Was Clean, Old Fashioned Hate Georgia Tech's Only Mercedes-Benz Stadium Option?

Out of nowhere, shocking news involving one of college football's traditional rivalries dropped Wednesday. Georgia Tech announced Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the home of the Atlanta Falcons, would host next year's Georgia-Georgia Tech game. This is the first neutral site game in the series since 1904.

Between this move and this year's Apple Cup at the Seahawks' Lumen Field, the seemingly insatiable greed of college football's ruling class is increasingly frustrating fans. While the AMB Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE) paid a lucrative $10 million price tag for the game, it may have been Georgia Tech's only choice.

Georgia Tech agreed to host one Yellow Jackets home game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium yearly from 2021-2026. Previously, ACC opponents played in the yearly "neutral" site game, while this year, national brand Notre Dame plays the Yellow Jackets at the Falcons' home.

Gardner-Webb, Temple, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, and Clemson are Georgia Tech's home opponents for 2025. Right away, Syracuse and Virginia Tech are eliminated from the running to play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium because they play in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic next year. Clemson was also out of contention due to their appearance in 2024's Chick-fil-A Classic and 2022 game against Georgia Tech in Mercedes-Benz.

This series of events left one home conference game, Pitt. The Panthers seemed like a quality opponent for a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium but built a reputation for poor travel to Atlanta when they appeared in the 2021 Peach Bowl.

The attendance of 41,107 for the Panthers' 2021 Chick-fil-A Bowl appearance was the lowest since 38,912 fans saw the 1990 Peach Bowl. The point of Georgia Tech having a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is giving the Yellow Jackets a marquee game that visiting fans can travel to. Hosting Pitt would defeat that purpose.

On the non-conference side, Temple and Gardner-Webb are both non-marquee games, eliminating them from consideration. Temple had the 11th-worst home attendance in the FBS, making them a travel liability like Pitt. However, Gardner-Webb had a fascinating argument for being Georgia Tech's Mercedes-Benz Stadium opponent.

The Runnin' Bulldogs have not played a Power Four school since 2014. Boiling Springs, North Carolina is 202 miles from Atlanta. The first Power Four game in a decade and their first appearance in the Atlanta Falcons’ stadium suddenly makes this road trip a must for most Runnin' Bulldog fans. Nevertheless, while Gardner-Webb fans would travel to Atlanta, the game is far from the marquee game that Georgia Tech wants its Mercedes-Benz Stadium showcase to be.

Thus, the Georgia game was the only option. Although a drastic change from tradition, the 2025 game will be a unique moment in the long history of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. In the end, money talks, and sometimes one must take drastic measures to fulfill contracts.