Everything Georgia Has Gained and Lost In Conference Expansion Over The Years

In the 33 years of conference expansion, Georgia's list of annual opponents looks drastically different today than it did back then.

Word on the street is that the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" is on the endangered list. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze may have let the news slip during a press conference on Monday that the Georgia/Auburn series would not be a protected SEC rivalry after next season.

The culprit would be the same force that has effectively placed the Pac-12 on its deathbed while allowing other conferences to balloon to 16 teams each. It's the same force that has ended so many other historic rivalries and conferences over the last 10 years; Conference expansion and realignment.

Yes, conference realignment is all the rage these days with the major TV networks now playing a role in who goes where. However, it's important to note that we've been in an era of conference realignment since 1991, when independents Florida State and Miami joined the ACC and Big East respectively. Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC a year later. In 1994, Penn State joined the Big 10, while the Big 12 formed out of the ashes of the Big 8 and Southwest Conference.

Since then, conference realignment hasn't ever stopped, it's only taken short sabbaticals. 

The ever-changing landscape has brought changes to the schedules of every football team, Georgia is no exception. The Bulldogs have been fortunate up to this point to have preserved many of its storied rivalries, but they've still dealt with losses and gains just like any other team. These are the most notable:

Loss: Clemson

Today, Georgia and Clemson stand parallel in college football's deep south. In the last 10 years, both programs have climbed from the sports' second tier to become perennial national title contenders (though Clemson's status may be on a hiatus). 

In particular, the two programs have combined to win four national championships over the last six seasons, and six of the last seven national title games have featured one of the two teams.

Given the two schools are separated by a sheer 80 miles, the demand to see the two schools play has never been higher. However, fans of older generations can recall when that demand was met on an annual basis. 

Sans 1973, the Bulldogs and Tigers met every year from 1962-to-1987. They also met each year from 1897-to-1921 (except 1917 and 1918 during World War I), and nine times in the 41 years between the rivalry being an annual affair.

Georgia may dominate the all-time series (43-18-4), but it hasn't diminished from the series. Proximity made this a particularly great rivalry as neither fanbase can avoid the other, especially fans in the Lake Hartwell area. 

Gain: Tennessee

One of the best things to come from conference realignment is the creation of the Georgia-Tennessee rivalry. Despite having shared a conference since 1895, the Bulldogs and Volunteers only met 20 times before realignment placed the two schools in the SEC Eastern Division in 1992.

Over the last 30 years, the two schools have written the book on how to naturally form a rivalry in the modern age. Georgia already had an affinity for Tennessee because of their bold orange color, a nine-game losing streak, and the Vols' 1998 BCS National Title only made the blood boil over.

So much so, that when Georgia finally defeated Tennessee in 2000, fans rushed Dooley Field and tore down the goalposts, the last time such a scene ever happened in Athens. 

Georgia has kept the rivalry one-sided as of late, with 10 wins in the last 12 encounters. Meanwhile, Tennessee is a program on the rise with head coach Josh Heupel. Both schools entered last year's match with No. 1 rankings in separate polls. This year's game could include a similar hype train.

Loss: Ole Miss

One of the long-term casualties of conference realignment was the Georgia-Ole Miss series. When the SEC first split into divisions, each team had two permanent rivals from the other division. Since The Bulldogs and Rebels already had an annual rivalry series dating back to 1966, it remained in place throughout the 1990s.

However, the SEC changed the format after the 2002 season. Starting in 2003, each team would only have one permanent crossover rival. With the other cross-division series being "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" with Auburn, Georgia's series with Ole Miss didn't stand a chance of surviving. 

Note: Perhaps no SEC team lost more historic rivals during realignment than Auburn. From 1988-to-2002, the Tigers saw their annual series with Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Florida all come to an end.

The Georgia-Ole Miss series doesn't have much in the way of historical significance. Outside the Archie Manning years (1968-to-1970), Georgia dominated. In fact, the Bulldogs won four-straight over the Rebels after Manning left Oxford. 

However, Ole Miss embarrassed Georgia when the teams last met in 2016. The Rebels should bring a quality squad into Athens on November 11, making this year's game the most anticipated since Eli Manning led Ole Miss between the hedges in 2002.

Gain: LSU

Georgia versus LSU isn't a permanent rivalry, but realignment has brought the two schools closer together. Like the Georgia-Tennessee series, the Bulldogs and Tigers seldom met prior to 1992. Only 20 times to be exact, and 11 of those games took place from 1943-to-1954.

Since the first meeting as cross-division foes in 1998, Georgia and LSU have played 13 times and each game was memorable in some way. 

There were Georgia's one-point wins in 1998 and 1999; LSU's upset en route to a national title in 2003 and Georgia's revenge in 2004; The shootout in 2008 bookended by Daryl Gamble's two pick-sixes; The A.J. Green false excessive celebration in 2009; 2013's instant classic; and LSU's upset route in 2018.

Then there are the five SEC Championship Game meetings. Behind Alabama/Florida, it is the most common matchup in the championship game's 31-year history. The winner has gone on to win the national championship three times. Georgia got the better of the Tigers in last year's title game en route to its second national title in as many years.

Malaki Starks interception vs Auburn 

Potential Loss: Auburn

This rivalry would join Oklahoma/Nebraska as the most mournful losses of the expansion era. Since the two schools first met in February 1892, there have only been five years in which they didn't meet and three of those years were because of World War I and World War II.  

It's one of those rivalries where a win can salvage a bad season, and a loss can tarnish a great one. One where the favorites are never safe, and underdogs are at their mightiest. Georgia may be on a tremendously dominant run over Auburn (16-3 in the last 19 games), but very few of those games were blowouts and you could even consider some of Georgia's wins as upsets.

Georgia, Auburn, the SEC and college football as a whole will be poorer if it loses the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry."