The Mystery (in Kentucky) Bulldog

It might be more appropriate if told a year from now on the event's 40th anniversary and when the Bulldogs fly to Lexington instead of during the week the Wildcats venture to Athens, but considering I recently heard an extended version, I wanted to share it again.  It is something I touched upon three years ago—the Georgia-Kentucky "bomb threat" of 1974.  And, although there aren't many great tales in the history of the teams' football series, this has to be one of the greatest Georgia-Kentucky stories ever told, especially considering the story's culprit hasn't been fully revealed for nearly four entire decades.

As the story goes, upon the charter flight of the UGA football team landing at Lexington's Blue Grass Field the night before the 1974 Georgia-Kentucky game, the Bulldogs were unceremoniously greeted by their hosts.

"When we got to Lexington, the plane was immediately surrounded by all these police cars," Keith Harris informed me during our interview for my latest book.  "Here, I was thinking what a great escort we were getting at the airport," the senior standout linebacker from '74 added while laughing.

"When we landed, we were told to sit down in our seats and stay there," said Horace King, the Bulldogs' leading scorer and second-leading rusher in '74.  "At that point, we had no idea that we would wind up being at that airport for hours!"

During the flight, defensive coordinator Erk Russell had noticed a bomb threat written in soap on the mirror in one of the plane's bathrooms.  He immediately alerted the flight staff, who relayed the coach's message to airport security.   The pilot came over the intercom, informing the team about the threat, and then asking for the culprit to come forward.  No one did.  Upon arrival,  the plane was boarded by the FBI, airport bomb squad, and local police.  After milling about the plane for a while, gravitating toward where the threat had been scrawled, the authorities began seeking a confession.

"We were then taken out of the plane and marched into a room inside the airport," Harris added.  "We later noticed [head golf coach and dorm disciplinarian] Dick Copas; he looked like something was wrong."  A player pointed out to Copas the plane had not been cleaned following its previous flight; maybe someone on the earlier flight had written the bomb threat.  "Hell no!" Copas apparently blurted.  "I know it was one of you players for sure because [the authorities] said that whoever wrote it misspelled 'airplane.'"

"During the ordeal, I was told by an assistant coach that he had narrowed it down in his mind to about 10 players who could have written the threat, and I was one of them!" says Steve Davis, who admits to having some disciplinary problems while a quarterback-wide receiver at Georgia during the mid-1970s, including getting kicked off the team for the entire 1973 season.  "It was a intimidating and kind of scary situation, especially when we were all sitting in chairs inside the room at the airport and surrounded by at least a couple dozen FBI guys."

Inside the room, it was eventually revealed by an individual, who seemingly was the head of the FBI members, that the player who wrote the threat was a "real dumbass."  As Copas had indicated, "airplane" was misspelled on the mirror; the threat supposedly declared, "There is a bomb on this airplain."

After hours of questioning by authorities and pleading from tired teammates, including an upperclassman who suddenly became unhinged, threatening for the offender to come forward or else, the guilty Bulldog still remained unidentified.  The FBI eventually gave up, and the team departed for their hotel not getting to bed until well after midnight.

The weary Bulldogs finally awoke the following night when King scored a 6-yard fourth-quarter touchdown, which proved to be the winning score.  Georgia clinched a 24-20 victory when Harris forced a Wildcat fumble.  As for Davis, he broke his collarbone during the game.  "First, I get blamed as someone who might have done the bomb threat, and then I get hurt," he says laughing.
 

No Wildcat defense, lack of sleep, or even the threat

of a bomb could stop Horace King from scoring this

4th-quarter touchdown to defeat Kentucky in '74. 

When the Bulldogs arrived home to Athens, they found that the misconduct by one of their very own had made not only local, but national news.  A writer for a local paper, who had traveled to Lexington with the team, wrote: "...the immature act of a single individual who by insinuating that a bomb was on the Georgia charter not only forced an unnecessary hardship on his own team, but also the airline to which the plane belonged."

Although the "single individual" responsible for "the immature act" was not discovered by authorities in Lexington, the UPI reported that the FBI would question all UGA players and coaches the following week in an effort to find the culprit.

"It had been rumored that the FBI would be coming to campus to give the players polygraph tests, and performing handwriting analysis," said Davis, "but the FBI never came."

"Whoever did it, they did nothing real damaging.  However, the bomb threat was just another distraction—one of the number of hiccups—we encountered that kept that '74 team from reaching its full potential," said King, referring to Georgia's disappointing 6-6 campaign that year.

"Whoever did it, I think they misspelled 'airplane' on purpose," added Harris.

It has been nearly 40 years and the culprit has yet to be found, but his identity often remains the talk amongst his old teammates.  Personally, I experienced this first hand when attending the Lettermen's Club annual BBQ this past September.  I spoke with three different players from the '74 team (apart from the three quoted in this post) who all thought they knew the wrongdoer's identity, and each gave me a different name.

The mystery continues...

Need Help With A "Classic" Project

A section of the Classic City at night during the 1970s

After Saturday's heartbreaking loss by the Bulldogs' yet-another-near-miss program, I'm having a hard time even thinking about UGA football.  Switching gears, I wanted to inform you of my recent book project and ask for your assistance. 

 

Do you have any older photos of Athens?

 

I recently signed a deal to author a photo-heavy book on the city of Athens' modern history (1960s to the present) to be published by Arcadia Publishing.  I'm particularly excited about the project because I'm a native Athenian and this is my first book not related to UGA football.

 

Speaking of books on the Bulldogs, a couple of years ago I asked readers of this blog if they could help me with my Georgia-Florida book, requesting stories, anecdotes, and jokes regarding the series.  Your response was overwhelming!  So, I'm asking for your assistance once again.

 

A major responsibility of mine for the Athens project is finding nearly 200 appropriate photographs for use.  I have the 1990s and 2000s pretty much covered; however, it’s been difficult to find images from the decades of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.

