Georgia
Former President Jimmy Carter starts last journey through Georgia from Plains to Atlanta • Georgia Recorder
Former President Jimmy Carter may have only served one term as governor, but he left his mark in many ways before leaving for Washington, even literally.
With a pencil, Carter signed the desk in the governor’s ceremonial office, starting a tradition that has been continued by his successors.
Four of those governors who would go on to write their own signature on the desk – three of them Republicans – were among those who bundled up Saturday and stood outside the state Capitol as Carter’s motorcade made a brief and solemn ceremonial stop on its way to the Carter Presidential Center a few miles away.
“I think most of us felt like he had really fought for so long that there was a certain peace about that at that final moment in that regard,” Sonny Perdue, a former governor who is now chancellor of the University System of Georgia, told reporters Saturday.
“But I think we looked at the pictures of him at his wife’s funeral, and that wasn’t the President Carter that I knew and the humanitarian that lived after that,” Perdue said.
Carter, who was a Democrat, died last Sunday at the age of 100 after being in hospice care for nearly two years. Former first lady Rosalynn Carter died late in 2023.
The ceremonial stop at the state Capitol was part of the first of a six-day funeral procession that started Saturday in Americus and will culminate Thursday with services in Washington and finally back in Plains. Carter will lie in repose at the Carter Presidential Center until 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Wendy Shaw, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and her family were among the many out-of-towners who made their way to Atlanta this weekend for the former president’s funeral services.
The family visited the state Capitol on Saturday morning and then proceeded to the Carter Presidential Center at night for Carter’s public visitation. The 56-year-old banker wanted to pay respect to her childhood hero.
“He was someone who I admired because of what he stood for politically and for being someone who championed causes that benefited people who were the most in need,” Shaw said.
For the most part, Saturday was a reflection of Carter’s humble beginnings in rural Georgia and his time under the Gold Dome in Atlanta, where he served as a state senator and governor before winning a long-shot bid for president in 1976.
Carter’s fingerprints can still be seen all over state government, including through the state’s education system – he laid the groundwork for the state’s technical and vocational education system as well as Georgia’s kindergarten and pre-K programs – and drastically restructured state government through a consolidation of agencies and boards.
“You might think about that as being like smaller government, but that wasn’t his goal,” said state Sen. Sally Harrell, an Atlanta Democrat who served alongside Carter-era lawmakers when she was in the state House.
“His goal was to have efficient government that served the people better. So that was always his goal is to have a government that is stronger for the people. That government still exists today,” she said.
Harrell was among the dozens of state lawmakers who greeted Carter’s motorcade Saturday as it stopped in front of the state Capitol amid a bipartisan outpouring of tributes and reflections on Carter’s legacy.
“I think when people think about President Carter, they think about him being a compassionate, moral person, and I think that’s what people are craving now, is to have another leader like him,” Harrell said.
Perdue argued the universal admiration seen in the last week says as much about the nation as it does Carter.
“I hope that says something about us as far as a country that’s willing to recognize a great person, a great leader in that regard, and pay due respect to one irrespective of what partisan activity or area they were in that regard, I feel that way,” Perdue said. “Obviously, I have great respect for what he did – not what party he belonged to, but what he created and did for mankind afterwards.”
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Charlie Bethel, a former GOP state senator who previously served alongside Carter’s grandson Jason Carter in the state Senate, said he felt sadness but also pride at the death of a man he tells his children is worthy of emulation.
“In our house, we don’t do a lot of ‘heroing,’ because human beings are flawed, but it’s nice to be able to point to somebody and say, if you want to live like another person, Jimmy Carter is one person it’s worth pursuing that as a goal,” Bethel said Saturday.
Georgia’s highest-ranking elected officials, who are all Republicans, were also at the state Capitol Saturday to honor Carter and to greet Jason Carter and Carter’s oldest son, Chip Carter.
“There was a lot of love on the side of the road,” Chip Carter said during a private service at the Carter Presidential Center. “Every overpass had people on it. It was amazing and gave you goosebumps just to sit in the van and see the reaction of those people of Georgia.”
The public visitation started Saturday evening after the private service, which was attended by staff of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and the Carter Center – the people Jason Carter called the “real keepers of my grandparents’ legacy.”
“We’ll have many chances this week to pay tribute to my grandfather, but it was important for all of us that we stop here,” Jason Carter said during Saturday’s service. “These buildings, as you all know, are filled with his life, not just because this is a museum to his life and not just because there’s a collection here of his beloved paintings, but his spirit fills this place. And the real reason that this spirit fills this place is because of the people who are standing here.”
Georgia Recorder senior reporter Stanley Dunlap contributed to this report.
THE FLATS – Kickoff time for Georgia Tech football’s Nov. 1 game at NC State has been placed on a six-day hold, the Atlantic Coast Conference and its television partners announced on Monday. Game time for the Georgia Tech-NC State contest will be determined following the conclusion of games this Saturday, Oct. 25.
No. 7 Georgia Tech enters this Saturday’s homecoming game versus Syracuse with its highest regular-season ranking since 2009 and its first 7-0 record since 1966. The Yellow Jackets are also riding a nine-game winning streak at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field dating back to the beginning of last season, their most consecutive wins at Bobby Dodd since they won 17 in a row at home from 1989-91.
