilt 2 58 October 18, 1997 Nashville, TN #19 Georgia 34 Vanderbilt 13 59 October 17, 1998 Athens, GA #13 Georgia 31 Vanderbilt 6 60 October 16, 1999 Nashville, TN #14 Georgia 27 Vanderbilt 17 61 October 14, 2000 Athens, GA #14 Georgia 29 Vanderbilt 19 62 October 13, 2001 Nashville, TN #19 Georgia 30 Vanderbilt 14 63 October 19, 2002 Athens, GA #5 Georgia 48 Vanderbilt 17 64 October 18, 2003 Nashville, TN #4 Georgia 27 Vanderbilt 8 65 October 16, 2004 Athens, GA #12 Georgia 33 Vanderbilt 3 66 October 15, 2005 Nashville, TN #5 Georgia 34 Vanderbilt 17 67 October 14, 2006 Athens, GA Vanderbilt 24 #16 Georgia 22 68 October 13, 2007 Nashville, TN #24 Georgia 20 Vanderbilt 17 69 October 18, 2008 Athens, GA #10 Georgia 24 #22 Vanderbilt 14 70 October 17, 2009 Nashville, TN Georgia 34 Vanderbilt 10 71 October 16, 2010 Athens, GA Georgia 43 Vanderbilt 0 72 October 15, 2011 Nashville, TN Georgia 33 Vanderbilt 28 73 September 22, 2012 Athens, GA #5 Georgia 48 Vanderbilt 3 74 October 19, 2013 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt 31 #15 Georgia 27 75 October 4, 2014 Athens, GA #13 Georgia 44 Vanderbilt 17 76 September 12, 2015 Nashville, TN #10 Georgia 31 Vanderbilt 14 77 October 15, 2016 Athens, GA Vanderbilt 17 Georgia 16 78 October 7, 2017 Nashville, TN #5 Georgia 45 Vanderbilt 14 79 October 6, 2018 Athens, GA #2 Georgia 41 Vanderbilt 13 80 August 31, 2019 Nashville, TN #3 Georgia 30 Vanderbilt 6 81 September 25, 2021 Nashville, TN #2 Georgia 62 Vanderbilt 0 82 October 15, 2022 Athens, GA #1 Georgia 55 Vanderbilt 0 83 October 14, 2023 Nashville, TN #1 Georgia 37 Vanderbilt 20 Series: Georgia leads 61–20–2^[1]

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "Winsipedia – Georgia Bulldogs vs. Vanderbilt Commodores football series history". Winsipedia.
2. College Football Data Warehouse, Georgia vs Vanderbilt July 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
3. "VU, Georgia Grid Series Weird One". The Tennessean. October 16, 1954. p. 12. Retrieved November 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
4. "In a Great Game, Georgia Wins A Superb Victory Vanderbilt". Atlanta Constitution. October 30, 1898. p. 18. Retrieved August 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
5.   "Gridiron Gossip". Montgomery Advertiser. November 11, 1921.
6. Russell, Fred, and Maxwell Edward Benson. Fifty Years of Vanderbilt Football. Nashville, TN, 1938
7. . Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
8. Camp, Walter, ed. National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Rules: Official Intercollegiate Football Guide. 45 Rose St, New York: American Sports, 1922. Print. Spalding's Athletic Library.
9. "Final Period Rally Wins for Old Vandy". Charlotte Observer. November 25, 1921.
10.   "Georgia Beat Vandy in '98". Columbus Ledger. November 10, 1921.
11. "Vanderbilt Holds Georgia To A Tie". Dallas Morning News. November 13, 1921.
12. "Bulldog Eleven Is Held To Tie By The Commodores". The Macon Daily Telegraph. November 13, 1921.
13. Vanderbilt Holds Georgia To 7–7 Tie Fort Worth Star Telegram November 13, 1921
14. "Vanderbilt Holds Georgia To A Tie". Dallas Morning News. November 13, 1921.
15.  "Vanderbilt Ties With Bulldogs". The State (Columbia, SC). November 13, 1921.
16. "Commodores Tie In Last Period". The Palm Beach Post. November 13, 1921.
17. "Game With Vandy Is Tied As Novel Play Is Pulled Successful". The Red And Black. November 18, 1921.
18. Fuzzy Woodruff (November 13, 1921). "Onside Kick In Final Quarter Ties Struggle For Commodores". Atlanta Constitution. p. 3. Retrieved March 2, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
19.  "Georgia and Vandy Battle to a Draw". The Columbus Enquirer. November 13, 1921.
20. Traughber, William L. Vanderbilt Football: Tales of Commodore Gridiron History. Charleston, SC: History, 2011.
21. "Wilmington Morning Star". January 18, 1952.
22. "College Football News, Videos, Scores, Teams, Standings, Stats".
23. Morgan Blake (November 22, 1923). "Gil Reese Stars As Commodores Defeat Athenians". The Red and Black.
24. "Great Tribute Paid Reese, Vanderbilt's Great Star". Times-Picayune. November 25, 1923.
25. "Bell Collapses, Victory Proves Too Much". The Red and Black. October 30, 1924.