Notably, the photographer of each image will obviously be credited in the book.  Also, for what it’s worth, and I'm trying to be careful when bringing up this aspect--one photo source seemed highly insulted when I mentioned he would be paid for his photos, while it was the first thing requested by another--you'd be compensated for your photos used in the book.  My publisher and I are proposing a royalty-sharing plan for the book’s photo sources, where based on the number of photos credited, the sources share in what royalties I earn off the book.  I can explain further if you think you would be able to assist with this project.

 

So, if you possess any images of just about anything related to the Classic City--the moments/events, people, structures, businesses, etc. of Athens--especially from the 1960s through the 1980s, and in COLOR would be an added bonus, OR if you can suggest someone who does that I could contact, please EMAIL ME. 

 

I am really looking forward to what assuredly will be a classic project, and perhaps with your help (plus, I'm anxious to see if I can write on anything other than Georgia football).  Thank you all! 

A True Under-Dawg Story

The Bulldogs are slight underdogs
tomorrow, and for Richt's bunch of late,
that spells near-guaranteed misfortune.

Entering tomorrow's game on the Plains, Georgia finds itself in a rather unfamiliar position: the Bulldogs are underdogs. 

 

Prior to Auburn being recognized as a three-point favorite, as it currently stands, Georgia had entered just two of its previous 31 regular-season contests as the underdog, including being favored in each of its first nine games this season.

 

Simply put, the Bulldogs haven't been used lately to being underdogs.  Still, I was curious of the program's "underdog tendency" over the course of a long period--like the last half-century, beginning with the Coach Dooley era in 1964. 

 

I really had to dig to find point spreads from the 1960s and early-1970s (and obviously really had some time on my hands).  Nevertheless, I discovered the closing line for each of Georgia's 595 games beginning in 1964 through last week's Appalachian State game, finding out that the Dogs have been underdogs less than one-fourth the time (23.8 percent) over the last 50 years.

 

Ranked lowest to highest, Georgia's last four head coaches according to his frequency of being an underdog (games as underdog out of total number of games):  

 

20%- Richt (33 of 167)

23%- Dooley (65 of 288)

29%- Donnan (17 of 59)

33%- Goff (27 of 81)

 

If you think there's little difference between, say, Richt and Goff's frequency, imagine being the underdog once every three games (like in Goff's case) compared to once every five games (like Richt)--there's a big difference.

 

More telling, what about how successful each coach was in an underdog role?  Their winning percentages in games they entered as the underdog: 

.485- Dooley (30-32-3)
.412- Donnan (7-10)
.394- Richt (13-20)
.278- Goff (7-19-1)

After discovering the coaches' winning percentages as an underdog, what first jumped out at me was Richt's respectable percentage of nearly 40 percent, and Goff's lowly mark.  However, upon a second look, Richt was indeed 10-8 as an underdog through 2007, but has gone only 3-12 the last six seasons. 

 

For Goff, there's a reason why he couldn't win as an underdog, often playing the role as a big underdog.  When Georgia's head coach from 1989 through 1995 was the underdog, it was by a spread of 8.5 points or more nearly 60 percent of the time (10 of 17).  In comparison, Richt's teams have been an underdog of at least 8.5 points less than 20 percent of the time (6 of 33).

 

What if a UGA coach was the underdog, but only a slight one--like in the Bulldogs' case at Auburn tomorrow--of four points or less?  In other words, how have their teams performed in games they evidently were supposed to lose, but could reasonably win?

 

The four head coaches' winning percentage as an underdog of four points or less:

.556- Donnan (5-4 record)
.500- Goff (2-2)
.484- Dooley (14-15-2)
.400- Richt (8-12)

Because of the small data set, Goff's record, and maybe even Donnan's, under such circumstances could be disregarded, leaving Dooley and Richt.  Speaking of our current head coach, his 8-12 mark is somewhat deceiving.  Richt was 7-6 as an underdog of four points or less through 2007, but just 1-6 ever since, including losing his last five in a row.

 

Over the last 50 years, Georgia's "true story" as an underdog is primarily one of infrequency, but satisfactory results in such a role--that is, until the last several years.  The Bulldogs' 3-12 record as an underdog the last six seasons is the program's second-worst record over a similar stretch under the same circumstances (Georgia was 2-11-1 as an underdog from 1993-1995), and never over the last half-century have their results been as poor as they have been since 2007 when the Bulldogs were recognized as slight underdogs.

 

Personally, I like how Georgia matches up with Auburn tomorrow, the Bulldogs playing in Jordan-Hare might as well be a home game, and I realize a number Vegas spits out doesn't determine the result of a football game.  However, a reason for concern is simply that the Dawgs are underdogs, and when recent editions of Richt's squads play an underdog role, especially a slight one, his underdogs consistently underwhelm.

The Terrible, but Notable, Turkey Sandwich

For Stinchcomb, the memory of the Miracle on the

Plains includes a turkey sandwich, cartwheels, and

perhaps most astonishing, gracious Auburn fans.

One of the reasons why GAME OF MY LIFE Georgia Bulldogs is likely my most favorite of all my book projects is that I got to hear intriguing anecdotes firsthand from 25 former players beyond each individual's story, including aside from what they considered the game of their life.  Perhaps most notably, All-American offensive lineman Matt Stinchcomb, who was my final interview for the book, told a true gem of a side story to his most memorable game.

 

Just when I thought I'd heard about everything, I was informed of a bad turkey sandwich from Newnan which brought a 6-foot-7, 280-pound giant to his knees.  But, in the end, the experience added to the unbelievable irony of what was the Bulldogs' "Miracle on the Plains."

 

Stinchcomb recalls the 1996 Georgia-Auburn game:     

 

The Auburn game my sophomore year was not only the most important game I played in while I was at Georgia, but also likely my most memorable because of many different things.

