What is “between the hedges”? Explain Georgia's home football mantra at Sanford Stadium

Auburn football travels to one of its toughest games of the season against No. 5 Georgia on a two-game losing streak.

The Tigers will almost certainly face a motivated Bulldogs team (3-1, 1-1 SEC) that suffered a 41-34 road loss to Alabama despite rallying from a 30-7 halftime deficit and took a 34-33 lead with 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.

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Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia will undoubtedly be packed for the game, and Auburn will hope to do its best to avoid dropping its third straight game.

Auburn last traveled to Athens, Georgia in 2022 when it fell 42-10 in the Oldest Rivalry of the Deep South under former coach Bryan Harsin.

Why does Georgia say its home games are between the hedgerows? Here's an explanation of the Bulldogs' longstanding tradition.

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Why does Georgia say between the hedges?

Between the Hedges is a term Georgia fans use to refer to the field at Sanford Stadium, as the Bulldogs' playing surface is surrounded by grass hedges.

The shrubbery – Chinese privet bushes, to be exact – lines the entirety of Dooley Field and has done so at every home game since 1929.

According to the university, the tradition began at the Rose Bowl in 1926. That's when a “UGA athletic department employee” noticed the red rose bushes surrounding the field, took up the idea and gave it to then-Georgia President Steadman V. Sanford meant continuing construction of today's Sanford Stadium.

Georgia changed the idea of ​​the Rose Bowl slightly and planted Chinese privet given the climate in the south compared to California, where the Rose Bowl is located.

The university added that legend has it that in 1929 the school sent the governor's son, a UGA student, and his ROTC instructor to pick up the hedgerows in a military truck, which was the only vehicle on campus large enough was to accommodate the bushes. On the way out, the truck's headlights went out and the governor's son had to crawl onto the hood of the truck and use a flashlight to light the way for his instructor.

The truck then arrived at the stadium before Georgia planted the bushes just before its game against Yale in 1929, which at the time was the largest sports stadium in the South with 30,000 fans, according to the university.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: What's 'between the hedges'? Explain Georgia's home football mantra