A Memorable Moment of Exuberation...

...for some in the Bulldog Nation was an instance of embarrassment for others, but a feeling of "Finally!" for all.  Georgia snapping Tennessee's nine-game winning streak a dozen years ago did have some fans calling out their own to act like they've been there before. 

 

Nevertheless, in the spirit of a losing-isn't-an-option game versus the Vols in Sanford Stadium, presented is the fourth (by my count) and likely final time Dawg fans have torn down goal posts following a victory, and the instant the Georgia-Tennessee series was turned around in the right direction:

Three Pioneers & an Artful Dodger (VIDEO)

The Dogs got the best of Tennessee and its "Artful Dodger" in '73, 
but a loss to the Vols the year before is just as noteworthy.    

Georgia's 35-31 victory in 1973 over Tennessee in Knoxville is rather memorable.  The win by the Bulldogs, who entered as an 11-point underdog, is one of the bigger upsets in the modern era of UGA football.  The game-winning touchdown – quarterback Andy Johnson's 8-yard touchdown rush with just over a minute remaining after grabbing a bounced fumble by teammate Glynn Harrison – is considered one of the greatest plays in Bulldog history, and radio calls by the legendary Larry Munson.

 

However, the meeting between the two teams just a season before and 40 years ago – ironically, a 14-0 loss by Georgia at home – is actually more historic of a moment in Bulldog lore.

 

Building upon the recognition of this year marking the 40th anniversary of the first appearances by African-American varsity football players at UGA, the 1972 Georgia-Tennessee game in Sanford Stadium is a notable footnote during the era of integration in southern college football.

 

The Volunteers were led by sophomore quarterback Condredge Holloway, or "The Artful Dodger," who had recently become the first African-American quarterback to start for an SEC school earlier that year.  He and his Tennessee teammates would be facing a newly-integrated Bulldog varsity team, which featured three black players – all sophomores – of the original "Five Pioneers."

 

For the 1972 season, Larry West was a co-regular at the right cornerback position and, two weeks prior to the Tennessee contest, had returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown against Vanderbilt.  Versatile tailback-wingback Horace King would finish the year ranking fourth on the squad in rushing, fourth in scoring, third in receiving, and second in kickoff returns.  For most of the season, Chuck Kinnebrew was a worthy reserve at the defensive guard position.

 

Alas, against the Volunteers that season, few Bulldogs were very worthy in a game that exhibited two Holloway scoring passes – both in the second quarter –  as the historical contest's lone touchdowns.

 

For a memorable moment in Georgia football history, I recommend watching highlights from the Bulldogs' win over the Vols in 1973.  However, the Georgia-Tennessee game from exactly four decades ago (despite West having to run down a Vol ballcarrier, King mishandling a kickoff the one time in the game he touches the ball, or Kinnebrew merely making a tackle, all while The Artful Dodger defeats our Bulldogs), is a moment in the annals of Bulldog football that is as historical as they come:

 

Certain Things Discontinued, Simply Put, Should Be Reestablished

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently met with a Bulldog player from the mid-1970s.  This player is roughly a 12-hour drive away from Athens and has ventured back into the area only about five or six times since graduating in 1977.  Therefore, it was very important for him to witness something while he was visiting he had not seen in over 36 years, particularly since he had no idea when he'd return to Georgia. 

 

"When I come down, I must visit the grave of my old buddy, Hugh Hendrix," he told me back in July.   

 

So, there we were last Tuesday: the player, two of Hugh's friends from his hometown of Decatur, and me, traveling to Carrollton to visit Hugh's parents, Harvey at age 85, Carolyn at 77, and then onto his grave site located only a few miles from the family home.

 

Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with Hugh Hendrix, it certainly comes to no surprise; it has been about four decades since the defensive-turned-offensive lineman arrived at UGA to attend school and play football.  Regardless, let me give you a little insight into one of the most admirable individuals to ever don the red and black, while attempting to explain how he touched so many lives.