Seemingly, half of my college experience was in Auburn, Alabama.  For whatever reason, not only did a lot of my buddies from high school go to Auburn University, but so did my girlfriend at the time, who eventually became my wife.  While I was at Georgia, there often seemed to be a persisting rumor that because of my friends and girlfriend, I was thinking about transferring to Auburn.  I remember on more than one occasion having to sit down with one of our staff members and dispel such rumors.  It was never going to happen — I’d never leave UGA — unless the school somehow mysteriously disappeared and the football program was discontinued, maybe then, but not until.

On road trips to Auburn we’d stop in Newnan [Georgia] on the way to visit with the city’s Bulldog Club and would then stay in a hotel near the state line.  [Senior offensive tackle] Adam Meadows and I roomed together on the road that year and that Friday night, we ate some food in our room we had gotten from the hotel.  Whether it was food poisoning or some sort of bug, I was up most of the night and into the next day getting sick from a turkey sandwich I had eaten.  Before the game, our trainers pumped me full of IV fluids, allowing me to play. And, thank goodness, because who knew we were about to embark on a four-overtime game, lasting about an hour and a half longer than anticipated.

A side story going into that game was the benching of quarterback Mike Bobo and tailback Robert Edwards.  Mike had struggled for several consecutive games while Robert had been susceptible to fumbling the ball.  Another “story” occurring early in the game was something most Bulldog fans are familiar with: mascot Uga V, who honestly was rather ornery, lunged at Robert Baker after the Auburn wide receiver scored the game’s first touchdown and then touched [mascot handler] Charles Seiler.  As most of us are aware, Uga tried to “dismember” Baker.

Suddenly, we were down 28-7 late in the second quarter, but Torin Kirtsey gave us a little bit of hope by scoring a touchdown with less than a minute remaining until halftime, pulling us within two touchdowns.

In the second half, we somehow found our way back into the ballgame.  By this time, Mike and Robert had come off the bench and I can’t stress enough how much it meant to have a new, live arm at quarterback and fresh legs at tailback at that point, especially considering how long the game would wind up lasting.  However, our offensive line suddenly had to play “musical chairs,” of sorts, in the second half.  Meadows, our starting left tackle and probably the most athletic lineman Georgia has ever had regardless of the era, suffered a concussion late in regulation.  I was forced to move to left tackle, right guard [Antonio] “Jake” Fleming moved to my regular position, right tackle, and backup Kenley Ingram took over at Jake’s right guard spot.

Our defense made some tremendous stops of a really good Auburn offense in the second half.  They gave the offense the ball back with just over a minute remaining.  We had to go 80-something yards with no timeouts remaining and trailing by a touchdown, 28-21.  Nevertheless, in about five or six plays we moved the football down to around Auburn’s 20-yard line.  Here’s where things got a little weird.

At this point with 15 to 20 seconds remaining and no timeouts, you can’t give up a sack or the game is over.  Well, I gave up a sack.  I was blocking a defensive end to my left when Mike just happened to be flushed to the left directly into my man for the sack.  As an offensive lineman, we have ways of justifying that the quarterback getting forced into the defender you’re blocking might result in a sack, but it’s one that cannot be helped (chuckling); regardless, I yielded the sack and it was evident time was going to run out with us stranded at around Auburn’s 36- or 37-yard line.  However, there is often an element of luck in winning a football game and we certainly had it when a Tiger defensive tackle (Charles Dorsey) picked up the football following the sack, thinking the game was over.  So, the officials had to retrieve the ball and, in the process, stop the clock with about five or six seconds remaining.  Then, the ball wasn’t marked where Mike had literally gone down on the sack but about five or six yards closer to the 30-yard line, where apparently his progress had stopped in being sacked.

Mike then spiked the football, the ball was spotted, and one second and one last chance to tie the game remained.  On the final play of regulation, Mike flung the ball towards the front, right corner of the end zone, just beyond the goal line, where Corey Allen caught an unbelievable touchdown.   Hap Hines’s PAT tied the score 28-28 and we had miraculously forced the first overtime game in SEC football history.
 

Taken from the CBS telecast, circled Smith begins his

cartwheeling on the plains as Orantes Grant (right)

celebrates following the four-overtime marathon. 

In overtime — all four of them — it was, simply put, the “Robert Edwards Show.”  We repeatedly ran our counter trey running play, where the backside guard and tackle pull.  Interestingly, most of the “pulling” was by Jake from his new right tackle spot, allowing Robert to run wild.  I think he gained nearly all of the 100 yards we totaled in the four overtimes.  In the first three extra periods, touchdown runs by Robert were matched by Auburn touchdowns.  In the fourth overtime with the score tied 49-49, our defense forced a fourth down and three and then defensive tackle Jason Ferguson stopped their quarterback [Dameyune Craig] short of the first down.  I don’t know how, but we had defeated Auburn and, man, did we celebrate.  Perhaps, nobody celebrated more than noseguard Jermaine Smith – all 280 pounds of him – who immediately and unforgettably began doing cartwheels in the middle of the field after the stop of Craig.

Ironically, I got to celebrate that night with, of all people, Auburn fans.  The coaches determined that because of the food poisoning, or the bug I had gotten, I probably couldn’t tolerate the bus ride home and shouldn’t be amongst my teammates.  So, I got to stay with my Auburn friends and my wife-to-be that night.  Everything worked out nicely from my standpoint.  There were really no hard feelings on their part, but instead they were gracious in defeat — a four-overtime defeat, might I add, in a game where we trailed by three touchdowns at one point!

The Unrecognized Record

Sixty years ago, the Brat (No. 12) broke a distin-

guished record (but you'd hardly be aware of it). 

