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Georgia’s ruling party is set to beat a union of pro-Western opposition forces in parliamentary elections, according to partial official results on Saturday.
With votes from 70 percent of precincts counted, the central election commission said the ruling Georgian Dream party was leading with 53 percent of the vote, while the opposition union was on 38.28 percent.
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Most of the biggest brands in college football have never lined up against Georgia football inside Sanford Stadium.
Alabama, of course, is an exception, as an SEC program that first played between the hedges in 1935.
Notre Dame made its only visit to Athens in 2019 in a game deemed so big extra seating was brought in to accommodate a record crowd.
These top 10 winningest FBS programs of all-time have never been on the visitor’s sideline: Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Nebraska and USC.
Texas is on that list, too, but won’t be after it plays Georgia for the first time in Athens on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The Longhorns were scheduled to do that on Sept. 21, 1957, but the game was moved to Georgia Tech’s Grant Field in Atlanta.
But why?
According to the Feb. 7, 1957, edition of the Red & Black student newspaper, the game was shifted to the second of a doubleheader with Georgia Tech and Kentucky playing at 2 p.m. and Georgia and Texas at 8 p.m.
“The Texas tilt was scheduled for Athens, but the Georgia student body does not return until Sept. 23, the first day of registration,” the story said.
Georgia and Georgia Tech had played a doubleheader in 1955 in Atlanta as well: Georgia-Ole Miss and Georgia Tech-Miami.
Moving the 1957 game was “financially necessary,” according to Dan Magill’s “The Georgia Bulldog” newsletter from Feb. 18, 1957, provided to the Athens Banner-Herald by Jason Hasty, a UGA athletics history specialist with the UGA’s Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Magill was secretary of the Georgia Bulldog Club, which he founded in 1953.
That 1955 Georgia-Ole Miss game in Atlanta drew 33,400 — more than three times the average paid attendance for games in Athens in recent years, other than games against rivals Georgia Tech and Alabama, Magill wrote.
Coach Wally Butts cited conflicts with Georgia Tech home games as a “major factor,” in moving the games from Athens, according to the Red & Black.
“Whenever these conflicts exist, it hurts the gate receipts at both schools, particularly Georgia, which is located in a sparsely populated area,” Magill wrote.
The game in Atlanta — just the second against Texas after a 41-28 Orange Bowl Longhorns win on Jan. 1, 1949 — was considered a Georgia home game and students were admitted free with an ID card.
Loran Smith, a Georgia historian who has been associated with UGA athletics for more than 60 years, said Magill complained, “Tech plays the afternoon and we’re the damn sideshow.”
Smith said Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd convinced Butts it would be a good move to play the game in Atlanta.
The game in 1957 was the season opener and marked the debut of Texas coach of Darrell Royal, who is the namesake of Texas football’s Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. He took over a program coming off a 1-9 season.
Texas won 26-7 before a “sweltering short sleeved crowd of 33,000,” according to an AP report.
Georgia trailed 13-7 in the third quarter after sophomore quarterback Charley Britt threw a 5-yard touchdown to Jimmy Orr, but Texas scored 13 in the fourth quarter.
Georgia finished the season 3-7. Texas went 6-4-1 and ranked No. 11.
Georgia played Texas A&M in Athens in 1954 and went to Michigan in 1957 and 1965.
Butts was on a football rules committee with Michigan AD Fritz Crisler which led to the games in Ann Arbor, Smith said.
“Both on the road,” Smith said. “We were like one of the directional schools playing for a check.”
Saturday will be the eighth all-time meeting between the Longhorns, who are No. 5 in all-time wins with 968, and Georgia which is No. 9 with 900.
Texas was scheduled to play at Georgia on Sept. 1, 2029, as part of the second game of a home-and-home series set up in 2018, but then the Longhorns joined the SEC.
Georgia won twice last season, 30-15 in Austin and 22-19 in overtime in Atlanta in the SEC championship game.
The teams have also played in Miami, Dallas and New Orleans.
And now in Athens.
“It’s huge,” Georgia tight end Oscar Delp said. “It’s going to be super fun. I know the city is going to be rocking. Our fans are going to show up. We’re going to show up. We know what kind of game it’s going to be. It’s going to be like the last two. It’s going to be a physical game, who can run the ball, who can stop the run. We’re excited for that.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he will take a moment to soak in the atmosphere of what will be his first game in Athens, too.