 

Hugh developed from a sophomore at Shamrock High, who couldn't even make the varsity team, to a first-team AA All-State lineman as a senior in 1972.  Harvey told me he wanted his son to be an accountant and to attend college at Rice or Vanderbilt, each offering a football scholarship, or one of the several Ivy League schools that came calling.  However, Hugh wanted to go to UGA to better his chances of eventually playing pro ball, plus, as Hendrix declared to his dad when deciding to be a Bulldog, he could "get a good education at Georgia just as well."

 

Midway through the 1975 season, Hugh stepped in for injured guard Joel "Cowboy" Parrish, who would be recognized as an All-American and the best lineman in the conference the following year, and filled in admirably as Georgia would go undefeated the rest of the regular season.  Entering his senior season of 1976, Hugh was slated to start at the Bulldogs' right guard position, replacing another All-American, Randy Johnson.

 

In early July of 1976, Hugh started to come down with flu-like symptoms.  Less than a week later, the kind-hearted, most likable player on the team mysteriously passed away, dying from an acute blood infection caused by leptospirosis – a disease transmitted from animals to people.  Exactly how Hugh contracted leptospirosis, no one knew.  Even to this day, Carolyn has "no clue," as she stated, or was ever told how her only child got the rarely fatal disease.

 

After meeting with the Hendrix family, I began looking on a shelf in the family room at a football, which originally had been used in Georgia's season opener of 1976.  The ball had been dedicated in Hugh's honor and then given to the parents after a 36-24 comeback victory over California.  Suddenly, Carolyn walked in front of me carrying a plaque-like award and asked, "Do you know if the team still gives this out?  It's an award named after our Hugh."   

 

Although I had never seen it before, I knew immediately what I was looking at – the Hugh Hendrix Memorial Award, given to the Bulldog who most "strains his potential."  Being the UGA football history nerd I am, I also knew the plaque hadn't been awarded in at least 10 to 15 years.  However, taken aback and at a loss for words, I didn't have the heart to tell the mother the total truth and instead mumbled a response of "I'm not sure..."

 

Have you ever got a feeling that you must take a stand for something – a belief of yours that evidently few others, if any, may have felt at the time – even if your stance might be a bit unconventional?

 

When it comes to Georgia football, I suspect it's a similar feeling T. Kyle King had when beginning his campaign several years ago of rightfully inducting Erk Russell into the College Football Hall of Fame.  It's a feeling I had when I visited Hugh Hendrix' grave in Carrollton.  I had felt somewhat cowardly for not being totally upfront with a dead boy's mother, and a little ashamed of the football program I loved for discontinuing an award which stood for so much, but through it all, I was suddenly driven to take a seemingly somewhat unconventional stance – my attempt to reestablish the Hugh Hendrix Memorial Award.

I've since uncovered some information: Hugh's award was handed out annually for 14 seasons, curiously stopped for two years, and then awarded for the final time in 1992.  Some of the recipients are considered amongst the greatest Bulldogs of all time: Joe Tereshinski, Jim Griffith, Tommy Thurson, Warren Gray, Donald Chumley, and Kim Stephens on three occasions.

 

I emailed a friend in the athletic office, who has been around the program for a long while, and asked if he knew why the award was stopped.  He responded that he wasn't quite sure but believes it was one of the many awards over the last 20 years to be discontinued and fall along the wayside.  Indeed, there were at least a half-dozen team awards handed out annually as late as the 1990s that are no longer given.  My suspicion is that if an award didn't have money and/or strong support backing it, the honor was simply dropped.  In regard to reestablishing Hugh's award, I don't have much money but I plan on doing something about the support aspect. 

 

I'll begin with baby steps.  I plan on writing Greg McGarity, Coach Richt, probably Coach Dooley, maybe Michael Adams if I can stand it, and perhaps I'll even send a letter to Ray Goff for the heck of it.  Ironically, after Hendrix opened holes for Goff while he quarterbacked Georgia's Veer in 1974-1975, Hugh's award was discontinued during the head coach's era.  And, by all means, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment to this post or contact me.  