On the eve of Georgia's game with a lower-tier opponent in Appalachian State and while Aaron Murray continues to set new passing and total offense records, I was reminded of one of the one-time greatest NCAA individual records in Bulldog history, while curious if the player who established it 60 years ago actually knew of his record's details.

 

The last time a Bulldog was the NCAA's all-time career leader in a major statistical category was nearly a half-century ago.  No, not even the great Herschel Walker accomplished as much, finishing his Georgia career in 1982 third in NCAA history in both career rushing yards and career rushing yards per game.

 

Although you'd hardly be aware of it, Georgia's Zeke Bratkowski became the NCAA's all-time leader in career passing yardage as a senior six decades ago in 1953, topping the 4,736 yards totaled by Hardin-Simmons' John Ford from 1947 to 1950.  While conducting research for my first book,  I noticed Bratkowski's feat as a mere mention in the NCAA record book's "record progression" for career passing yards.  However, when exactly "the Brat" broke Ford's record was never publicized--not by the media, UGA, no one--therefore, I decided to continue researching to find out.

 

Facing what was then known as "Mississippi Southern College" (now, the University of Southern Mississippi), a member of the "College Division," or what could now be considered an FCS or I-AA program, Georgia's 14-0 loss in its next-to-last game of the 1953 campaign featured Bratkowski's memorable moment.  Late in the contest, and as the Bulldogs were attempting to simply "get" on the scoreboard, the quarterback completed three consecutive passes to end the game.  I discovered that the second of these--a 15-yard completion to Harold Pilgrim--resulted in Bratkowski breaking Ford's NCAA career record. 

 

Bratkowski would finish the Mississippi Southern game with 4,754 career passing yards.  He would add 109 more in the season finale against Georgia Tech, ending his career with 4,863, which would stand as the NCAA record for 11 years until Tulsa's Jerry Rhome surpassed the Brat's total in 1964.

 

I decided to reach out to Bratkowski at his home in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, asking if he was aware of the exact moment and circumstances when he broke Ford's record.

 

"Patrick, not only did I not know that I broke the record against Mississippi Southern," Bratkowski informed me in a phone conversation, "I didn't even know that I actually held the NCAA record until you just now told me!"

 

Bratkowski, who hails from Danville, Illinois, and nearly attended Marquette until realizing the school's football program was rather unstable (the Golden Avalanche football program would eventually disband in 1960), recognizes that the keeping and maintaining of football records was conducted in a much different manner in his day than now.  "No one ever mentioned to me that I had broken the NCAA record probably because no one actually knew I had broken it," he said.  "Like all games, I was just out there playing football against Mississippi Southern.  And, might I add, Mississippi Southern had a really fine team!"

 

Bratkowski easily recalled the game played in front of an overflow crowd of 25,000 at Jackson's old Memorial Stadium.  There were so many spectators that a number of them were forced to sit on the ground behind the end zones.  "It was really loud," Bratkowski also remembers, "and they had these two outstanding backs--Laurin Pepper and Buck McElroy--that were really hard to stop."  Mississippi Southern's two touchdowns were scored by Pepper and McElroy, resulting via interception return and a 1-yard plunge, respectively.

 

Photo from the Hattiesburg American of Carson's TD 
 catch from Bratkowski that was ruled incomplete. Notice 
the overflow of spectators sitting in the background.

Bratkowski acknowledges it was a disappointing afternoon for he and his teammates against "the Southerners"--a team which had also upset 5th-ranked Alabama in the season opener.  In Georgia's 14-0 loss, the All-American signal caller completed just 8 of 21 passes for 83 yards and was intercepted three times.  At one point, Bratkowski did appear to complete a touchdown to John Carson in the back of the end zone, but a referee ruled the Georgia receiver was juggling the ball when he went out of bounds.  But, what about the record-breaking completion to Pilgrim that did count?

 

"Oblivious--didn't know I had set any kind of record," Bratkowski says.  "In fact, I hardly even remember Pilgrim, the receiver."

 

In the Brat's defense, Harold Pilgrim was a mere freshman that season, and making one of his first appearances on Georgia's varsity.  He would letter for the Bulldogs from 1954 through 1956, but by then, Bratkowski had moved onto an NFL career which, whether playing or coaching in the league, lasted for more than 40 years (1954-1995).  Ironically, Pilgrim not only became associated with an NCAA record in a season in which he didn't earn a letter, but his record-breaking reception was the only catch he would make his entire Bulldog career.

 

As our conversation was coming to a close, I informed Bratkowski of an effort of his that was recognized by the media that afternoon on November 21, 1953--the quarterback's graciousness.  As their 14-0 defeat was nearing an end, some Bulldog players displayed little sportsmanship, including a particular end who "grounded" an opposing player with a forearm to the face.  A sportswriter noticed that few Georgia players shook hands with their opponent following the setback; however, Bratkowski not only offered his hand, but was the "only [Bulldog player] aggressive about it."

 

"I didn't know about that either," Bratkowski added.  "Well, I can thank my high school coach for that.  Paul Shebby of Schlarman [Academy in Danville] embedded into me to be a gracious winner, and a gracious loser."

 

Finally, as we said our goodbyes, Bratkowski demonstrated he was just as gracious as he was 60 years ago.  He thank me (and he certainly didn't have to) for revealing a record that was once even unrecognized by the one-time record holder.

 

"That's really good to know; I can now add it to my resume," the 82-year-old laughed.

Walker, Worley, and tomorrow Gurley?

With 100+ rushing yards tomorrow,
Gurley would join an elite class in
Georgia-Florida lore.

The other day, I was reminded by a sports-talk radio show of Todd Gurley's 118-yard rushing performance in Jacksonville a year ago, prompting me to identify Georgia's all-time individual 100-yard rushing games in the series.  Resulting against what would rank as the fourth-best rushing defense in the entire nation,  notably, Gurley's feat versus the Gators in 2012 was the 25th 100-yard rushing performance by a Bulldog against Florida.  

