Our of region rivalry
Most rivalries in college football are regional affairs. Proximity does lead to more meetings. Which was especially true in the first century of college football. More meetings lead to more rivalries. Conference affiliation also creates rivalries between teams who aren’t that close, such as Miami and Pittsburgh, or Georgia and Missouri.
But there are some rivalries that have transcended both conferences and shared state borders. Many of which have persisted, most notably Notre Dame versus Southern California. But in the early 1900’s, Georgia had a budding rivalry with one team from the northeast.
Yale Bulldogs – 11 Games
When talking about the important opponents of Georgia football’s formative years, you have to mention Yale. Georgia played against other Ivy league teams, but they formed a very close relationship with Yale that relationship produced a series of 11 games played over the course of 12 years.
Yale was a powerhouse of college football from the 1870’s, up until the 1930’s. They even claim 27 National Championships as they, with Princeton, were the sport’s first dynasties. But through their relationship with Georgia, Yale in many ways passed the torch to UGA.
By the late 1920’s, the debate about scholarships in college athletics had reached a boiling point. Four factions comprised this debate. Some schools, including Georgia, wanted to build teams with scholarships, regardless of a prospects grades and test scores.
Other schools, including Yale, wanted to maintain a high academic standard for who they rewarded scholarships to. The last factions wanted to keep scholarships out of athletics, or at least not offer full ride’s to student athletes.
The results of this debate changed the course of college football. It directly led to the formation of the SEC in 1932, and a new batch of powerhouses taking over through the 1920’s and 30’s. The Ivy League and other academic-minded schools no longer controlled the sport. Now, champions were built through competitive recruiting.
In 1927, Georgia found its first major success in the evolving college football climate. After getting whipped by Yale in four games from 1923-to-1926, the Bulldogs upset Yale 14-10 on the road in 1927. Both teams went on to claim a share of the National Championship for that season.
Yale got their revenge in 1928, and in 1929 they traveled to Athens for the first time to play the first game in the new Sanford Stadium. Georgia upset Yale again 15-0. Georgia won the next four meetings, all in New Haven.
In many ways, to understand the evolution of college football in this era, you only need to look at the Georgia vs. Yale series. Beginning in the early 1920’s when Georgia was a southern powerhouse, but when Yale was a national powerhouse. Yale owned the series.
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Then, Georgia won their first national title as Yale won one of their last. And the series ended with Georgia riding into a new era of college football known for recruiting, big stadiums and rabid fan bases. while Yale faded into the background with other Ivy League schools still clinging to their beliefs that all schools shouldn’t lower academic requirements for athletic success.