The matchup between No. 1 Tennessee and No. 3 Georgia at Sanford Stadium will be a first in a rivalry game that dates back more than 120 years.
For just the third time ever, Georgia is hosting a top-five meeting on its home turf, and it will mark the first time the Vols (8-0, 4-0 SEC) and Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 SEC) have played each other as top-five teams.
Despite the proximity between both schools (234 miles), Tennessee and Georgia have only played annually since the SEC split into divisions in 1992. The Bulldogs hold the edge in the series at 26-23-2 and have won 10 of the last 12.
Tennessee has the longest win streak, however. The Vols dominated the series for a nine-game stretch between 1989 and 1999 with only three of those games being decided by a touchdown or less.
The rivalry has produced a plethora of memorable games since 2000. From the "Hobnail Boot" to the "Dobbnail Boot," here's a closer look at the Tennessee-Georgia series.
THE LAST MEETING
Tennessee went 77 yards on its first drive, capped by a Hendon Hooker touchdown pass to Velus Jones Jr., and led 10-7 in the first quarter before No. 1 Georgia pulled away in the second half to win 41-17 at Neyland Stadium. The Vols turned the ball over twice and the Bulldogs were headlined by a 104-yard, two-touchdown performance from running back James Cook.
THE DOBBNAIL BOOT
Longtime Georgia radio play-by-play announcer Larry Munson famously coined the phrase "Hobnail Boot" on his call after the Bulldogs scored a go-ahead touchdown on a pass from David Greene to Verron Haynes with six seconds left.
"We just stepped on their face with a hobnail boot and broke their nose!," Munson exclaimed on the airwaves. "We just crushed their face!"
It helped Georgia to a come-from-behind, 26-24 upset win over No. 6 Tennessee on Oct. 6, 2001, and it took 15 years for the Vols to return the favor in comparable fashion.
In the last three minutes of the fourth quarter of the 2016 game at Sanford Stadium, Derek Barnett strip-sacked Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason in the end zone. The ball was recovered by Corey Vereen to give Tennessee a 28-24 lead only before Eason connected with Riley Ridley for a 48-yard score with 10 seconds to go to put Georgia back in front at 31-28.
By the time Tennessee got the ball back, the game had already solidified itself as an indelible chapter in the rivalry, but Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs had one more sentence to add.
With four seconds left at midfield, Dobbs' final heave to the end zone was snagged by Jauan Jennings as time expired. He fell to the turf with the ball completely in his grasp and the Vols walked-off Georgia for a 34-28 win — their last in the series.
SOME MEMORABLE GAMES
Sept. 14, 1968: The game featured the debuts of Vol Network play-by-play announcer John Ward, the first African-American player in Tennessee football history in Lester McClain and the first college football contest played on artificial turf in the Deep South.
On the newly-installed Tartan Turf at Neyland Stadium and in front of nationally televised audience, Tennessee overcame a 17-9 fourth quarter deficit with an 80-yard drive that ended in a quarterback Bubba Wyche touchdown pass to Gary Kreis with no time left on the clock.
On the game-defining two-point try, Wyche hooked up with Ken DeLong to complete the comeback and end it in a dramatic 17-17 tie.
Oct. 7, 2006: Georgia led 24-14 at halftime before Tennessee exploded for 37 second-half points to down the Bulldogs, 51-33, at Sanford Stadium.
Quarterback Erik Ainge was 25-of-38 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns while running back Arian Foster rushed for three scores. Tennessee was 6-for-6 on touchdowns in the red zone.
The Vols took the lead for good at 31-27 on an Ainge 15-yard touchdown strike to Robert Meachem early in the fourth quarter. Tennessee’s special teams followed it up by blocking a Gordon Ely-Kelso punt and recovering it in the end zone to start the rout.
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