 

Gurley's 118 yards as a freshman also setups the possibility in 2013 for him to be added to a very short list of Bulldogs, currently consisting of only Herschel Walker and Tim Worley, who faced Florida at least twice in their UGA careers, and rushed for 100+ yards in every one of their games against the Gators.

 

Ranked by yardage (followed by rushes and rushing TDs), the following are Georgia's 25 individual 100-yard rushing performances in the series.  Below the rankings is somewhat of a "history" of the Bulldogs' great rushing feats against the Gators, and the slight controversy regarding who should actually sit atop the rankings: 

 

239-25-3: Charley Trippi, 1945

238-37-1: Herschel Walker, 1980

219-35-3: Herschel Walker, 1982

198-30-0: Kevin McLee, 1976

192-47-2: Herschel Walker, 1981

188-33-3: Knowshon Moreno, 2007

162-10-2: Willie McClendon, 1977

145- 9- 2: Keith Henderson, 1985

142-31-1: Frank Sinkwich, 1941

135-22-2: Tim Worley, 1988

135-26-1: Ricky Lake, 1970

131- ?- 1: Jack Roberts, 1931

127- ?- 1: Billy Rutland, 1944

124-17-3: Ray Goff, 1976

124-26-4: Robert Edwards, 1997

123-12-3: Cy Grant, 1932

121-29-2: Rodney Hampton, 1989

118-27-1: Todd Gurley, 2012

113- 8- 1: Frank Harvey, 1992 

106- ?- 0: Bill Hartman, 1937

105-11-0: Bill David, 1932

104- 7- 1: Tim Worley, 1985 

103-18-0: Rodney Hampton, 1987

103-18-0: Danny Ware, 2004

100-22-0: Musa Smith, 2002

 

In the 11th game of the Georgia-Florida rivalry, Jack "the Ripper" Roberts became the first identifiable Bulldog to rush for 100 yards against Florida, gaining 131 in a 33-6 rout over the Gators in 1931.  A year later, Cy Grant and Bill David became the first of three Bulldog tandems where each player in the duo gained 100 yards. 

 

In 1937, Bill Hartman became the first of five Bulldogs to reach 100 in a loss to Florida; however, this was followed four years later with Frank Sinkwich's spectacular performance where he not only rushed for 142 yards, but also successfully kicked Georgia's only made field goal in what would be a span of about 30 years.

 

In a 34-0 blowout over Florida in 1945, according to the Atlanta Constitution, Charley Trippi "carried the ball 25 times for a total of 239 yards, an average of 9.1 yards (although, according to my calculator, that's actually an average of 9.6 yards).  Regardless, Trippi's 239 yards officially remains the most by a Georgia player against Florida and would be a school record against any team for 35 years--well, for the most part--until Herschel rushed for 283 versus Vanderbilt in 1980.

 

Here's where things get weird...  In 1976, Kevin McLee and Ray Goff rushed for 198 and 124 yards, respectively, in a memorable 41-27 comeback victory in Jacksonville.  Only a couple of days later, and although Trippi's 239 rushing yards against Florida in 1945 was listed as the school record, UGA announced that, in fact, Glynn Harrison (172 yards vs. Vanderbilt in 1974) had been the actual record holder, and now McLee's 198 was the new school record.  Reportedly, "research revealed that [Trippi's 239] total included [73 in] pass receiving yardage."  Evidently, Trippi 's rushing yards totaled 166 against the Gators.

 

Just a week later at Auburn, McLee rushed for 203 yards and seemingly broke his own school record only recently established.  However, UGA again stepped forward, curiously declaring another mistake had been made--upon further research, Trippi did indeed rush for 239 yards against Florida in 1945 and the school record was his and had been for more than 30 years.

 

(Personally, I'd like to know what research was revealed.  The NCAA has no official stat sheet from the 1945 Georgia-Florida game and it seems Trippi's 239-yard mark is based on the statement from the Atlanta newspaper.  I believe the discrepancy may come from the fact that it appears Trippi gained a number of yards during that game on shovel passes, including 22 resulting in a touchdown.  The shovel-pass yardage might be included in his 239 rushing.  Interestingly, I've seen where Trippi's 22-yard score from a shovel pass is recognized as a rushing touchdown by some, but a receiving touchdown by others.  Who knows... I am certain the UGA record keepers actually did not.)

 

Speaking of curious, Willie McClendon rushed for 153 yards on 9 carries in 1977 against the Gators in the first half alone; the Bulldogs took a 17-10 lead into halftime.  However, McClendon was handed the ball just once in the second half, and Florida would rally for a 22-17 victory.

Worley vs. Florida in '85--his first of two 100-yard
performances, resulting in two games vs. the Gators,
separated by three years (Wingate Downs).



From 1980 through 1982, Herschel rushed for a whooping 649 yards against the Gators--the most collectively gained against the eight common opponents he faced in his three seasons at UGA.  During the 1980s, Tim Worley and Rodney Hampton also had multiple 100-yard rushing games in Jacksonville.  Hampton's two 100-yard performances (1987, 1989) surrounded a subordinate role to Worley in the 1988 game.  Worley's two are intriguing in that the first (1985) came as a true freshman over the top-ranked Gators, while the second (1988) followed not playing in the '86 game due to an injury and attending junior college in 1987, resulting in two 100-yard performances in two games versus Florida, separated by three years. 

 

Rushing for an 80-yard touchdown on Georgia's first offensive play of the 1992 game, Frank Harvey is the last Bulldog fullback to gain 100+ against the Gators.  Whereas the last 15 years have produced remarkable performances by Georgia tailbacks versus Florida, particularly, Robert Edwards in 1997, Knowshon a decade later, and of course Gurley a season ago.