 

In the game program of the '76 Georgia-Cal game, a guest editorial is written by then-team chaplain Rev. Claude McBride.  The editorial includes remarks McBride overheard by a senior starter following a tough preseason practice leading up to the season opener:

Man, it's hot out there.  They're really working us.  I about passed out...felt my legs going...then I thought about Hugh!  When I remembered him, I forgot about my complaint...I just grabbed my second wind...sucked it in...and kept at it. 

In a season dedicated to Hugh, the Bulldogs constantly sucked it in and kept at it.  Four of Georgia's 10 wins en route to an SEC title were second-half comeback victories, while remarkably seven of 11 regular-season opponents were held scoreless the entire second half. 

 

Hugh Hendrix touched many people in life, just after his passing, and continues to do so to this day, including yours truly when I visited his parents and later stood over his grave last week.  If there ever was a Bulldog player who deserved a team award in his honor for being the ultimate teammate and one who strained his potential, it is undoubtedly Hugh.  The football program honored him before; it should do so again!

 

In closing, go Dawgs and beat Vandy!  I'm off... I've got some letters to write.

"Go You Hairless 'Dogs" revisited

Even "black dudes" Ronnie Swoopes (front), James
Moreen, Curtis Williams, Larry Razor (center L-R),
and Bob Hope (back) were "doing it."

During this week, I visited with a former Georgia football player, who is in town for the 1972 team reunion being held today at the Athens Country Club.  This ex-Bulldog – a senior on the 1976 SEC championship squad – reiterated that the death of teammate Hugh Hendrix during the summer of '76 undoubtedly united the team and aided in clinching the conference title that year. 

 

In addition, he declared, "when many of us shaved our heads, that certainly helped in unifying the team, as well."

 

The account of the bald Bulldogs from yesteryear is a good history lesson for a program whose team unity has been called into question a time or two (...or three) over the last three or four seasons.  However, in the wake of Georgia's three-touchdown win over Missouri last Saturday  – a statement victory when Georgia outlasted the Tigers down the stretch in a true team effort – today's Bulldogs may finally be reminiscent of Erk Russell's "big TEAM, little me" philosophy.

 

Speaking of the greatest defensive coordinator in the history of college football...

 

When the Bulldogs took to the practice field nine days prior to their season opener versus 15th-ranked Cal in 1976, more than 20 players had completely shaved their heads, while the normally bald Russell jokingly sported a wig.  It appeared a good portion of the team had emulated the acclaimed assistant, or did "just one of those crazy things you sometimes do in college," said senior quarterback Ray Goff.

 

But how did the hairy Dogs become hairless?  Personally, I've heard several different renditions over the years, while a number of different players have taken the credit for beginning the slick-headed fashion.  Even one particular assistant coach, and not Russell, once told me that he was the one that started the trend.  Nonetheless, and not surprisingly, it's actually a couple of linemen that should receive the full recognition.

 

Apparently, senior center Ken Helms had just received a $6 haircut from an Athens barber, and ironically a hair dryer from his father, who did not approve of his son's new hairdo.  Senior tackle Mike "Moonpie" Wilson also did not like his teammate's hair style, so Helms promptly shaved it all off.  Upon a dare from Helms, Wilson quickly did the same to his hair.  

 

Within hours of the first shavings, quarterback Goff added that even "the black dudes are doing it now," according to the article "Go You Hairless 'Dogs" in the 9/3/76 edition of the Athens Banner-Herald.  By the season-opening game against the Golden Bears, the number of bald Bulldogs had reached about 30, including 14 starters.       

 

Talk about team unity.

 

"You can tell which ones of us are from South Georgia," Goff humorously stated.  "Our heads ain't smooth like those city slickers from Atlanta.  We got scars all over our heads."

The Bulldogs -- some of which remained bald
-- arrive in New Orleans for the '77 Sugar
Bowl, including Vince Dooley with a toupee.

By the end of a 10-1 and SEC championship regular season, even more players and assistants had took to the shears, some of them more than once.  For others that had once been scalped, there was no longer evidence of such as all of their locks had grown back over the course of more than three months.  As for the head Bulldog of them all, Vince Dooley, he shocked a crowd of a few hundred in mid-December at a coronation party to celebrate the SEC title at Poss' Lakeview in Athens.  While speaking, the head coach suddenly jerked off a wig to expose a bald head, exclaiming that he too had become one of the many clean-shaven Dogs.