“I definitely will appreciate it and I hope our players do, too,” he said. “One of the beauties of going into this conference is the opportunity to play in some of these stadiums around the Southeastern Conference. …I’d be remised if I didn’t take it in, if our players didn’t take it in because that’s when teams can get overwhelmed. You’ve got to embrace the moment, embrace the environment you’re in and then you’ve got to go fight.”
The Texas Longhorns continue to be in control of their own destiny, needing to win out to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff, but that is a task easier said than done. Fresh off a bye week and looking healthy, they hit the road to take on the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
What has been viewed as a “monkey on their back” opponent, after going 0-2 against Kirby Smart and his team, including the SEC Championship loss that left a sour taste in their mouth, the rematch comes at a pivotal time for both teams. Can the Longhorns continue rolling and get their first win over the Bulldogs since joining the SEC last season?
Here’s how to watch one of week 12’s most exciting matchups.
The Bulldogs this season aren’t the same team they have been this decade. While generally known for their toughness and ability to defeat, this season they have shown that they do have chinks in their armor, especially on the defensive side of the ball, which is unlike what fans are accustomed to from them.
They are fourth in the conference in opponent yards per game, allowing 310.78, while being seventh in the SEC on the offensive side, averaging 436.33 yards per game. However, the biggest defense is what used to be the best defensive front in the conference, which ranks dead last in sacks this season with only 11, compared to the Longhorns, who are tied in first with 36.
The Bulldogs only have one loss this season, a 24-21 loss to the red-hot Alabama Crimson Tide. Still, they have played close games against other teams in the conference, including wins against the Florida Gators, Tennessee Volunteers, and the Ole Miss Rebels by a combined 15 points.
Georgia Tech is fresh off a bye week and will face Boston College on Saturday. At 8-1 and 5-1 in the ACC, everything is ahead of the Yellow Jackets with three games left in the regular season. The Yellow Jackets control their own destiny. They are a strong favorite to make the ACC championship with the highest odds in the conference. Georgia Tech has one of the best offenses in football and has leaned on it for one of its best seasons in the Brent Key era.
Coming into the matchup against the Eagles, Georgia Tech is highly favored.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Georgia Tech is a 16.5 favorite and the over/under is at 58.5 as the opening odds. Boston College is 1-9 and has lost nine consecutive games this season. The Eagles are still in search of their first ACC win this season. Despite the record, Boston College will be playing with no pressure and house money, going up against ranked Georgia Tech, looking to put a wrench into their season. Georgia Tech will have to come in and be ready to go.
The practices have produced good results during the bye week, and Georgia Tech is looking to be healthier in the contest on Saturday.
“So this time of year, it’s a good combination of getting healthy, getting players back healthy and mending up things that you’re not doing well or didn’t do well and improving on that and adding complementary things to your offense defense, kicking game and improving overall as a team,” said head coach Brent Key.
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There was no big difference in the schedule for the Yellow Jackets, they still had practice on their regular days and ran a lot of good on good. Similar to what they did in fall camp in preparation for the season. With a focused bunch and corrections throughout the bye week, it should be a formula for success for the Yellow Jackets.
“You have certain days that we’re going to go out and practice. We tweak and alter and change the practice based on what we need. We’re going to practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday regardless. Now it changes a little bit depending on when your game is the following week. Sometimes you have Thursday or Friday, or Saturday, depending on that. But the schedule is the same. The schedule is the same. What you do within that time, yeah, that changes. Going back to what you’re self-scouting, you’re recruiting. The amount of practice you need, the things you need to get done, yet you also have to get guys healthy and get them back. So it’s all in all. You get in the back part of the season, right? That goes the same for any week,” said Key.
Georgia Tech will be back in action on ACC Network at 3:30 PM against Boston College.
•Georgia Tech Moves Up Three Spots In Latest AP Poll
•Georgia Tech An ACC Championship Favorite After Chaotic Weekend In The Conference
•How Does Georgia Tech Respond After A Loss Coming Off Its Bye Week?
•Three Players Who Need To Step Up For Georgia Tech In The Final Three Games
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