 

As far as Gurley joining Walker and Worley with multiple 100-yard rushing performances in the same number of games against Florida, I like his chances if he's healthy: the banged-up Gator defense is allowing 3.7 yards per rush--the same average Georgia is yielding--while their last two opponents have featured a 100-yard rusher (Jeremy Hill of LSU and Henry Josey of Missouri). 

 

Last year, the Bulldogs wouldn't have won without Gurley's 100-yard rushing game against the Gators.  Tomorrow, they'll likely need a similar performance from the sophomore tailback to avoid defeat in Jacksonville for the first time in three years. 

A Bulldog-Turned-Gator Tale

As the story goes, Georgia's rout in the rain of the
Gators in '68 would be the root of Spurrier's evil.

While at a wedding reception on Saturday, I had conversation with a group of family members regarding, what else, the looming World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.  Georgia's dominance of the series during the 1970s and 1980s was mentioned, followed by Florida's during the 1990s and 2000s, which brought up the primary reason why control of the series suddenly flipped—Stephen Orr Spurrier.

 

My family then discussed the logic behind Spurrier's tremendous hate for Georgia—the Bulldogs' 27-10 trampling of the Gators during the quarterback's senior and Heisman-winning campaign of 1966, or so that's the long-time, assumed reason.

 

Oh, contraire, I politely interjected.  I then provided for my family the true reasoning behind Spurrier's trick plays when a number of games were well in hand and the public jabs at our head coaches from the former Gators' Ol' Ball Coach—rationale fully presented in my Georgia-Florida book (and copied below).  And, in the process of my family learning something new about the storied Georgia-Florida rivalry, I learned that although family members are eager and generous enough to buy my books, some of them might not actually read them.

 

Perhaps the only thing stronger than the hate many Georgia followers have for Steve Spurrier is the Evil Genius’ despise for the Bulldogs. But where did Spurrier’s presumed hatred for our team stem from? Why all the snide and ridiculing comments about Georgia and its coaches over the years? What is the reason for the called flea-flickers and end-arounds when a number of Bulldogs-Gators games were already well decided?

Most of us have always assumed Spurrier’s beef with the Bulldogs was simply because of the defeats he endured as Florida’s quarterback in 1964 and particularly in 1966 to Georgia. However, the supposed truth goes much further than that.

Gene Ellenson was an All-SEC tackle as a Bulldog, a member of Georgia’s 1942 national championship team, and a Battle of the Bulge hero from World War II. After an assistant coaching stint at Miami (Fla.), he became Georgia’s top candidate to fill the head coaching position left by Wally Butts in 1961. In fact, UGA President Dr. O.C. Aderhold reportedly went so far as telling Ellenson the job was his to lose…but lose it he would.

Before his hiring became official, Ellenson, who was known for his motivational speeches, spoke a little too much to a Jacksonville newspaper, indicating several changes he would make if he became the Bulldogs’ head coach. With that, according to author Jesse Outlar, "Ellenson had talked himself out of one of the most sought after jobs in football."

So, it was off to the University of Florida for Ellenson, where he would serve as a defensive assistant for the entire—well, most of it—Coach Ray Graves era of 1960 to 1969. Against Georgia in 1968, in an attempt to shake things up with a struggling team, Graves had the ingenious idea of swapping coordinators—defensive coordinator Ellenson suddenly was the offensive coordinator. Graves’ move more than backfired as the Gators were trounced by the Bulldogs 51–0.

In that game, the Bulldogs comfortably led 48–0 with more than five minutes to play. Georgia had reached Florida’s 5-yard line, where it faced fourth down. Coach Vince Dooley decided to call upon reserve Peter Rajecki—a German-born, barefooted kicker, and the school’s first soccer-style place-kicker—to attempt his first-ever field goal as a Bulldog. Rajecki made the 22-yard attempt.

As the story goes, the successful field goal meant much more to the Gators, Ellenson, and eventually Steve Spurrier, than simply another three points for the Bulldogs. Spurrier, who was then playing in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, was told of Georgia’s "running-up-the-score" maneuver by Ellenson in a phone conversation. Spurrier was furious and vowed then, if he ever got the chance, he’d run the score up on the Bulldogs just like they had done to his Gators.

In his first year as Florida’s head coach in 1990, Spurrier brought in Ellenson to deliver a motivational message at the team meeting the Friday night before the Georgia game. The Bulldog-turned-Gator speaker stressed taking charge of one’s own fate and not letting outsiders control it. The motivated Gators responded with an easy victory over Georgia, where Spurrier got his chance to run up the score, and sure enough he did in a 31-point victory.

 

Gene Ellenson: foremost Bulldog-turned-Gator

A year later, it was the same as the season before—Ellenson spoke to the team on Friday, urging them to go to "another level." The Gators would hold a late, comfortable lead over the Bulldogs the next day. Yet, it was not quite comfortable enough for Spurrier, who didn’t let up for a second straight blowout win for Florida over Georgia.

So, more or less, that is supposedly the reasoning behind Spurrier’s hate for Georgia while at Florida. However, there is a bit of information the Gators tend to leave out when recalling the story. Let’s just say that for many attending the Georgia-Florida game on that rainy day in 1968, it was rather obvious that the Gators collectively did not put forth their best toward the end of the game.

Dooley was not one to run up the score during his 25 seasons as the Bulldogs’ head coach. Further, he certainly hardly questioned an opponent’s effort, if ever, besides this one example. Dooley said after the game, "I really believe Florida’s effort was not at its maximum.… I believe you had a [Georgia] football team after the third quarter that was really keyed, against a team that was giving less than maximum effort."

Therefore, it appears that an assistant’s hard feelings for his alma mater and a head coach’s vengeance against the same rival results from not necessarily Georgia trying to run up a score, but perhaps something else, namely the Gators simply not playing to "another level" in the 1968 game.

