A look at the dead Georgia football rivalries from the early 1900’s
Virginia Cavaliers – 19 Games
Between 1897 and 1927, Georgia and Virginia met 14 times. That run included 13-straight games from 1913-to-1927. Excluding 1917 and 1918 when Georgia cancelled football because of World War I of course. That means that Virginia has played Georgia in more games consecutively than any team outside the SEC, besides Georgia Tech and Clemson.
The record in those 14 games was six wins for Georgia, five for Virginia, and three ties. Virginia won the first four games, but Georgia finally picked up a win in 1916. After the war, the teams battled to a pair of ties. Georgia dominated the final seven years of the annual series by going 5-1-1.
After 1927, the rivalry died and was soon forgotten. In fact, Georgia and Virginia wouldn’t meet again until 1979 when Virginia crushed Georgia 31-0 in Athens. The Bulldogs avenged that loss in 1987 with a 30-22 win at home.
Georgia and Virginia rekindled their rivalry a bit in the 1990’s with three meetings in bowl games. Two of those games rank as two of the best Peach Bowls ever played. In the 1995 Peach Bowl, Georgia came back from a 24-6 deficit to tie the game 27-27 with a minute left. But Virginia returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to win 34-17.
In the 1998 Peach Bowl, Georgia again had to come back from a three-score margin. This time they trailed 21-0 before a touchdown late in the first half. The Bulldogs eventually took a 35-27 lead, but Virginia nearly spoiled the comeback again.
They scored a touchdown in the final minutes to cut the score to 35-33, but they missed the two-point conversion. However, the Cavaliers recovered the onsides kick to set up a potential game-winning field goal. The Bulldogs lucked out when the kick sailed wide right.
Georgia and Virginia met in the 2000 Oahu Bowl for a rubber match, but this one lacked the drama of the Peach Bowls. Georgia led 17-0 in the first quarter and went on to win 37-14. That was the last time two two played. The rivalry returns in 2020 thanks to the Chick-fil-A Season Kickoff Game. We’ll see if they can live up to the Peach Bowls in 1995 and 1998.