Georgia and Tennessee's 2025 Regular Season Matchup has Major Historical Significance

The Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers' regular-season matchup will have major historical significance.

As two of the most recognizable brands in college football, the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers have battled in some of the sport's most iconic matchups. As the two teams prepare to open their conference schedule with one another, this year's matchup will have a historical caveat.

Despite playing annually for decades, the Bulldogs and Volunteers haven't played each other in conference openers since the 1981 season, when the Bulldogs defeated the Volunteers by a score of 44-0.

For even more historical relevance, the last time the Bulldogs began their SEC schedule in Knoxville, Tennessee, was 1980. This meeting between the two schools would be the freshman debut of running back Herschel Walker, who scored his first career rushing touchdown in the game. A play that would go down as one of the most iconic runs in Bulldogs' history.

Behind Walker's pair of rushing touchdowns, the Dawgs left Knoxville with a 16-15 victory, and Georgia would go on to finish the season with an undefeated record capped off with a national championship victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

While the connection between national title appearances and opening the SEC schedule with Tennessee is more coincidence than correlation, the historical significance between this year's matchup certainly add to the excitement of the game.

The Bulldogs and Volunteers will renew their annual rivalry on Saturday, September 13th, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be aired on ABC/ESPN+.