In recent years, perhaps no single play has exemplified the Georgia-Georgia Tech rivalry as much as a tackle of Georgia Tech A-back Robert Godhigh made by Bulldogs linebacker Alec Ogletree last year at Sanford Stadium.
“Tackle” doesn’t begin to describe it, though, as Ogletree (6 foot 3, 232 pounds, five-star prospect out of high school, first-round NFL draft pick) wrapped up Godhigh (5-7, 190, former walk-on) and flung him to the ground in a manner worthy of WWE.
Georgia went on to win again, its 11th win out of 12 tries against Tech, the most one-sided 12-year stretch in the rivalry’s storied history. The two teams meet again Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium at 3:30 p.m., a game to be broadcast on ABC.
Once again, Tech fans, players and coaches hope that their day is coming. Given the series’ imbalance, is that a reasonable expectation? Coach Paul Johnson and two of Tech’s major donors provided their input.
Said Johnson, “My expectation is we’re going to try to win the game. That’s my expectation every year.”
Steve Zelnak, whose family’s name graces the basketball practice facility and the Tech football meeting room, chaired the recent athletic director search committee.
“You’d like to go into the fourth quarter of every game in position where you’ve got an opportunity to make some plays and win,” he said. “That’s where we would like to be.”
Gregg Garrett is a “Life” member of the athletic department’s Alexander-Tharpe Fund and a friend of Johnson’s.
“I absolutely believe in my heart that the Georgia Tech-Georgia series is going to be competitive again,” he said. “I really do believe that.”
There is plenty of reason to believe Garrett is a little optimistic and Garrett himself has concerns.
In recent years, Tech has competed against Georgia when the Bulldogs have arguably been camped at their highest peak outside the Herschel Walker era.
Since the advent of the Associated Press poll in 1936, Georgia has finished in the Associated Press top 10 a total of 20 times. Fourteen of those occurred over a span of 65 years prior to coach Mark Richt’s hire, including three during Walker’s career (1980-82). Under Richt, the Bulldogs have recorded six top-10 finishes in 12 seasons.
That has converged with the SEC’s climbing national dominance and rising academic standards at Tech.
“How many times do you hear the high school coaches say, ‘He’s an SEC player,’ or ‘He has SEC speed’?” Johnson asked. “It’s a nonstop 24-hour commercial on ESPN. That comes into play sometimes.”
Tech and Georgia’s recruiting classes in 2013 told a familiar story. By rankings according to Rivals, seven Georgia signees were ranked higher than Tech’s highest signee. The Bulldogs claimed 16 of the top 50 to one for Tech. It has played a part in confrontations like the one between Ogletree and Godhigh.
Tech fans’ frustrations with the series is evident on message boards as well as in conversations.
“Certainly I’d like to see us close the gap,” Zelnak said. “I think everybody would, including coach Johnson.”
Zelnak, though, said that fans hoping that Tech will lower its academic requirements can forget about it. “It’s not the mission of Georgia Tech,” he said. He did express hope in an expanded recruiting staff and a more national scope.
Garrett hears rhetoric from Tech fans that they would be satisfied with winning two or three times in a 10-year span. He calls that dangerous thinking.
“If anybody that has anything to do with the program, whether it’s administration or on the field, doesn’t honestly believe that the series can be competitive again, meaning you win 50 percent of the time, that would be a huge issue to me as a supporter of the program,” he said.
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