Georgia Tech is the worst team in the ACC. It sits at 3-8 on the year under first-year head coach Geoff Collins. The Yellowjackets are in a transitional period, that’s for certain. According to Georgia coaches and players, that means nothing.

“When you think about this game, records are thrown out. None of that matters,” said head coach Kirby Smart. “This is a huge opportunity and a huge stage for them. We acknowledge that.”

To the seniors on the squad, this game carries a little extra weight. They took part in Georgia’s last loss to Tech. They watched their famous home-field hedges being torn apart by the Jackets. Senior tight end Charlie Woerner summed up his emotions in two simple sentences.

“It wasn’t fun,” Woerner said. “I remember that.”

He continued to talk about what makes the game so special.

“This game has always been the big game,” Woerner said. “It’s always fun to watch, because it doesn’t matter the record of each team. Each team just brings a different level of intensity and passion. You cannot lose this game. You just want to beat these guys so bad.”

The 2016 matchup affected players not even on the roster at the time. Graduate transfer long snapper Steven Nixon claims that game serves as a reminder of what to avoid.

“Here at Georgia and here in Athens, we don’t really like Tech,” said Nixon. “We want to win. It’s bragging rights for a year. We know that in 2016, they came here and beat us in Sanford Stadium. We have some pictures around from that year, when they broke off the hedges.”

The loss came in Smart’s first year as Georgia’s head coach. Being a former player, Smart had already tasted what the rivalry was like.

“When I came to school here as a player, it was one of the biggest rivalries there was,” said Smart. “It was what you talked about as a freshman. It’s what was ingrained in you. To have the hate and to build that up.”

While this weekend’s contest may not be as close of a game as the 2016 version was, it still carries the weight of rivalry week.

“This game is just different,” said Nixon. “I know we prepare differently here for Tech than we do a lot of other teams. It’s different. It’s more of a pride thing.”