Saturday’s homecoming game versus Syracuse kicks off at noon. In addition to celebrating homecoming on The Flats for the 76th time, Georgia Tech will also commemorate the 10th anniversary of the “Miracle on Techwood Drive” win over Florida State in 2015 during Saturday’s game. Tickets still remain for Saturday’s Tech-Cuse homecoming showdown – click HERE to secure your seats online.
2025 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS
With a fanbase that has been reenergized by the Yellow Jackets’ success, attendance at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field is up 24% over this time in 2024. Fans can still be a part of the excitement on The Flats, as tickets remain for the Yellow Jackets’ final two home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2025.
Oct. 25 vs. Syracuse (Homecoming) – Click HERE for tickets.
Nov. 22 vs. Pitt (Senior Day/Military Appreciation Day/Michael Isenhour Toy Drive-25th Anniversary) – Click HERE for tickets.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
Georgia’s enjoyed a coaching advantage in rivalry with Florida since the day it hired Kirby Smart. Lane Kiffin would help level the scales.
Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss has ‘a lot to fix’ before Oklahoma
Lane Kiffin said Ole Miss needs to improve before what he called a big test in Oklahoma in Week 9.
Sunday turned just a bit sour for Kirby Smart, because it became a good day for Florida. By firing Billy Napier, the Gators got better. Maybe that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. Napier’s coaching had been holding Florida back.
By firing Napier, Florida gave itself an opportunity to level the longstanding coaching mismatch inside the “Cocktail Party” rivalry Smart’s ruled.
By firing Napier, Florida gave itself a chance to chase Lane Kiffin. If you’ve watched the Georgia-Mississippi games the past two seasons, you know Kiffin can go toe-to-toe with Smart. The Gators haven’t had a coach capable of doing that since Georgia hired Smart.
Dan Mullen gave Florida a shot with X’s and O’s, but Smart ran circles around him on the recruiting trail. Mullen managed to beat Smart once in four tries. Florida replaced Mullen with its very own version of “Ray Goof,” as Steve Spurrier once called the former Georgia coach whom he beat seven straight times. Napier brought some talent into Florida, but coaching gaffes defined his tenure.
If Florida lands Kiffin, it finally would employ a coach capable of matching sideline wits with Smart and who also could counteract his recruiting prowess. Smart still rules the old model of signing high school talent, but Kiffin’s aced the transfer free agency roster-building strategy better than anyone.
With Kiffin, Florida could hope to field a team as talented as Georgia’s, while having a coach as savvy as Smart. It also would have one of college football’s best quarterback developers. That goes a long way anywhere. It goes miles with Gators fans thirsting for the second coming of Steve Spurrier.
Even in Ole Miss’ 43-35 defeat in Athens, Kiffin’s schemes and play-calling gave Smart’s squad fits for three quarters until his Bulldogs rallied late, as is their style.
“A lot of credit goes to Lane and his staff,” Smart said after his team overcame a two-score deficit, one year after getting smashed by Kiffin’s Rebels. “Their team was really prepared to come into this game and start fast, as they did.”
Smart labeled Kiffin “the best in the country” at clock management.
What a contrast that would be for Florida. It spent the past four seasons competing with the nation’s worst clock manager on the sideline, and also a coach who struggled to master how to get 11 men — and only 11 men — on the field.
Ole Miss scored touchdowns on five straight possessions against Smart’s defense, while Napier had his hands full with Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State. True, Kiffin’s Rebels failed to land the knockout blow, but X’s and O’s couldn’t be faulted, at least.
Everything matters in coaching nowadays. The boss man must be a good CEO, a steady recruiter, a keen evaluator of potential transfer talent, and a glorified grifter who can help attract booster bucks. Actual coaching matters, too, especially in this era of increasing parity.
It’s still a game of Jimmies and Joes, but any school with a billionaire or at least a few motivated millionaires can hope to land a five-star Jimmy and some four-star Joes or snag some value buys out of the portal.
They’re not all going to Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State.
Check out a typical Saturday inside the modern SEC. Vanderbilt whupped LSU, and it didn’t count as an upset. Texas needed overtime to survive Kentucky. Missouri bested Auburn in two overtimes. Georgia survived Ole Miss in a thriller.
On a day when eight conference games were played, six were decided by one possession. The days of Nick Saban assembling a three-deep of all-stars and routinely creaming the field on a run of dynastic dominance are finished.
The game’s changed, and this is no time to employ a sideline stiff, not when in-game coaching can swing the difference in these white-knuckle SEC games that unfold weekend after weekend. Ole Miss has a coach that’s buoyed it into playoff contention and onto Georgia’s level. He could be the solve to Florida’s problems.
From Florida to Auburn to Georgia Tech, Smart’s owned each one of his most important rivals. Kiffin in a Florida visor would make the “Cocktail Party” a fair fight.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
Panthers outscored 21-0 in fourth quarter of 41-24 loss
Georgia State head coach Dell McGee looks onto the field during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Despite a career night from quarterback Cameron Brown, Georgia State could not capitalize, losing a fourth-quarter lead in a 41-24 loss to Georgia Southern Saturday night.
Although they produced their highest point total of the season against an FBS opponent, the Panthers were still outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter, as the Eagles rallied for the victory.
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