 

Just before the Cal game back in September, it seems Dooley had pledged to his team that if it captured the SEC championship and then defeated Georgia Tech, he would "shave his entire body," according to a newspaper report. 

 

Entire body?  As mentioned, Dooley would indeed become bald on top, but a hairless Dog all over? 

Now if true, such a shaving stunt was really, as they say, taking one for the team...  

Give the Guy Some Rest...

There's some talk regarding Todd Gurley's role increasing significantly in Georgia's backfield this Saturday at Missouri.  I even heard a couple of guys in the media both declare that the freshman should get at least 20 carries against the Tigers. 

 

Hearing the chatter reminded me of another Bulldog true freshman who, exactly 32 years ago today, also appeared on the road at night in front of a hostile SEC crowd and carried the load, so to speak.  It's hard to believe that it has been that long ago since the "Goal Line Stalker" made his debut in front of 95,288 in Knoxville...

 

It's also difficult to comprehend conservative Coach Vince Dooley calling for an 18-year-old true freshman to tote the ball 24 times (for 84 hard-earned yards and two spectacular touchdowns), and, remarkably, every one of the carries came in the final 2½ quarters of the contest!  As the legendary Larry Munson insisted following Herschel's second touchdown, "give the guy some rest!"

 

Simply put, Herschel was just that special and different from any ordinary freshman, and it was undoubtedly evident the first time he donned the silver, um, red britches.  You can see for yourself...  

When the MAC wasn't WACK





"Tough as nails" Butch Box sets up Georgia's lone
touchdown of the '74 Tangerine Bowl with this
fumble return.

In two days, the Bulldogs will open the season by facing only their fifth opponent ever belonging to the Mid-American Conference, or the MAC.  As of this morning, Georgia is an overwhelming 37.5-point favorite to defeat Buffalo, assuredly guaranteeing a third blowout against competition from the second-rate conference.

Notably, since the introduction of the modern-day point spread, the Bulldogs' 37.5-point spread against the Bulls is tied for their sixth largest in history, and Georgia's third-highest spread versus a Division I-A/FBS opponent: 

-45 Idaho State (2010)

-42 Tennessee Tech (2009)

-39' Cal State Fullerton (1992)

-39 Louisiana Monroe (2005)

-39 Coastal Carolina (2011)

-37' Georgia Southern (2008)

-37' Buffalo (2012)

-35 Arkansas State (1997)

-35 Kent State (1998)

-35 Arkansas State (2001)

Only point spreads beginning in 1973 are considered.  Until 2008, not all games were assigned a point spread, including most against Division I-AA/FCS competition and even when Georgia faced a couple of Division I-A opponents (Cincinnati in 1976, Temple in 1981).

 

Entering this Saturday, the last time the Bulldogs faced a MAC member was in 2008 when visiting Central Michigan was routed, 56-17.  Four years prior, Georgia had struggled a bit with Marshall; however, the 13-3 victory over the Thundering Herd followed a 56-3 trouncing of lowly Kent State six years earlier in the '98 season opener.

And then there was the other meeting versus a Mid-American foe – the very first game against the conference.  It is a contest, and a bowl game no less, hardly mentioned in the annals of Georgia football.  It was the Bulldogs' lone television appearance for a period of nearly two entire years (December '73 to November '75), yet there appears to be no existing footage from the game.  One has to really dig to even discover photographs taken from the bowl, as evident by the two grainy, low-quality photos posted here.

It was the 1974 Tangerine Bowl – a 21-10 loss to the MAC's Miami (and it's of Ohio, not of Florida) – and a game seemingly forgotten in time by the Bulldog faithful, and rightfully so.

In a day when there was less than one-third the number of bowl games as today, the Bulldogs went bowling in 1974 with a 6-5 record when they instead should have stayed home.  I recently asked a member of that Georgia team what he remembered most about the Tangerine Bowl loss in Orlando on that December 21st night and he interestingly answered, "the sand.  The field was in such bad shape, they had to replace a lot of the grass with sand and dirt."  He recalled walking on the field the day before the game during the team's walk through and observing the stadium ground crew spraying the sand with green paint to resemble grass.  "I knew right then we shouldn't have gone on that bowl trip," he joked.

