The Georgia Tech–Vanderbilt football rivalry is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

and

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

. Both universities are founding members of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) and

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

(SoCon), and

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

(SIAA). Georgia Tech leads the series all time 20–16–3. In the 1910s, both programs were coached by men inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: Dan McGugin and John Heisman. In 2016, a trophy for the contest, the Gold Cowbell, was unearthed after almost 70 years of dormancy. The trophy began in 1924.

History

The schools first meeting was on November 19, 1892. In 1896, both teams joined the

(SIAA). The rivalry was be played as a postseason matchup in 2024, as both teams were invited to the

2024 Birmingham Bowl The 2024 Birmingham Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2024, at Protective Stadium located in Birmingham, Alabama. The 18th annual Birmingham Bowl featured Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football, Georgia Tech and Vanderbil ...

. Vanderbilt won the game, 35-27.

McGugin and Heisman

In 1904, Hall of Fame coaches were hired at each school:

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American college football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and a ...

at Vanderbilt and

John Heisman John William Heisman ( ; October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

at Georgia Tech. Heisman was already of repute, having won a claim to the 1903 SIAA championship at Clemson the previous season. McGugin was new on the job, but is still the only coach in college football history to win the first three games he ever coached each by 60 points. McGugin would coach at Vanderbilt (with the exception of the 1918 season due to World War I) until the 1930s. Heisman would coach at Georgia Tech until after the 1919 season.

William Alexander William or Bill Alexander may refer to: Literature *William Alexander (poet) (1808–1875), American poet and author *William Alexander (journalist and author) (1826–1894), Scottish journalist and author * William Alexander (author) (born 1976), ...

was hired to succeed Heisman, and he continued to produce strong teams utilizing the Heisman shift. Alexander coached until the 1940s, when he was replaced by

Bobby Dodd Robert Lee Dodd (November 11, 1908 – June 21, 1988) was an American college football player and coach, college baseball coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Georgia Tech from 1945 to 1966, compili ...

. Vanderbilt's oldest

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

was Sewanee. One publication claims "The first scouting done in the South was in 1905," before the upcoming Sewanee game, "when Dan McGugin and Captain

Innis Brown Innis Brown (March 31, 1884 – January 23, 1961) was a college football player, referee, sportswriter, and civil engineer. His sports articles were nationally known, writing for the New York Sun and Hearst newspapers. Early years Innis Br ...

, of Vanderbilt went to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

to see

Sewanee Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review ''The Sewanee Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1892. It is the oldest continuously published quarterly in the Unit ...

play

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

." Both Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech claim a Southern title in

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

. Seven out of eight newspapers voted the SIAA championship to the "point a minute"

. The ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Jo ...

'' declared it a tie between Vanderbilt and

, which was then independent. However, Tech challenged Vandy's championship. McGugin would win 11 Southern championships in his first 20 seasons coaching the Commodores, including 4 straight from 1904 to 1907, 3 straight from 1910 to 1912, and 3 straight again from 1921 to 1923, as well as the one in 1915. Heisman would win four straight from 1915 to 1918, including a Southern team's first undisputed national title in 1917. McGugin's 1907 team gave Heisman his worst loss at Tech, and Heisman's 1917 team gave McGugin and the Commodores their worst loss ever.

Gold Cowbell trophy

In 2016, a trophy for the contest, the Gold Cowbell, was unearthed after almost 70 years of dormancy. The winner of the contest was awarded the cowbell trophy tradition starting in 1924, and it was still awarded to the winner of the contest up until the 1960s.

Notable games

1892: First matchup

The first matchup was in 1892, a 20–10 Vanderbilt win. It was Georgia Tech's inaugural season (their second-ever game) and Vanderbilt's third season. The 1892 Vanderbilt team was the oldest in the memory of

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was an American sportswriter and poet known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers". He coined the famous phrase that it was not important whether you “won or lost, but how you playe ...

. He claimed Phil Connell would be a good player in any era.

1906: Manier scores five touchdowns

The 1906 Vanderbilt team was one of the strongest in its history.

Owsley Manier John Owsley Manier (March 18, 1887 – September 1, 1956) was an American college football player and coach and physician. He played at Vanderbilt University as a Fullback from 1904 to 1906 and at the University of Pennsylvania in 1908 as a ...

rushed for five touchdowns on Tech. Sportswriter Alex Lynn wrote after the game that Manier was: "the greatest fullback and all round man ever seen in Atlanta."

