Georgia Things and Other Auburn Connections
The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is back and better than ever? You probably know more about Georgia than most teams, but there’s still a lot of known and less-known history and connections between these two teams. Let’s take a look.
🐶 Georgia Things
🐐 1. They Started With a Goat: Georgia’s original mascot in 1892 was a goat wearing a blanket and a hat with red and black ribbons. They eventually switched to a bulldog, somehow finding an animal that’s even less athletic.
👖 2. Silver Britches: Georgia has proudly called its football pants “Silver Britches” since 1939. Nothing strikes fear into an opponent like a bunch of arrestees getting excited about shiny pants. It’s the only place where yelling about another man’s britches is considered school spirit.
🎓 3. Georgia’s Colors Aren’t Original: Georgia’s red and black colors were influenced by the school’s early connections to Yale, whose colors included blue. Georgia adopted red and black, and eventually the Bulldog nickname. Imagine spending your entire existence barking about school pride when your identity started as an Ivy League imitation.
🚔 4. Georgia’s Other Rankings: Georgia has had at least 26 arrests involving members of its football program since 2023. The Bulldogs have spent the last few years collecting national championships, SEC titles, and mugshots. Apparently, Kirby Smart’s toughest opponent isn’t Alabama. It’s the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
🦔 5. The Spike Squad: Georgia has a student fan group that dresses in shoulder pads covered in spikes and paints their bodies for football games. It’s what happens when the kids who played pretend wrestling in their backyard grow up and somehow get accepted into college.
🦅 Auburn Connections
🏈 1. Auburn Gave Georgia Its First Loss: Auburn beat Georgia 10-0 on February 20, 1892, handing the Bulldogs their first loss in program history. Auburn’s football program literally started by beating Georgia.
🏉 2. The Coaching Connections: Pat Dye played at Georgia, Vince Dooley played and coached at Auburn, Shug Jordan coached at Georgia, Erk Russell played at Auburn, and Kirby Smart coached at Auburn and earned his master’s degree there. Apparently, neither school can find a good coach without borrowing from the other.
🪖 3. Auburn Beat Georgia With a Helmet: In 1916, Auburn’s Moon Ducote kicked a 40-yard field goal using teammate Legare Hairston’s leather helmet as a kicking tee. Auburn won 3-0. Georgia lost to a piece of football equipment.
🏆 4. Auburn Ruined Georgia’s Perfect 1942 Season: Georgia went 11-1 in 1942, won the Rose Bowl, and claimed a national championship. Its only loss was a 27-13 defeat to Auburn. Even Georgia’s national championship season included losing to the Tigers.
⏰ 5. The SEC’s First Overtime Game: Auburn and Georgia played the SEC’s first overtime football game in 1996. Georgia won 56-49 in four overtimes at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Apparently, 60 minutes wasn’t enough for either team to figure out how to play defense.