Maybe it was the green sand's doing, but the Bulldogs got off on the wrong foot when quarterback Matt Robinson lost a fumble on the first snap of the game.  Miami scored a touchdown six plays later, and would tack on two more nearly by the end of the first quarter.  In the end, Georgia was embarrassed 21-10 by the Redskins of the disregarded Mid-American Conference.  Robinson passed for 190 yards, while his backup, Ray Goff, scored the Bulldogs' lone touchdown, Richard Appleby totaled over 100 yards receiving, while Georgia actually outgained its opponent in total yardage (274-267); nevertheless, two costly lost fumbles inside the Bulldogs' own 25-yard line ultimately led to their downfall.
 

Matt Robinson passed for 190 yards in the '74 Tangerine
Bowl, but lost this key fumble on the game's initial play

I pointed out to the former Bulldog that Georgia's "upset" loss to Miami is actually somewhat excusable.  The Redskins had the nation's longest unbeaten streak at 22 games, and not only had they defeated Florida the year before in the same bowl game but would follow up the postseason victory over Georgia with a win over South Carolina in the 1975 Tangerine Bowl.  In addition, the Bulldogs were missing three key senior starters – All-American offensive lineman Craig Hertwig and defensive standouts Dan Spivey and Steve Taylor – each of whom was ruled academically ineligible less than a week prior to the bowl.

And, perhaps above all, the upset loss was truly no upset at all, as the undefeated and 15th-ranked Redskins entered the game actually favored by two points.  Not wanting to hear any excuses, the ex-player concluded, "That year, we had little cohesion, and in that bowl game, we had none..."

Nearly 40 years later, the Bulldogs are certainly in no jeopardy of suffering their second defeat all time to the Mid-American Conference.  The real question come Saturday will be if Georgia can cover the lofty 37.5-point number against Buffalo.  Still, the 1974 Tangerine Bowl can teach a lesson to any Bulldog team, particularly one lacking "cohesion."

Although forgotten by most, the bowl game is evidence that even against the most obscure competition, a team which doesn't play as one can certainly be defeated by one that does... even if it is a member of the MAC.

Has It Really Been THAT Long?!?

In promoting my new book, I was interviewed yesterday and asked a series of Outdoor Cocktail Party-related questions, including when was the last time Georgia had defeated Florida in back-to-back football seasons: 1989, or 23 years ago... 23 long years ago, was my response. 

 

Yes, it's hard to believe, but the Bulldogs haven't beaten the Gators in consecutive years since the days of Paul Simon's You Can Call Me Al, the SEC was televised on TBS, and the ladies sported teased and permed hairdos, men had mullets, and both genders donned jean shorts.  Well, Gator Nation might still look and dress the same as back then, but as evident in the video, 1989 was indeed a long, long time ago...

Georgia's 17-10 victory in 1989 over Florida, who entered as a slight favorite and ranked 20th in the nation, was somewhat of a historic moment in the annals of Bulldog football for a number of reasons.  Not only was the win one of head coach Ray Goff's few resulting against the ranked, or as an underdog, but the victory was the last by Georgia which ended its long-standing dominance in the rivalry.

 

The Bulldogs' win in the '89 Cocktail Party was the team's 13th of its last 16 games in the series, 10th victory of the previous 12 meetings, and the last time Georgia won consecutive games over Florida... and the final contest in the rivalry before Steve Spurrier returned to Gator Town. 

 

Against Florida in '89, standout defender Ben Smith
was responsible for 3 of the Gators' 4 turnovers,
including "one of the best interceptions you'll see."

I won't mention how the series has transpired since 1990 with the arrival of the Evil Genius.  Nevertheless, in watching the '89 game, I did notice how the Bulldogs ironically defeated the Gators in a similar manner to some of Florida's victories in Jacksonville over the last two decades.

