According to the August 1 Arizona Republic:

The 1960 trip [to play Southern Cal in Los Angeles] was the last time Georgia journeyed west of the central time zone in the regular-season schedule, according to sportingnews.com.

Fast forward 48 years, and the Bulldogs will be headed west again, this time to take on Arizona State on Sept. 20 at Sun Devil Stadium.

This type of statistic is a testament to the strength of UGA's football program, and also to the historical dearth of football power on the left coast. With the PAC-10 becoming one of the top conferences in football in the last few decades, it has become more likely that the SEC would travel west to meet the challenges head-on.

In the coming years, ASU will travel east more frequently, including a 2010 visit to Wisconsin to play the Badgers, and the other end of the home-and-home with Georgia next fall.

With the increase in travel towards the Atlantic, the Sun Devils will begin to earn more respect nationally if they are able to win games in foreign, hostile environments closer to the big tv markets.

The next few years are a great opportunity to for Arizona State. Hopefully the strong recruiting classes and sound coaching techniques of Dennis Erickson lead our program to national prestige and respect.

I'm not saying this is going to be Rudy, but... (photo courtesy of The New York Daily News)

At the same time, I'd like to address another issue. So much is being made of the September 20 contest against Georgia that our first three games are being mostly ignored by the local media. It is my sincere hope that the team is not overlooking the Lumberjacks, Cardinal, and Runnin' Rebels, because all three of those teams would like nothing more than to knock off the Sun Devils at home.