GEORGIA MEMORABLE GAME
1957 (Georgia 7, Georgia Tech 0)
Things to know
1. The win snapped Tech’s eight-game win streak in the series. Bizarrely, as chronicled in the book “Clean Old-Fashioned Hate,” the Atlanta Constitution’s Jesse Outlar predicted a 7-0 win after earlier in the week picking Tech to win by a touchdown. The headline after the game: “A KID NAMED SAPP AND THE END OF A DROUGHT”.
2. Theron Sapp plunged in from one yard on fourth down in the third quarter and became known as “The man who broke the drought.” Legendary writer Furman Bisher penned this: “Georgia Tech lost the battle in the line. The big forwards of Georgia were aroused to the point of dedication for this one and as the game aged they seemed to grow in size and fierceness along with stature. … That was Sapp’s passport to glory.”
3. That wasn’t Sapp’s only great play; he also recovered a fumble by teammate Charlie Britt in the fourth quarter to deny the Yellow Jackets another shot to win the game. It was one of two fumbles recovered by Sapp, who also played linebacker.
What happened next for Georgia: The Bulldogs finished 3-7, the second-most losses in a season during Wally Butts' time as coach.
TECH MEMORABLE GAME
1998 (Tech 21, Georgia 19)
Things to know
1. The win snapped Georgia’s seven-game win streak against Tech, the second-longest in the series. “No question we got the rivalry back in the game,” Tech coach George O’Leary said after the game. “Good win for Tech; tough loss for Georgia. … It’s good for the state, the fans, the kids. That catapults into your offseason.”
2. Brad Chambers’ 35-yard field goal with two seconds left clinched the win in front of a crowd of 86,117. It may have been just the right kind of moment after the Bulldogs defeated the Jackets the year before on an 8-yard touchdown pass with 8 seconds left. Tech’s winning drive started on its 30-yard line and included some controversy when the Bulldogs thought they had recovered a fumble by Joe Hamilton. The officials ruled he was down.
3. Georgia ran nine plays for 14 yards on its final three drives as the Jackets held the ball for more than 10 minutes in the fourth quarter and gained 163 yards on 30 plays. The Bulldogs had 278 yards and 19 points in the first three quarters. “(Tech) didn’t do anything differently,” Georgia offensive tackle Matt Stinchcomb said after the game. “We just didn’t execute. It’s our job to put them away. We didn’t, and gave them the opportunity to come back down the field and put the game away.”
What happened next for Tech: The Jackets (10-2) defeated Notre Dame 35-28 in the Gator Bowl. They finished No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the coaches poll.
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