 

The Gators appeared to be the better team and outgained the Bulldogs in total yardage by a decisive 438 to 275 advantage.  Regardless, Georgia forced four turnovers while committing just one, stopped Florida on two fourth-down attempts, and above all, seemed to have the "it" factor – simply put, on that afternoon, there was no way the Bulldogs were going to lose to one of their chief rivals, especially to Florida in Jacksonville. 

 

As Georgia begins another football season in a mere four days, my hopes for the 2012 campaign begin with the Bulldogs recapturing the "it" factor.  It's been at least five seasons since the Georgia football team possessed such a valuable element.  And, if the Bulldogs can regain it, they likely can capture another desire the program has been long craving for, one that has eluded it for nearly a quarter-century – a second straight win over the despised Gators.

 

I just said, nearly a quarter-century... Has it really been that long?

Can Young Backs Reach the Rabbit, Ware, or Even Be Like Bob?

Against Buffalo on 9/1, Gurley, Marshall, or
even both freshmen could join a select group.

Whether Georgia starts Todd Gurley or fellow true freshman, and North Carolinian, Keith Marshall at tailback against Buffalo is "merely trivia," as indicated by assistant Bryan McClendon; however, if just one of the two young backs total a nice chunk of rushing yardage versus the Bulls, the feat would be rather historic.

I researched and discovered the few occasions in UGA football history that a true freshman rushed for 50+ yards in a season-opening contest, or the very first game one could possibly play as a member of the Bulldogs.   Keep in mind, for roughly 50 years until the early '70s, true freshmen hardly played varsity football at Georgia.  Nevertheless, led by Danny Ware, highlighted by Herschel, and as recently as a year ago, the true freshman 50-yard rushing feat in a first game has been achieved officially seven times:   

135 yds- DANNY WARE
(18 carries, 7.5 avg., 3 TD vs. '04 Georgia Southern)

  87 yds- CHARLES "RABBIT" SMITH
(5 carries, 17.4 avg., 1 TD vs. '43 Presbyterian)

  84 yds- HERSCHEL WALKER
(24 carries, 3.5 avg., 2 TD vs. '80 Tennessee)

  70 yds- RODNEY HAMPTON
(6 carries, 11.7 avg., 1 TD vs. '87 Virginia)

  60 yds- ISAIAH CROWELL
(15 carries, 4.0 avg., 0 TD vs. '10 Boise State)

  58 yds- MUSA SMITH
(9 carries, 6.4 avg., 1 TD vs. '00 Georgia Southern)

  56 yds- GARRISON HEARST
(17 carries, 3.3 avg., 0 TD vs. '90 LSU)

    ? yds- BOB McWHORTER
(vs. 1910 Locust Grove)

After finding the results above, the first thing that caught my eye was that six of Georgia's top seven opening-game rushers would eventually leave school early, while the lone one not to do so – Rabbit Smith – would soon be relegated upon the return of Charley Trippi from World War II to second or third string.  Notably, Crowell had to depart school early, while Ware really had no choice but to leave UGA for the 2007 NFL Draft (with the emergence of Knowshon Moreno in a backfield which already featured Kregg Lumpkin and Thomas Brown).

In the '43 season opener, 17-year-old Rabbit
Smith (with ball) rushed for 87 yards, had 44
receiving, and 52 on interception returns.

Speaking of WWII and the Rabbit, granted, it wasn't nearly as difficult then as it would be later for a true freshman to rush for 50+ yards in his first game.  The personnel demand of the War left Georgia with just 38 players on its 1943 roster, 31 of which were only 16 or 17 years old, including wingback-tailback Charles "Rabbit" Smith.  Regardless, Smith tallied the season's first touchdown in a 25-7 upset victory over Presbyterian on a 32-yard reception, and scored a second time in the final quarter on a 39-yard rush.  Smith not only rushed for 87 yards, but also added two catches for 44 yards while intercepting two passes.

Also of note, of the seven rushing performances, all but two – Crowell vs. Boise State last year and Hearst vs. LSU in 1990 – added a rushing touchdown to go along with their somewhat lofty yardage total and resulted in Georgia victories.  In addition, all but two led the Bulldogs in rushing for their respective game: Musa Smith finished just behind junior Jasper Sanks (64 yards) by six yards for the team high against GSU in 2000, while 13 years beforehand, freshman Hampton was way behind teammate Lar Tate's 218 rushing yards against Virginia in 1987. 

