ATHENS, Ga. - It is technically the football home of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but Bobby Dodd Stadium has been an incredibly friendly venue for the Georgia Bulldogs during the last quarter century.
Georgia will be seeking its ninth consecutive triumph inside Bobby Dodd Stadium when the No. 7 Bulldogs (10-1) face the Yellow Jackets (5-5) on Saturday. Georgia Tech has experienced more success recently inside Sanford Stadium, prevailing in three of its last five trips to Georgia's house, including last season's 28-27 comeback victory.
The home team last won in this series in 2012, when the Bulldogs mauled the Yellow Jackets 42-10, and the last time Georgia Tech held serve in Atlanta was in 1999.
"I think it's been more to do with the fact that Georgia has played well there," Bulldogs second-year coach Kirby Smart said. "I think a lot of the kids are at home, because a lot of kids are from that area. I don't really know what to attribute that to. Usually has something to do with the X's and O's and the players involved in the game.
"I haven't really been part of this series for a long time, so I can't attribute it to anything."
Georgia is 12-1 in its last 13 trips to Georgia Tech, and nobody with sizable experience in the rivalry is going to forget the exception any time soon. With Jim Donnan's Bulldogs running down the clock to set up a short Hap Hines field goal in the 1999 game that was deadlocked 48-48, officials ruled that running back Jasper Sanks fumbled the ball.
Replays showed that Sanks was on the ground before fumbling, but calls could not be reviewed and overturned at that time. The game went into overtime, where Quincy Carter threw an interception and the Yellow Jackets wound up prevailing 51-48.
It's been all Georgia since in Atlanta, beginning in 2001, when Mark Richt's first team won 31-17 to scissor a three-year series winning streak by the Jackets. Georgia has been favored more often than not against Georgia Tech, but that was not the case in 2009, when the unranked Bulldogs upset the No. 7 Yellow Jackets 30-24 behind 349 combined rushing yards from Washaun Ealey and Caleb King.
One of the best games in the rivalry's history took place in 2013, when the Bulldogs rallied from a 20-0 deficit and won 41-34 in double overtime behind Todd Gurley's 122 yards and three touchdowns, with two of his scores coming in the extra periods.
"It's hard to understand why it's been that way," Donnan said. "We've had a really good run of talent, and Tech hasn't been quite as good. I just think our kids feel comfortable over there. It's not like it's an overwhelming home advantage for them when we play there.
"It's a really good atmosphere for Georgia, and I think they've reacted to the challenge."
The Bulldogs have become used to good atmospheres away from Sanford Stadium this year, with Georgia fans comprising nearly half of the crowd at Notre Dame on Sept. 9 and most of the crowd at Vanderbilt on Oct. 7. The Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville always has a split audience, and Bulldogs fans have a knack in certain years of making Bobby Dodd Stadium a 50-50 spectacle as well.
Only trips to Tennessee and Auburn have felt like true road games for the Bulldogs this season.
"It's been very beneficial," Smart said. "More than anything, it shows the love and passion our fan base has for the football team. It's very rewarding, and you would like to think that it impacts the game from a crowd noise standpoint, but it doesn't really do that.
"It more so makes it feel like a home away from home, and a good following is always great support for our team and our players, especially in this game for our seniors."
Had officials ruled Sanks down before the ball came out, Georgia's last loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta would have been a 33-22 setback in 1989. That was the first of Ray Goff's seven seasons as Bulldogs coach.
History will be on Georgia's side Saturday, though this season's Bulldogs know that won't translate into any points.
"Nothing that happened in the past can control this year," senior outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. "Everything this year has to do with this year, just like nothing that happened last year affects us. We're planning to go out there and play a tough, four-quarter game."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.