On January 30, 1892, on a field adjacent a small university’s quadrangle, just behind its New College, a mascot—the university goat—was paraded before approximately 1, 500 spectators. The goat was followed by students rooting ‘Rah, rah, rah, ta Georgia!” for the school’s newly established athletic team. Football was about to be introduced at the University of Georgia in a contest against Mercer College. It was the first football game in the deep South.

Through hundreds of spectacular photographs,  Historic Photos of University of Georgia Football recounts the first nine decades of one of the most storied college football programs in the nation, beginning with its inception nearly 120 years ago. Relive Georgia football’s mostly peaks and some valleys through its 1980 season, when mascot Uga III patrolled the sidelines, fans in red and black shouted ‘Go You Silver Britches!” and everyone marveled ‘How ’Bout Them Dawgs?” as the Bulldogs captured their first undisputed national championship.