Besides, what would Spurrier and the Gators faithful have preferred Dooley execute on fourth down from the 5-yard line and with more than five minutes remaining in the game?

Run a Spurrier-like end-around with a wide receiver?

Superman Can Be Stopped

As told by his own head coach, the Superman of Gator

Land finally met his match in Jacksonville in 1966.

One of the greatest victories by Georgia over Florida--fifth-best in my book--was when the Bulldogs upset the Gators in 1966 and their Heisman-winning "Superman of Gator Land."

A friend of mine recently sent me a true gem--The Ray Graves Show which followed Georgia's great 27-10 win.  The Florida head coach's show is much different than the coaches shows I grew up on--no Yella Fella and his Yella Wood, no Frito Lay commercials.

Along with the game's recap from my I Love Georgia/I Hate Florida book, highlights of one of the most memorable games in UGA football history:

Led by “Superman” in 1966, Florida looked like it was finally going to capture its elusive SEC championship.  The Gators were undefeated at 7-0, ranked seventh in the nation, and were led by quarterback Steve “Superman” Spurrier, who had defeated the Bulldogs in the final seconds the year before and was the frontrunner to win the Heisman Trophy.

Florida, looking every bit of having the country’s seventh-best offense, took the opening kickoff and quickly drove 86 yards in eight plays to a 7-0 lead.  Georgia placekicker Bob Etter got the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with a field goal, but Florida’s Wayne Barfield would answer with one of his own just before halftime.

In the second half, Spurrier was far from super, hurrying almost all of his pass attempts and often sacked.  After throwing just two interceptions in 191 passes for the first seven-and-a-half games of the season, Spurrier was intercepted three times in just 15 attempts in the second half.  The Gator ground game didn’t fair much better, netting just five yards after halftime.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs scored on a second Etter field goal, two rushing touchdowns, and a 39-yard interception return by safety Lynn Hughes, who had helped defeat Florida and Spurrier two years before as Georgia’s quarterback.

 

 

Following the Bulldogs’ 27-10 upset victory, Jim Minter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted a spirited Georgia fan, dressed in red and assuredly enjoying the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” repeatedly shouted from the Gator Bowl stands, “Superman can be stopped…”

 

Spurrier had been stopped on that particular day, although he couldn’t be stopped from taking home the Heisman Trophy about a month later.  Nevertheless, the loss to Georgia ended Florida’s chance for its first conference title, and it would be the Bulldogs instead taking home the SEC championship.

Dump the "Drill" Because It Ain't Getting "Finished"



What do you mean, I'm going to lose another game 
after leading by double digits in the 2nd half?

Realizing this is the third unfavorable post in my last five concerning the football program I treasure, let me first say, I hate to be a "Negative Ned" and really try to be a glass-half-full guy.  However, after witnessing Georgia's season suddenly go in a span of just seven days from one with national championship possibilities to where even a bowl game might not result, I cannot help myself to share the following "historically-based thoughts" after the loss at Vandy:

 

1) Georgia's consecutive losses to Missouri and Vanderbilt -- both where the Bulldogs entered as 6.5-point favorites -- marked the first time in 40 years the team lost back-to-back games when favored by 6 points or more.  In 1973, Georgia was defeated by Vanderbilt as a 17-point favorite and Kentucky as a 13-point favorite in consecutive games.  For you older Dawg fans, you may recall that those two straight setbacks prompted "Dump Dooley" bumper stickers to pop up in the Athens and Atlanta areas.  Ironically, it is said that for the very next season "Vince Dooley made a personnel decision that energized Georgia's offensive game plan" by hiring Bill Hartman as the program's first kicking coach, becoming one of the few specialty coaches in the nation.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think Coach Richt is going to hire a "specialty coach" anytime soon without being pushed to do so by someone else.  However, as far as any bumper stickers, or the like, that might pop up in the near future, like "Get Rid of Richt" or "Move On Mark," nothing would surprise me regarding UGA football's demanding fan base.

 

2) Speaking of a special teams coach, seriously, will Georgia just hurry the heck up and hire one?!?  The special teams snafus have become ridiculous, costing the Bulldogs ballgames in the process.

Georgia's excuse has been the NCAA limits each football staff to nine full-time assistants, so Richt cannot simply hire another assistant to head up his special teams.  However, often not mentioned is that since the head coach's arrival in 2001, the Bulldogs' staff has included an assistant responsible for the tight ends -- David Johnson (2001-2007) and John Lilly (2008-2013) -- and nothing else, having no other major responsibility.

For the many decades Georgia football employed assistants up until the Richt era, never was there an assistant on staff only responsible for tight ends.  Under Dooley and Goff, the tight ends were normally coached by the offensive line or wide receivers coach.  The same was usually true during Coach Donnan's tenure, plus, he actually had an assistant at one point, Phil Jones, solely responsible for special teams.

Considering the Bulldogs have essentially utilized just two tight ends this season, who have combined to make less than 13 percent of the team's receptions, does that particular position really require its very own assistant, especially when the squad's special teams, on the whole, are in shambles? 

3) Following Georgia's loss in the 2012 Outback Bowl after the Bulldogs actually held a 16-point second-half lead, I researched and discovered the team's "comeback wins," where Georgia trailed by double digits in the second half but rallied to win, and "lost leads," where the Dogs lost after leading by double digits in the second half, beginning with the Dooley era. 