And then there's Bob McWhorter, whose performance against Locust Grove in the 1910 season opener is an unofficial addition by me.  Now, in Georgia's 101-0 victory that day, little was reported from the game; no yardage statistics of any type and especially no individual rushing yards for the freshman McWhorter, who would become UGA's first All-American a little over three years later.  One of the few things that is clear from the Red and Black's resounding victory is that McWhorter scored a team-high five touchdowns and, in playing his first game at Georgia, most assuredly rushed for 50+ yards in the blowout.    

A week later in a 79-0 win over Gordon, McWhorter added seven more touchdowns and for the second time in as many games as a member of the Red and Black, the freshman phenom most certainly had fine back-to-back rushing outings.

A week from this Saturday against Buffalo, Gurley or Marshall reaching the status of Rabbit Smith or Danny Ware's first games at Georgia will be a difficult task for either of the true freshmen, while matching McWhorter's scoring performance will be downright impossible.  However, I fully expect at least one of the two newcomers to join the aforementioned list. 

Nearly 70 years ago, true freshman fullback Edgar Bratton was second on the Georgia team behind the Rabbit with 33 yards on eight carries against Presbyterian in 1943.  Therefore, if both Gurley and Marshall were to each rush for 50+ yards against the Bulls – for what it's worth – the first-game duo would accomplish a first in Bulldog football history.  

Those "Nasty Winds"



Georgia's next placekicker – Marshall  Morgan – the
next Bulldog to endure the windy St. Johns River?

Continuing with a Georgia-Florida theme...  This year's Cocktail Party will mark the 40th anniversary of Kim Braswell's 37-yard game-winning field goal with less than a minute remaining to defeat Florida by a 10-to-7 score – the only time of Georgia's 48 victories in the series that a field goal defeated the hated Gators.

Since Braswell's game-winner in 1972, a dozen different Bulldogs have made a combined 43 field goals in the interstate rivalry, while it seems freshman Marshall Morgan could get a shot in the coming season to join this list of Georgia placekickers.  However, in becoming the team's kicker, poor Marshall must encounter what apparently has plagued Bulldog kickers for years while placekicking inside the Gator Bowl (and yes, like many of you, I continue to refer to the Jacksonville stadium as the Gator Bowl) – those "nasty winds" off the St. Johns.

If I had a nickel for every time a local sports talk radio host has mentioned how the "winds blowing funny" off the St. Johns River is a reason why Georgia kickers have struggled in Jacksonville...  Unfortunately, some of us can recall the recent pivotal field-goal misses: Billy Bennett's combined three in 2002 and 2003 in close losses, Brandon Coutu's two misses in a four-point setback in 2005, and Blair Walsh's 1-for-3 efforts in both 2008 and 2011.

Honestly, I've always thought of the nasty-wind theory as merely an excuse – another myth to add to the "Jacksonville Jinx" as why the Bulldogs have won just four of the last 22 games played in the rivalry.  However, I will give the belief a bit of credit; the excuse, err, argument is certainly nothing new.  For example, in an interview early in the 1975 season, UGA punter Bucky Dilts indicated that he hated kicking in the Gator Bowl because of the wind.

"The wind blows in circles there," said Dilts.  "You have to keep the ball lower than usual."

Ironically, against the Gators that season, Dilts was perhaps aided by a circling wind when a 52-yard punt of his mysteriously bounced sideways and out of bounds at Florida's 2-yard line, proving to be a critical play in a three-point Georgia victory.

I decided to put the gusty-winds-off-the-river theory to somewhat of a test.  Beginning in 1987, or as far back as I could readily find game-by-game field-goal results, I discovered that the Bulldogs made just 62.5 percent of their field goals in 23 games versus Florida in Jacksonville through 2011 (obviously excludes the home-and-home meetings in 1994 and 1995), including just half of their attempts (11 of 22) during the Mark Richt regime.  By comparison, against all other competition from 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2011, Georgia kickers were successful on 74.2 percent of their field-goal tries, or nearly 12 percent higher than when kicking against the Gators.

