California vs. Georgia Tech

California and Georgia Tech have 7 meetings on file, the first in 1928; California leads the series 4–⁠3 in the games on file. Over the last 7 meetings it’s California 4–⁠3.

Scheduled 2027 at Georgia Tech; 2028 at California; 2030 at Georgia Tech. As the programs’ Wikipedia articles list them (CC BY-SA).

California wins
4
Georgia Tech wins
3
Ties
0
Earliest on file
1928
Longest streak
2 California
Current streak
1 California
Last 10 meetings
California 4–⁠3
Most recent
1978

The series at a glance

Every meeting by decade, colored by the winner
’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1920s0–⁠1
1930s3–⁠1
1940s0–⁠1
1970s1–⁠0
Average margin
11.1 points; 2 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At California
2–⁠0 California’s record at home
At Georgia Tech
2–⁠2 Georgia Tech’s record at home
Neutral sites
0–⁠1 California first
Shutouts
2

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. California’s biggest win1932: California 27, Georgia Tech 7by 20 points
  2. Georgia Tech’s biggest win1940: Georgia Tech 13, California 0by 13 points

Coach against coach

YearsCaliforniaSeriesGeorgia Tech
1936–⁠1940Stub Allison1–⁠2William Alexander

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from California’s side (Allison 1–⁠2 against Alexander). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of California and Georgia Tech, 1928 on13001500170019401960198020002020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

Stars of the series

Named most valuable

Benny Lom California1928

Most valuable: as the games’ Wikipedia articles name them (CC BY-SA).

From the newspapers

  • The Evening star's story of the 1928 game: GEORGIA TECH MEN RALLY TO R|EGELS Easily See How California Player Lost His Sense of Direction.

    1928 · Evening star, District of Columbia, Jan 3, 1929

  • The The Daily Alaska empire's story of the 1931 game: IS VICTOR OVER GEORGIA TECH Golden Bears Defeat Tel. low Jackets by Score of 10 to 6

    1931 · The Daily Alaska empire, Dec 28, 1931

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

Photos

  • Caption text says " "Father" Lumpkin, running out of bounds with the ball, is pictured in an Associated Press photo"
    Caption text says “ “Father” Lumpkin, running out of bounds with the ball, is pictured in an Associated Press photo”Photo: The Associated Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
    The 1928 game
  • California vs. Georgia Tech, 1928
    Photo: The Associated Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
    The 1928 game
  • Advertisement by Muse's, an Atlanta-based department store, featuring Georgia Tech football players competing in the 1929 Rose Bowl
    Advertisement by Muse’s, an Atlanta-based department store, featuring Georgia Tech football players competing in the 1929 Rose BowlPhoto: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
    The 1928 game

From the rivalry’s and its games’ categories on Wikimedia Commons (free licenses only, each credited).

Every game

Sep 16, 1978California 34, Georgia Tech 22at Georgia Tech
Dec 28, 1940Georgia Tech 13, California 0at Georgia Tech
Dec 26, 1938California 13, Georgia Tech 0at California
Dec 26, 1936Georgia Tech 13, California 7at Georgia Tech
Dec 17, 1932California 27, Georgia Tech 7at California
Dec 26, 1931California 19, Georgia Tech 6at Georgia Tech
Jan 1, 1929Georgia Tech 8, California 7Neutral siteRose Bowl

Every game is listed as played on the field.