After the Vanderbilt loss, where Georgia led by 13 points in the second half, here's an updated look at the last four head coaches' comeback wins and lost leads during their tenures:

 

DOOLEY: 13 comeback wins; 3 lost leads (25 seasons)
GOFF: 4 comeback wins; 2 lost leads (7 seasons)
DONNAN: 5 comeback wins; 3 lost leads (5 seasons)
RICHT: 5 comeback wins; 7 lost leads (12+ seasons)

 

Richt's comeback wins and lost leads in detail:

 

2002: Trailed Auburn by 11 in 2H but won

2004: Trailed South Carolina by 10 in 2H but won

2006: Trailed Colorado by 13 in 2H but won

2006: Led Tennessee by 10 in 2H but lost

2006: Trailed Virginia Tech by 18 in 2H but won

2007: Trailed Vanderbilt by 10 in 2H but won

2008: Led Georgia Tech by 16 in 2H but lost

2009: Led Kentucky by 14 in 2H but lost

2010: Led Colorado by 10 in 2H but lost

2011: Led Michigan State by 16 in 2H but lost

2012: Led Alabama by 11 in 2H but lost

2013: Led Vanderbilt by 13 in 2H but lost

 

I won't bore you with a bunch of comeback wins-lost leads statistics; I probably did enough of that back in January 2012.  However, something which really stands out and is downright appalling: In a span of less than five years, Richt's teams have now lost six games when having a double-digit lead in the second half -- one for each of the last six seasons -- or, one more lost lead than Dooley and Goff suffered in 32 seasons combined.

To conclude, for a team whose motto is to finish the drill, after losing consecutive games as a substantial favorite, more atrocious special teams play, and repeatedly dropping games after having double-digit second-half leads, its "drill," or the program's aim, should be immediately altered, because the current one is often not getting "finished."

The "Shoestring" that Sunk the 'Dores

Gene Washington races into the end zone, com-
pleting what "was so easy it was ridiculous." 
 

Notably, the Bulldogs faced the same opponent they'll play tomorrow 38 years ago on this very day on the same field.  Back in 1975, there were few televised games, especially one being played at Vanderbilt, so you nearly had to be there to believe what occurred on that wet and chilly day in Nashville.  "What" was so imaginative, totally tricky, it was reported by a writer fortunate to be present that the incident would "be the talk for quite some time."

 

In 1969, UGA offensive line coach Jimmy Vickers had been an assistant at North Carolina under head coach Bill Dooley, brother of UGA's Vince.  That season, UNC had been fooled by Duke, executing the sandlot "shoestring play" to score the go-ahead touchdown to defeat the Tar Heels.  In preparation for the Commodores six years later, Vickers noticed that Vanderbilt's defense often held hands while turning their backs in the huddle, so he suggested "the shoestring" to Vince Dooley.  A couple of days prior to the game, the Bulldog offense began running the play in practice.

 

With just over five minutes remaining until halftime, Georgia possessed the ball on Vanderbilt's 36-yard line, leading by a score of only 7 to 3.  Offensive coordinator Bill Pace suddenly called for the Bulldogs to pull the shoestring play; his head coach consented.  At one time, the trickery had fooled those close to Dooley; however, now it was his turn to deceive a coach once under his regime -- Vanderbilt head coach Fred Pancoast, who had been Georgia's offensive coordinator in 1970 and 1971. 

 

Before trying the shoestring, the Bulldogs first needed to run a play to set the play up, "68-Sweep," which called for quarterback Ray Goff to simply sweep to his right.  Interestingly, the run required no blocking from the offensive linemen, so the runner would be brought down quickly and kept from going out of bounds.  Going out of bounds would mean spotting the ball in the middle of the field for the ensuing snap -- a hindrance for the perfect shoestring play. 

On first down, Goff kept it to his right and was nearly "killed," the quarterback would later say, in being stopped for no gain; however, as planned, the ball was spotted on the right hash mark, leaving the entire left side of the field wide open and ready for perhaps the most unusual play in the history of Georgia football to unfold.                

 

"Although the ball was set on the right hash, we stood in the middle of the field," center Ken Helms (No. 53) recalled for me earlier this week.  "The plan was for Ray to take a knee at the ball and act like he was tying his shoe."

"My job was to streak downfield after Ray flipped the ball and just block whoever seemed like he had an angle on the ball carrier," split end Steve Davis (No. 80) informed me recently.  "We hardly passed the ball back then, so the receivers were used to blocking.  In fact, we sometimes jokingly called ourselves 'downfield blocking specialists' instead of receivers."

On the play, Goff knelt in front of the ball, pretending to tie his shoe as his other 10 offensive teammates nonchalantly gathered at the left hash mark.  Instantly, the quarterback flipped the football to flanker Gene Washington, who began racing  down the left sideline with a convoy of blockers. 



"[The blockers] just zoned across to the play side," Helms says.  "Geno (Gene Washington) was gone.  It happened so quick."

"After the snap of the ball, I'll never forget their left cornerback, the guy I would cut block down the field, when he came out of their huddle," Davis laughs speaking of Vanderbilt's Reggie Calvin (No. 20).  "In disbelief of what was going on, his eyes popped open as big as silver dollars."

The Goff-to-Washington "shoestring play" not only was one of the most inventive plays in the annals of the sport of football, but it also jump-started a struggling squad to victory.  The play would "break our backs," according to Vanderbilt's Pancoast as his team "lost our composure afterwards."  What was once a close game soon became a rout as Georgia would eventually hammer Vanderbilt, 47-3.

The shoestring play evidently caused the Commodores' head coach to lose his composure afterwards, as well.

"I certainly remember the play, but what also stands out is what happened after the game," says another Georgia player involved in the shoestring.  "Pissed off because Coach Dooley ran the play, I remember Coach Pancoast refusing to shake his hand, and here Pancoast had been Dooley's offensive coordinator just a few years before." 

Dooley would admit afterwards, "If I'd known the game was going to end like it did [in a blowout], we probably wouldn't have used [the shoestring play]."

Perhaps the best postgame assessment concerning a play that apparently wouldn't have even been used came from the speedster who was on its "receiving end."  Washington, who said he'd knew the shoestring would work the second Goff grabbed the ball, declared "it was so easy it was ridiculous."

As easy as tying your shoestring...