Whoa, those figures are telling, I thought; perhaps there is something to the belief of funny winds off the St. Johns affecting kickers in the Gator Bowl.  That is, at least Bulldog kickers in the Gator Bowl...

I did the the same calculations for Florida placekickers against Georgia, beginning in 1993, or as far back as I could readily find game-by-game field-goal results for the Gators. Florida made 74.2 percent of its field goals versus Georgia through 2011, compared to 72.7 percent of its attempts against other opponents. Therefore, within the windy confines of the Gator Bowl, the Gators have actually been more successful kicking field goals against the Bulldogs than they have been outside of Jacksonville.  Go figure...

Braswell is mobbed by teammates after defeating UF in
'72 with a game-winning field goal – a kick apparently
not disrupted by the Gator Bowl's infamous winds.

Here's what I figure: either God must be a Gator, and He sends gusts of winds off the river when Georgia kickers try their field goals only to die the winds down a bit when Florida kicks, OR despite the fact of influential winds off the St. Johns, Gator kickers over time (but not Georgia's) have adapted to such gusts, OR there are indeed constant winds off the river, however,  they are likely not windy enough to greatly affect a team's placekicking prowess – Georgia's drop in field-goal accuracy when facing Florida is purely circumstantial.

Personally, the theory I tend to lean towards when it comes to Georgia struggling to kick field goals against the Gators is one relating to, for example, why Walsh missed 14 field goals last year after missing only a combined five in 2009 and 2010, OR why the Bulldogs lost 12 combined turnovers versus Florida in three games from 2008 to 2010 while forcing just one, OR why a few good Bulldog teams had no business losing to the Gators during their miserable 4-of-22 stretch since 1990, but somehow managed to do so.

This theory can go by a number of different names, and most notably, it has absolutely nothing to do with winds blowing off a river.

On the Way

Yesterday, I received a large shipment of my new book on the Cocktail Party rivalry, I Love Georgia/I Hate Florida.  So, if you've already ordered the book from me, kind of like the football Robert Edwards carried against the Gators in '97 on a toss sweep, it's on the way...  You should be receiving a package from me by this time next week.

If you'd like to order a copy of the book, send me an email, expressing your interest.  The book retails for about $16 after tax; however, for just $14, I'll send you a copy signed, sealed, and shipped free of charge.  And, if you've already ordered a copy but would like another, or two, by all means, there are plenty to go around...  

Regardless, please visit the book's Facebook page (and "Like" the page!), where I'll continuously post updates regarding the book, signing dates, and Georgia-Florida photos and videos throughout the upcoming season.

Notably, when asked to write the book nearly a year ago in mid-September, one of the first possible "snags" my editor and I discussed was what if Coach Richt got the axe and was replaced by the manuscript's deadline.  After the 0-2 start, it certainly appeared like a possibility; how things quickly changed.  Nonetheless, something that did not change during last football season was the constant support from the readers of this blog.

When I asked back on September 28th for anti-Gator stories, tidbits, jokes, etc., that I could use in the book, I was hoping to receive two or three from readers.  Instead, from that day through the Christmas holidays, I was sent more than two dozen Gator-hating anecdotes from you guys, and I want to thank each of you again for your assistance in writing the book.

I tried to either directly use, or at least somehow incorporate, every single story/joke sent my way.  So, if you sent me an anti-Gator email, it is most likely included in some form within the book's 300+ pages.

Of my five books on UGA football, this one is honestly and undoubtedly my favorite.  I interviewed more former players and coaches than for my previous four books combined.  In addition, I tried to include as many never-before-published Bulldog football facts and stories, including a real entertaining account from Barbara Dooley on her experience and encounters while the Belue-to-Scott miracle of '80 transpired.

More importantly, and unlike my previous books, where the writing is primarily objective and reporting-like in nature, I made an attempt at being rather creative (and I stress attempt), tried to be irreverent towards all things Gator-related, while writing the book from one collective voice – that of the Bulldog Nation's.  Thanks again!