Lob Brown William S. "Lob" or "Lobster" Brown was a college football player. Georgia Tech Brown was a prominent tackle for the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He came from Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) ...

scored for Tech.

1907: Heisman's worst loss at Tech

The following season, Vanderbilt beat Georgia Tech 54–0. "The rooters stridently called: "We want ''sixty''! We want ''sixty''!" The highlight of the first half came on a triple pass.

Sam Costen Samuel Cutter Costen (May 18, 1882 – January 21, 1955) was an American football player and coach. Costen was a quarterback for Dan McGugin's Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. As a player, he weighed some 150 pounds. He was the th ...

passed the ball to

Honus Craig John Livingston "Honus" Craig (November 30, 1881 – April 18, 1942) was an American college football player and coach. Early years John Livingston Craig was born on November 30, 1881, in Culleoka, Tennessee, to Thompson Sloan Craig and Ella Cli ...

, Craig passed it to Morton and Morton passed it to Bob Blake, who ran to the side and passed it 25 yards back to Costen. Costen ran the remaining 20 yards for a touchdown.

1910: Morrison Licks Jackets

In 1910, Vanderbilt won a close game over

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

9–2. Late in the first quarter,

Ray Morrison Jesse Raymond Morrison (February 28, 1885 – November 19, 1982) was an American football and baseball player and a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (1915–1916, ...

returned a punt 90 yards for Vanderbilt's only

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

was the game's

field judge In gridiron football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college football games, seven officials operate on the field. Since 2015, Division I ...

, and McGugin did not want to show too much, playing Heisman's

in two weeks. Morrison was the star of the Georgia Tech game too, scoring two touchdowns on road to a 23–0 victory for Vanderbilt.

1917: Vanderbilt's worst loss

The 1917 Georgia Tech team was the South's first national champion. Despite Vanderbilt having a respectable team, Tech beat Vanderbilt 83–0, the worst loss they have ever suffered. "It was not until 1917 that a Southern team really avenged long-time torment at McGugin's hands. And it took one of history's top backfields–

Joe Guyon Joseph Napoleon "Big Chief" Guyon (Anishinaabe: ''O-Gee-Chidah'', translated as "Big Brave"; November 26, 1892 – November 27, 1971) was an American Indian from the Ojibwa tribe (Chippewa) who was an American football and baseball player and c ...

, Ev Strupper, Al Hill, and

Judy Harlan Julian Washington "Judy" Harlan Jr. (November 6, 1896 – May 20, 1978) was an American college football player for the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was the fullback in Georgia Tech's famous ...

of Georgia Tech–to do it," wrote

Edwin Pope John Edwin Pope (April 11, 1928 – January 19, 2017) was an American journalist known for his sportswriting at the ''Miami Herald'', where his work appeared from 1956 until his death in 2017. He covered Super Bowl I through Super Bowl XLVII. Som ...

. Guyon was the game's star; according to

Morgan Blake William Morgan Blake (February, 1889 – July 26, 1953) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter in the South who in his 24 years on the job covered seven Rose Bowl games. He also taught the south's largest Sunday School class. Early ye ...

, "Guyon has been great in all games this year. But Saturday he was the superman". Vanderbilt captain Alf Adams praised the Tech team: "Tech's magnificent machine won easily over Vanderbilt. It was simply the matter of a splendid eleven winning over an unseasoned, inexperienced team. Tech played hard, clean football, and we were somewhat surprised to meet such a fair, aggressive team, after the reports we had heard. I think that Vanderbilt could have broken that Tech shift if we had had last year's eleven. Being outweighed, Vanderbilt could not check the heavy forwards, or open up the line. Thereby hangs the tale."

1919: Vanderbilt loses in the mud

In Heisman's final year at Georgia Tech, both teams were undefeated entering the game. Vanderbilt suffered its only loss on the year in the mud, 20–0. Halfback

Buck Flowers Allen Ralph "Buck" Flowers, Jr. (March 26, 1899 – April 8, 1983) was an American college football player who was a Halfback (American football), halfback for the Davidson Wildcats football team of Davidson College in 1917 and for the Georgia ...

and fullback Bill Giaver starred. Flowers had a 78-yard touchdown run. Vanderbilt's captain was

Josh Cody Joshua Crittenden Cody (June 11, 1892 – June 17, 1961) was an American college athlete, head coach, and athletics director. "Josh" Cody was a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he earned 13 letters playing sev ...

