ATHENS — It’s hate week for Tae Crowder. That’s the vibe filling Georgia’s locker room: Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Even with the SEC championship and potential College Football Playoff berth still on the horizon, No. 4 Georgia isn’t scoffing over its in-state rival Georgia Tech. 

“Everyone is pretty excited about this game,” Crowder said. “It’s hate week, so we’re just ready to go out and play.” 

Georgia and Georgia Tech’s rivalry undoubtedly runs deep. Saturday marks the 112th meeting between the programs, according to Georgia’s records. But the rivalry has become diluted in recent years. 

Even Crowder’s hate week message was delivered in a calm, easy-going manner. There was no malice behind it. With the advent of more marquee games on Georgia’s future schedule, this matchup could fall by the wayside to the younger generation of fans, especially if it isn’t competitive. Kirby Smart isn’t worried about it though. 

“I think this is one of the most traditional rivalries in all of college football,” Smart said. “And I don’t know that our scheduling is going to change the fact. It’s not going to move the proximity of their university and ours. … I think the history and tradition is there that this game is always going to be a big factor.”

Georgia has won 18 of the last 24 matchups dating back to 1995. The Bulldogs topped the Yellow Jackets in three of Smart’s four seasons at Georgia as a player. But Smart’s last game as a player in Sanford Stadium stung deep. His squad lost 21-19 to the Yellow Jackets in 1998. 

“Thank God I got into coaching,” he said. “I (was able) to fix that.”

The Yellow Jackets are closing out a mediocre season, currently 3-8 under first-year head coach Geoff Collins. Collins has ties to Smart from when the two were on the same Alabama staff. Smart knows what Collins will bring to the table despite what the record may indicate. 

“He has a ton of energy,” Smart said. “Does a tremendous job. He leaves no stone unturned. He’s looking for every competitive advantage he can get, whether it’s through recruiting, whether it’s through innovation, whether it’s through scheme, whether it’s through motivation. He’s a high-energy guy.”

Georgia’s other rivalries have taken center stage in the Smart era. Smart lost to Georgia Tech in 2016, but he rides a three-game winning streak against the Yellow Jackets into Saturday. The games against Florida and Auburn have provided more drama and excitement — more hate. 

“You don’t think it’s important, then (you) lose it,” Smart said. “Then it will be really important.”

On the outside, hate feels like an exaggerated description for a game that lacks large importance. Inside Georgia’s program, there is nothing more important than pummeling the Yellow Jackets. That message has never changed. And it won’t anytime soon. 

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