ATHENS, Ga. - A first No. 1 ranking in the College Football Playoff standings.
A first Southeastern Conference football championship in 12 years followed by a first Rose Bowl triumph in 75 years.
Two straight seasons of sweeping SEC East opposition.
The Georgia Bulldogs have been checking off their share of milestone achievements recently, but a home win over Georgia Tech isn't one of them. Georgia has not held serve inside Sanford Stadium against the Yellow Jackets since 2012, when redshirt junior quarterback Aaron Murray threw two touchdown passes and freshman tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall combined for four rushing scores in a 42-10 rout.
Georgia (10-1) will seek to prevent a third straight triumph for Georgia Tech (7-4) "Between the Hedges" when the rivals collide Saturday at noon.
"Since 2012. It is what it is right there - 2012," Bulldogs senior defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter said. "That is all we need as far as motivation. I want this, and I know everybody on the team wants this. We've taken a lot of disrespect from Georgia Tech, and I know some people would rather see us beat Georgia Tech than even win a national championship.
"We're not going to disappoint. We're going to come out and play a physical football game and give them everything we've got."
The Bulldogs have been giving Sanford Stadium visitors everything they've had since blowing a 27-14 lead early in the fourth quarter of their 28-27 loss to the Yellow Jackets in their 2016 regular-season finale. Georgia has won 13 straight home games since, with the closest calls being last season's 24-10 victory over South Carolina and the 27-10 win over Auburn this month.
Georgia trailed Auburn 10-6 midway through the second quarter but led 20-10 by halftime and shut down the Tigers in the second half.
"That's been a message all year, and not just about Tech," Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. "The teams that have been the championship teams have defended their home turf. We have a bulletin board about it. When you win your games at home, it gives you a much better chance to win the East. When you win games at home, it gives you a much better chance of winning the SEC.
"We've talked about that all along, and we want to continue to do that, not because it's Tech but because it's our home stadium."
Georgia is seeking a home dominance that can match the early 1980s. The Bulldogs opened that decade with 24 consecutive triumphs until a 13-7 loss to Auburn in 1983. To make it 14 straight Saturday, Georgia must contain Paul Johnson's triple-option-based offense, and Johnson admitted this week that this rivalry isn't quite as friendly as others in which he's been involved.
Johnson, who coached at Georgia Southern and Navy before arriving in Atlanta, has a 3-2 record with the Yellow Jackets in his five trips to Sanford.
"Army-Navy is just different than Georgia Tech-Georgia or even Georgia Southern-Appalachian State, because it's 365 days a year," Johnson said on his weekly radio show. "Everything in the weightroom says, 'Beat Army,' but there is such a mutual respect for each other. There is not all the animosity and that kind of thing.
"You want to win the game, and at the end of the game the two teams come together and sing the alma mater. Here, it's just pretty clear the teams don't like each other."
The Yellow Jackets have celebrated their wins at Georgia by snagging some of the famed hedges. That hasn't sat well with Georgia's veteran players, who have to relive those scenes through motivating videos throughout the Butts-Mehre Athletic Complex.
"I definitely don't want them to win here ever again, especially while I'm here," junior tight end Isaac Nauta said. "I want to make sure those hedges don't get touched. You don't want to keep that as your main focus, but it's an idea that sits in the back of your mind."
Said senior receiver Terry Godwin: "Personally, I don't need to be reminded. It's stuck in there. I remember it like it was yesterday."
Yet it's not like Bulldogs players haven't had fun inside Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium. As one example, senior outside linebacker D'Andre Walker recalled the 13-7 victory in 2015, which marked his baptism into the rivalry.
"After the game, me and Leonard Floyd ran out there and planted our flag in the middle of their field," Walker said with a smile. "I do remember that. I was a freshman, and I was in the moment."
A moment Georgia's current players have yet to experience at home.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.