1920: Flowers and Barron run up a large score

Georgia Tech continued its success with new coach

. With Flowers and

Red Barron David Irenus "Red" Barron (June 21, 1900 – October 4, 1982) was an American football and baseball player. Barron was a three-sport letterwinner at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In football, he was named second or third team All Americ ...

in the backfield, SIAA champion Tech defeated Vanderbilt 44–0. During the scoring barrage, Flowers converted a 44-yard

drop kick A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player intentionally dropping the ball onto the ground and then kicking it either (different sports have different definitions) 'as it rises from the first bounce' ( rugby ...

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

. In the fourth quarter, a fight broke out between Vanderbilt's

Gink Hendrick Harvey "Gink" Hendrick (November 9, 1897 – October 29, 1941) was an American Major League Baseball player who played for several different teams during an eleven-year career. Early years Born near Mason, Tennessee on November 9, 1897 to Richar ...

, and some Tech players and fans. No ejections could be made since too many players were involved.

1924: Wakefield's field goal beats Tech

All-American

Hek Wakefield Henry Smith "Hek" Wakefield (February 10, 1899 – November 19, 1962) was an American college football player and coach. He played fullback and end for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University from 1921 to 1924, receiving the hono ...

scored on a 37-yard

field goal for Vanderbilt's first win in Atlanta since 1906. Wakefield was considered the greatest drop kicker in Vanderbilt history. The Gold Cowbell trophy was introduced after this game. Vanderbilt elected to start the game with the wind at its back, hoping for an edge in punts which would lead to good field position early.

Gil Reese David Argillus "Gil" Reese (January 14, 1901 – May 30, 1993) nicknamed "the Tupelo Flash" was an American football, basketball, and baseball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. He was captain of all three his senior ...

caught one of these punts in the first quarter on the fly and, noticing both of Tech's ends blocked to the ground, raced to within striking distance of the end zone. From there,

made a drop kick. Wakefield was the star of the game; "He was death on returning punts and when he started around the ends the Tech stars groaned", recalls one account. Tech's one chance to score came when fullback Douglas Wycoff missed a kick low, partially blocked by Vanderbilt. Hendrix attempted to recover but missed, and Georgia Tech retained possession at the 4-yard line. On first down, a snap from center missed Wycoff, and Vanderbilt fullback Tom Ryan recovered the ball at the 15-yard line, and later punted it away to safety.Russell, Fred, and Maxwell Edward Benson. ''Fifty Years of Vanderbilt Football''. Nashville, Tennessee, 1938, p. 42-43

1925: Wright should run for governor

Describing the most spectacular play he ever saw, coach Alexander cites one from the 1925 game against Vanderbilt.

Doug Wycoff Stephen Douglas Wycoff (September 16, 1903 – October 27, 1981) was an American football running back for the New York Giants, Staten Island Stapletons, and Boston Redskins in the National Football League (NFL), the Newark Bears (AFL), New ...

was hurt, and his substitute Dick Wright was sent in with only minutes to go in the game. On a muddy field, Wright ran off tackle and dodged Vanderbilt's

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

, "usually a sure tackler," to get the touchdown that gave Tech a 7–0 victory. The yearbook remarked, Wright "should have run for governor of Georgia right after he ran 56 yards against Vandy."

1926: Spears beats Tech

in 1926, Vanderbilt beat Georgia Tech 13–7. Tech scored on an off-tackle play when

Carter Barron Carter Tate Barron (January 30, 1905 – November 16, 1950) was a college football player and motion picture executive. College football Carter Barron was one of a trio of football playing brothers for Bill Alexander's Georgia Tech Yellow ...

got loose for a 50-yard run. Bill Spears faked a pass and ran for 24 yards to spark a drive to tie the game at 7, and added two field goals to win the game for Vanderbilt.

1927: Spears and Armistead held scoreless

On a wet field, Tech's strong defense held the high scoring Vanderbilt team, including Hall of Famer Bill Spears and high scorer Jimmy Armistead, to a scoreless tie.

