Deep South ' s Oldest Rivalry The Auburn – Georgia football rivalry is a college football rivalry between the Auburn University Tigers and the University of Georgia Bulldogs . The two teams first played each other in 1892 and have met nearly every year since , for a total of 116 games as of 2012 . Because it is the oldest rivalry still contested between teams in the deep south , the series is referred to by both schools as the " Deep South ' s Oldest Rivalry " . Series history . The first college football game between Auburn University and the University of Georgia was played on February 20 , 1892 in Piedmont Park in Atlanta , Georgia . The game was the brainchild of Charles Herty of Georgia and George Petrie of Auburn , both trainers at their respective schools and graduate school classmates at The Johns Hopkins University . The game was also , according to legend , when Auburn ' s team cheer , " War Eagle , " originated . Auburn won the game 10 – 0 . The Tigers and Bulldogs have played each other nearly every year since . There have only been three exceptions since 1898 , when World War I and World War II interrupted the series . Through the 2012 season , the rivalry is tied for the seventh most played college football series at 116 games , and is evenly matched , with the series record tied at 54 – 54 – 8 . When the Southeastern Conference split into its Eastern Division and Western Division in 1992 , with Auburn placed in the west and Georgia in the east , the game was designated as the teams ' annual cross - divisional rivalry game . Game results . " Auburn victories are colored ██ navy blue . Georgia victories are colored ██ red . Ties are white . " < br > Series record sources : " 2011 Auburn Football Media Guide " , " 2011 Georgia Football Media Guide " , and College Football Data Warehouse . Notable games . In 1942 , Georgia won the national championship with an 11 - 1 record , beating UCLA in the 1943 Rose Bowl . But Georgia didn ' t beat Auburn , falling 27 - 13 at Columbus ' s Memorial Stadium . On November 14 , 1959 , at Sanford Stadium in Athens , as time ran short , Georgia player and future Auburn head - coach Pat Dye recovered a fumble by Auburn quarterback Bryant Harvard . Georgia quarterback Fran Tarkenton ' s touchdown pass in the final seconds gave Georgia a 14 - 13 victory and cost Auburn a Southeastern Conference championship . Georgia went on to claim the 1959 SEC Championship and the 1960 Orange Bowl Championship with a victory over Missouri in Miami . The AU - UGA game has been held in many different cities - Atlanta , Athens , Macon , Columbus , Savannah , Montgomery - but on November 12 , 1960 , the Bulldogs made their first trip to the Loveliest Village on the Plains ; a game which the Tigers won 9 - 6 . This marked a huge change for the Tigers , as Auburn ' s biggest rivals - Tennessee , Georgia Tech , Alabama and Georgia - previously would not travel to Auburn . Georgia Tech ' s first visit came in 1970 , while Tennessee eventually came in 1974 . It would take Auburn ' s biggest rival , Alabama , almost 30 years after UGA to make the trip . In 1983 , again at Sanford Stadium , Pat Dye celebrated his first SEC championship as Auburn ' s coach after the Tigers beat Georgia 13 - 7 on November 12 . Georgia coach Vince Dooley , a former star Auburn quarterback , was there too on that day in 1959 as an assistant on Shug Jordan ' s staff . In 1986 , the Bulldogs visited Auburn as three - touchdown underdogs . Auburn was two wins away from the SEC Championship , with only one blemish on their record , an 18 - 17 setback at Florida . Georgia , playing its backup quarterback , escaped with a 20 - 16 victory . When Georgia fans stormed the field of Jordan - Hare Stadium and started tearing the turf from midfield and refused to leave , they were doused by sprinkler system and fire hoses . Auburn received a hefty bill from UGA for water damage to band instruments . In 1994 , a Georgia team that had lost to Vanderbilt and had been blown out 52 - 14 by Florida , ended Auburn and former coach Terry Bowden ' s 20 - game winning streak with a 23 - 23 tie at Jordan - Hare . The Sunday morning headline in nearby Columbus , Ga read " UGA beats Auburn 23 - 23 " . In 1996 , the two teams played in the first Southeastern Conference football game to go into overtime . First - year head coach Jim Donnan ' s team , which finished 5 - 6 , was down 28 - 7 at halftime , before rallying to tie it at 28 - 28 on a 30 yard touchdown as time expired from Mike Bobo to Cory Allen , and Georgia went on to win 56 - 49 in four overtimes . This game , known to Georgia fans as the " Miracle on the Plains , " was also famous for the incident in which Uga V lunged at Auburn wide receiver Robert Baker after a first quarter touchdown . In 1999 , Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville got his first signature win , as the underdog Tigers , losers of five of their previous six games , led 31 - 0 at halftime and cruised to a 38 - 21 victory . In 2002 , # 7 Georgia traveled to # 22 Auburn with a spot in the SEC Championship game and an outside chance at the national title on the line . Auburn led 14 - 3 at halftime , thanks to a 53 yard touchdown run from Ronnie Brown . Georgia rallied to make it 21 - 17 Tigers with 1 : 25 remaining when they faced a 4th and 15 from the Auburn 19 . QB David Greene threw up a prayer , and Michael Johnson outjumped Auburn CB Horace Willis to come away with the improbable touchdown . Georgia defeated Auburn 24 - 21 to secure a spot in their first SEC Championship Game . The Bulldogs defeated Arkansas 30 - 3 to win their first SEC Championship since 1982 . The Bulldogs finished the season 13 - 1 with a victory over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl , and a # 3 final ranking . Eighth - ranked Georgia traveled to undefeated and third - ranked Auburn in 2004 . The Tigers were eyeing their first SEC Championship since splitting the title in 1989 ( note : Auburn was on probation in 1993 and ineligible for the championship ) , as well as a spot in the BCS National Championship Game . The Tigers won 24 - 6 on their way to a 13 - 0 season , ending with a 16 - 13 victory over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl and a No . 2 national ranking . In 2006 , Georgia visited Auburn having lost four of their previous five games and being unranked for the first time since 2002 , while fifth - ranked Auburn had national title hopes . Georgia had lost to Vanderbilt and Kentucky in the same season for the first time since 1973 , when they rebounded to defeat Auburn . History repeated itself as the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers 37 - 15 and ended Auburn ' s chances at a national title . 2007 marked the first time in the modern era that Georgia wore black jerseys . It also marked the first time that Georgia defeated Florida and Auburn in the same season since 1982 , and the first time that Georgia scored more than 40 points in three straight games since 1942 . Family rivalry . Beyond the length of the rivalry , the schools ' football histories are quite interconnected . Georgia ' s long - time head coach and athletic director , Vince Dooley , earned both his bachelor ' s and master ' s degree at Auburn while playing football and subsequently beginning his coaching career under legendary Auburn head coach Shug Jordan . Jordan himself was an assistant football coach and head basketball coach at Georgia before returning to his alma mater . Former Auburn head coach Pat Dye was a three - year letterman and All - American offensive lineman at Georgia under head coach Wally Butts . Current Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner ( who coached at Georgia for fifteen years ) , and former Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels both played at Auburn under Dye . Former Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and offensive line coach Hugh Nall are former Georgia players . Former Georgia offensive coordinator Neil Callaway was Auburn ' s offensive line coach for all of Dye ' s 12 seasons . In the coaching search that brought Dye to Auburn , Vince Dooley was first contacted about the position but decided to remain at Georgia .