Bobby Scott had never seen anything like it.

The Tennessee quarterback stood in the backfield and watched play after play as Curt Watson darted through the mud and Georgia's defensive line on a rainy afternoon at Sanford Stadium in Athens on Nov. 1, 1969.

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In a game where between two top 15 teams with SEC title implications, Watson totaled 197 yards on 19 carries and solidified Tennessee's spot atop the league standings with a 17-3 victory. Less than a month later, the Vols were conference champions for the second time in three years.

"I've never seen that kind of running," Scott told reporters after the game. "I'd hand the ball off and carry out my fake. When I'd look around, (Watson) would still be running."

It was a script similar to the one that Tennessee and Georgia will have when the two teams meet for the 54th time on Saturday in Athens (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

The No. 7 Vols have the inside track to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta and a College Football Playoff berth, while the two-loss Bulldogs are essentially playing for their season.

As far as Tennessee's rivals go, Georgia is a relatively new one. Georgia may be the closest campus to Tennessee as the crow flies, but it wasn't until the SEC split into divisions in 1992 that they started playing each other annually.

There were some memorable clashes before then, though. There was the game of monumental firsts at Neyland Stadium in 1968 that nearly overshadow the thrilling comeback led by Bubba Wyche in the final minutes to tie the Bulldogs back when playing on national television was a delicacy.

There was the arrival of freshman Herschel Walker when he signaled a stellar career with one emphatic run against the Vols in 1980, or when Tennessee's backfield tandem of Reggie Cobb and Chuck Webb combined for 189 yards and two scores to end a four-game losing skid to Georgia in 1989.

Saturday's edition of Tennessee-Georgia is setting up to join that list, before it kicks off, here is a look at the all-time series.

Who: No. 7 Tennessee (8-1, 5-1 SEC) at No. 12 Georgia (7-2, 5-2)

When: Saturday, Nov. 16 | 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: ABC (Chris Fowler, play-by-play; Kirk Herbstreit, analyst; Holly Rowe, reporter)

Series: Georgia leads, 28-23-2

In Knoxville: Georgia, 12-14-1

In Athens: 12-13-1

Biggest win: Tennessee 46, Georgia 0 on Oct. 31, 1936 in Athens

Biggest loss: Georgia 44, Tennessee 0 on Sept. 5, 1981 in Athens

Longest win streak: Nine game (1989-99)

Longest losing streak: Seven games (2017-present)

Jaylen Wright burst up the middle for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play. The next 59 minutes were less memorable for Tennessee against Georgia at Neyland Stadium last season.

Wright finished with 90 yards on nine carries, much of which he picked up on his first carry while Joe Milton III was 17-of-30 passing for 147 yards as the No. 18 Vols lost to No. 1 Georgia, 38-10 on Nov. 18, 2023.

The defending national champion Bulldogs and seemingly on their way to a third-straight title, extended their win-streak over the Vols to seven games--their longest in the series.

Tennessee beat Vanderbilt one week later and beat Iowa, 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl to cap a 9-win season. Georgia lost its College Football Playoff bid with a loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, but dismantled Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — (Sept. 14, 1968) The debut was nearly spoiled.

Tennessee's brand new turf called Tartan and dubbed "Doug's Rug" after head coach Doug Dickey was installed in the offseason and had its baptism by fire at Neyland Stadium on Sept. 14, 1968 and in technicolor for thousands more to see on a nationally televised broadcast on ABC.

The Vols were fresh off an SEC title and were tabbed by one major selector as the national champion of the year 1967, but they were on the ropes as the press box cast its shadow over the new turf in the late Saturday afternoon. Georgia was leading by more than a score in the final minute.

Bubba Wyche, who one year before burst onto the scene after injuries at quarterback thrust him into a bigger role, was now Tennessee's unquestioned starter and its leader on its final drive.

It started with a pass to Mike Jones that picked up 11 yards. Then Wyche linked up with Richard Pickens for 7 more yards. A few plays later, Lester McClain, who was the first black player to play the Vols, hauled in a critical fourth down toss that went for 14 yards to kept hope alive for Tennessee.

The Vols drove inside the Georgia 10 yard line, but the clock ticked down to five seconds after back-to-back tackles for loss all of the way back to the 21. Tennessee had just one play left.

Wyche dropped back, hardly wasted time and darted a throw to Gary Kreis at the goal line. A Georgia defender crashed in but it was too late. Kreis' momentum landed him in the end zone and the Vols had their touchdown, but were still trailing.

With no time left, Wyche passed to almost the same spot on the field, only about 15-yard closer this time and with Ken DeLong on the receiving end of it. The final score: 17-17.

From the radio booth, John Ward and Bill Anderson were on the call for the first of 30 years worth of football games for the Vol Network.

"As it turned out," Dan Jenkins penned for Sports Illustrated, "the game would have been a classic if it had been played on a barge moving down the Tennessee River, which almost washes against the end zone of the Vols' stadium."

ATHENS, Ga. — (Oct.9, 2004) Tennessee might as well have limped into Sanford Stadium.

The Vols' come-from-behind win over Florida and romping of Louisiana Tech the following week seemed like a distant memory after No. 8 Auburn brought them back down to earth in the wake of a 34-10 defeat.

The mistake-filled loss was followed up by road tilt at unbeaten and No. 3 Georgia and Tennessee was a 12.5-point underdog in Athens against a team it hadn't beaten in the previous four tries and in a place it hadn't won since 1998.

Apparently, the Vols learned from their mistakes. So did Erik Ainge.

In the first-ever road game for the Tennessee freshman quarterback, Ainge passed for 150 yards and two touchdowns, including a 22-yard pass over the middle to Bret Smith to put the Vols ahead for good in the first quarter.

James Wilhoit hit two field goals and Tennessee's defense recorded five sacks and held Georgia to less than 100 yards rushing. Ainge's second touchdown pass to Chris Hannon in the fourth quarter was the dagger.

The Bulldogs scored again to pull within one score and David Greene drove them all of the way to the Vols' 20 with one second left. But the defense held again.

Greene's pass to the end zone as time expired was intercepted and Tennessee took control of the SEC East, dashing Georgia's national title hopes in the process.

ATHENS, Ga. — (Oct. 1, 2016) Sanford Stadium erupted into a frenzy.

Jacob Eason had seemingly just earned legendary status in the annals of Georgia football after his pass to Riley Ridley had put the Bulldogs in front only seconds after it seemed Tennessee was going to win.

Two Georgia drives earlier, holding on to a three-point led, Derek Barnett stripped the ball from Eason in the end zone and the Vols recovered to take the lead with less than three minutes left. Then Eason threw an interception along the sideline on the next possession.

It looked as if Eason had flipped the script on Tennessee after his pass to Ridley though. There didn't seem to be enough time for the Vols and the Bulldogs celebrated like it.

It proved to be a costly celebration.

Georgia was flagged for 15 yards and Josh Dobbs and Tennessee were close enough to make one final heave that could reach the end zone from around midfield after the kickoff.

Dobbs stepped back past the 50, bobbing around as he tried to give his wide receivers time to reach the end zone. Then he released the ball.

It carried towards a bunched-up mass of mostly red-clad humanity, but in the middle of the scrum was Jauan Jennings.

The week before, Jennings had been the hero in Tennessee's second half surge to snap a 15-game losing streak to Florida. He was the hero again when he came down with the ball, falling back to the turf before immediately springing up with it still in his hand.

The Vols won, 31-28--their last over Georgia.

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