1928: National champions end Commodores title hopes

Georgia Tech ended the Jimmy Armistead-led

' hopes of a southern title with a 19–7 victory. Tech went on to win the

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

and a national title. Georgia Tech's first touchdown came on a pass from Tom Jones to

Warner Mizell Luke Warner Mizell (March 22, 1908 – October 2, 1962) was an American football player. He played at the halfback position for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team and was selected by the Associated Press, United Press, and Central ...

on a triple pass play. Georgia Tech's next score came on an

end run In gridiron football, an end run is a running play in which the player carrying the ball tries to avoid being Tackle (football move), tackled by running outside the end (or flank) of the offensive line. It is distinct from a Dive (American footbal ...

from Mizell. Vanderbilt's lone score came on an run by lineman

Bull Brown John Neil "Bull" Brown was an American football and baseball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. He was said by coach Dan McGugin to be one of his six best players ever coached. He was selected All-Southern in 1928 and ...

after picking up a

Stumpy Thomason John Griffin "Stumpy" Thomason (February 24, 1906 – April 30, 1989) was an American professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football for the ...

fumble. The game has also been credited as the first Vanderbilt football game on the radio.

1931: McGugin's trick

Vanderbilt's All-American center Pete Gracey once said "In my first varsity year, the night before we played Georgia Tech, Coach McGugin casually walked up to me in the lobby of our hotel, put his arm around my shoulder and sorta whispered, "I was with some Atlanta newspapermen this afternoon and I told them you were the finest sophomore center I had ever coached. I hope that I haven't made it embarrassing for you" We beat Tech, 49 to 7. Afterward I talked to seven other players and you know, Coach McGugin told them all the same thing he told me."

1933: Wroton Tallies In Closing Minutes

In 1933, Vanderbilt won a close game 9–6. In the closing minutes, a tipped pass was caught by Vanderbilt's Lang Wroton for a score.

1935: Geny wins it with interception

In the fourth quarter, Willie Geny intercepted a pass and raced 67 yards for a touchdown to win the game for Vanderbilt 14–13. This is the last win for Vanderbilt in Atlanta to date, and the season had Vanderbilt's best SEC record.

1937: Tech wins; trophy returns

Georgia Tech beat a previously undefeated Vanderbilt 14–0, and the Golden Cowbell trophy had been recovered after previously being stolen.

1941: Vanderbilt remains unbeaten; Jenkins scores

Vanderbilt's last victory in the rivalry came in 1941 with a 14–7 win in Nashville. Vanderbilt remained the only untied and unbeaten team in the SEC, with SEC Player of the Year Jack Jenkins scoring two touchdowns. Georgia Tech scored with a minute left in the game.

1951: Tech wins by a point in the mud

With just over a minute left and undefeated Georgia Tech up 8–0, Vanderbilt quarterback

Bill Wade William James Wade Jr. (October 4, 1930 – March 9, 2016), often referred to during his playing career as Billy Wade, was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams ...

threw a touchdown pass to Ted Kirkland. Vanderbilt tried an onside kick, but was unsuccessful, and lost 8–7.

1952: National Champions run away with the game in final quarter

The 1952 Georgia Tech team were to be national champions and played Vanderbilt for its homecoming. Vanderbilt was coming off its first win of the season, over a strong

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

team. The first quarter was scoreless, and the score at the half was 6 to 0. After a Vanderbilt fumble, it was 13 to 0, and in the fourth quarter Tech ran away with the game 30 to 0.

2003: Tech beats Vandy in overtime

Georgia Tech beat Vanderbilt in overtime.

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A member of the Chicago Bears for most of his career, he is ...

led Vanderbilt in rushing.

2024: Vanderbilt claims Birmingham Bowl, Gold Cowbell

On December 27th, 2024, Vanderbilt defeated Georgia Tech 35-27 in the

. The game featured plenty of chippiness between the two old rivals and there were many controversial calls by the officials. There was a prolonged weather delay for

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

in the 4th Quarter and Georgia Tech rallied to a one-possession loss. Vanderbilt claimed the Gold Cowbell Trophy for the first time since 1941.

Game results

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia Tech-Vanderbilt football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football Vanderbilt Commodores football