Georgia football and Mississippi State are founding members of the Southeastern Conference, yet they’ve only met 23 times.
The SEC is full of rivalries. Some are bigger than others, some are mostly dormant. That’s the result of being around for 85 years. Teams build history together. Even teams whose meetings are mostly scarce are bound to clash in a premier game on the gridiron.
But one such pairing is yet to get together for a classic bout. Until now. This Saturday, the Bulldogs of host the Bulldogs of Mississippi State for what’s undoubtedly the most hyped game between the two schools in their history against one another.
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The two schools don’t have much history together. They’ve only met 23 times since the two programs formed. Georgia has a commanding 17-6 lead. They first played in 1914 and even by their standards, it was forgettable. Georgia won the game 9-0 but finished with a losing record, while Mississippi State ended the year 6-2.
It was downhill from there. In the following 22 match-ups, one of the teams ended the season with a losing record 16 times. And never have they entered a meeting where both teams were ranked, let alone contending for SEC Championships.
That changes this Saturday. Both Bulldogs are undefeated and have signature wins under their belts. The Associated Press ranks Georgia 11th in the nation, Mississippi State is 17th.
They’re led by coaches who at one time were premier assistant coaches. Dan Mullen was a master quarterback developer as an offensive coordinator who was last at Florida before leaving to become head coach in Starkville in 2009. Kirby Smart was the leader of Alabama’s vaunted defense until 2016 when he returned home to Athens.
And don’t forget about the offensive stars. Georgia boasts more weapons with Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Terry Godwin and Javon Wims. But Mississippi State has Nick Fitzgerald at quarterback. He’s another Dan Mullen guy. Leader, passer, runner. Mullen’s offense revolves around quarterbacks and he always seems to have one who can pilot that system well.
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Make no mistake, this is the hottest ticket in the SEC. What was previously a week barren of top-25 match-ups around the nation, now has its heavyweight fight thanks to a pair of Bulldogs from the SEC.
Will the game live up to they hype? Can Georgia and Mississippi State play their SEC classic together? Those questions will be answered between seven and 11 p.m this Saturday night. But for now, let us, Georgia Bulldogs and Mississippi State Bulldogs enjoy the fact that we finally have our chance to shine in the national spotlight together.