Bulldogs discover life on losing side of Tech rivalry

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATHENS -- After seven consecutive victories in the Georgia-Georgia Tech football series, the Bulldogs lost to the Yellow Jackets last year -- and have been hearing about it ever since.

Life is different in this state, they have found, on the losing side of the storied rivalry.

"It's no fun for me," said Georgia punter Drew Butler, son of legendary former UGA placekicker Kevin Butler. Even in a family of Bulldogs, the rivalry intrudes.

"One of my best friends goes to Georgia Tech. My sister's boyfriend goes to Georgia Tech. They've definitely had some time to talk," Butler said. "They think the tides have changed. They don't think we're going to win anytime soon. They're looking forward to beating us for the next five or six years.

"Hopefully we can put an end to that. It's not fun to hear, but it's expected from Tech fans."

It is the nature of a heated, in-state rivalry: The winner gets a year to celebrate. The loser gets a year of misery.

And then they play again, as they'll do Saturday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

From 2001 through 2007, Georgia players knew only the winning side of the rivalry. But as soon as the Yellow Jackets walked out of Sanford Stadium with a 45-42 victory -- and pieces of the famed hedges -- last year, the Bulldogs knew their world had changed.

"It's been tough," said linebacker Rennie Curran, who is from Snellville. "We're definitely not used to losing to Georgia Tech and experiencing all that. ... And seeing pictures of them having our hedges; it's a weird feeling -- and not a good one."

Said defensive end Demarcus Dobbs, who is from Savannah: "It hasn't been good. It's been an emphasis all year. ... We know we had a lot of scrutiny come down on us last year after losing to Tech, and we know the only way to redeem ourselves is with a win."

It's not just from Tech fans that the Georgia players hear about last year's result. They also hear about it from Georgia fans who want to make sure the players know how much the Tech game means.

"That's what you hear everybody say: ‘If y'all do anything, just beat Tech; I'm tired of hearing them talk,' " quarterback Joe Cox said. "You hear our fans saying that all the time.

"That's what happens in an in-state rivalry when the team that wins has bragging rights for the whole year. We know they have been on cloud nine since last year, and they are looking forward to getting another win this year. And we just need to do what we can to not let that happen."

After the seven-game winning streak, which matched Georgia's longest in series history, last year's loss might have given the current Bulldogs a keener appreciation of the intensity of the rivalry.

"I didn't really realize how big a rivalry it was until we played it last year and lost," said placekicker Blair Walsh, who is from Boca Raton, Fla. "It is a big deal. It really changes your season. ... It's a game you got to win."

Even in a family of Bulldogs like Drew Butler's -- his mother and father are Georgia grads, and his sister, Scarlett, will get her UGA degree in fashion merchandising in May -- the rivalry reaches the dinner table.

Butler was bracing for another round of ribbing from Scarlett's boyfriend, Tech student Patrick Sugar, at the family's Thanksgiving gathering in Duluth.

"He's had all the leverage this past year," Butler said. "It's been crazy."

Soon, the leverage will increase -- or shift.

"I know he'll be front row at the game Saturday," Butler said. "So hopefully I can, I don't know, go shake his hand after we win, if that happens."