One Old Dawg on Cats

One Old Dawg has had a few days to reflect on the Bulldogs' loss to Florida this past Saturday. He says this, “It was one of those days when Florida could do nothing wrong, and played exceptionally well. If we played them eight times, we’d probably beat them seven, but they beat us that Saturday.  

"I couldn't help but remember the Apostle Paul’s words at a particularly frustrating time in his life, ‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed’(2 Corinthians 4:8-9). In other words, we may have been knocked down but we’re not out of the fight. As they say in opera circles, it ain’t over till the full-figured lady sings. Dawgs, get over it; we are still in the fight for a place at the dome on December 6.”

 

Fifty years ago when the Bulldogs played Kentucky, One Old Dawg remembers, “We really weren’t sure what to expect going into the 1964 Kentucky game. Kentucky had opened its season with two outstanding victories against Ole Miss and Auburn, then they lost to Florida State and LSU. We were the next game on the schedule, and no one had really decided how good they were.
 

“They had two outstanding players, Rodger Bird, a running back who later had a pro career (Oakland Raiders) and Rick Norton, their quarter back, also headed for the pros (Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers). They were juniors and had both made all SEC the year before. Coming off two losses, we knew they would be hungry.

“We were coming off a disappointing loss to Florida State, yet at the same time an encouraging loss. Our fan base was excited that we were able to play pretty even with such a great team. We still weren’t sure what we had, either.

“At the  Kentucky game,  they received the ball first, and promptly drove the ball straight down the field and scored.

“However, when our defense came off the field after Kentucky had scored, the stands stood up and applauded us. We had just gotten kicked all the way down the field, and we were amazed. Somebody said, “If these people have that kind of confidence in us, we’ve got to buckle up here and do better.”

Those were the last points Kentucky scored. Fans are important.”

News accounts report that Georgia’s quarterback, Preston Ridlehuber (Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets) was responsible for two touchdowns and made many other outstanding plays.

Bob Etter (Atlanta Flacons, Memphis Southmen ) and Bob Taylor also put points on the board.

Halfback, Fred Barber,  carried the ball fifteen times and fullback, Leon Armbrester, counted eleven carries. Other strong offensive players were Wayne Swinford, Lynn Hughes (All SEC, All American), Ray Rissmiller (All-American, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills), Don Porterfield, and George Nowicki.  

Media mentioned a powerful showing by defensive players, Jim Wilson  (All SEC, All American, San Francisco 49rs, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Rams) , Joel Darden, Barry Wilson (All SEC, Captain of the team,  Coach at Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Tampa Bay Bandits, Duke Florida), Jerry Varnado , Dickie Phillips, Jimmy Cooley, and John Glass .

Mack Faircloth, contributed by averaging almost fifty yards punting.

“It was a rough and tumble game, but our defense played well. I don’t believe Kentucky threatened the rest of the game. We shut Roger Byrd down and our offense drove the ball three, four, and five yards up and down the field. So, it was a game when we continued to make a turn in becoming a leader in the SEC by beating Kentucky.”

Looking ahead this week, One Old Dawg says, “We’d best put the gator chomp behind us because we’re gong to Lexington this Saturday and those Kentucky Cats are going to be scratching and clawing for a victory after losing three straight to good SEC teams. They’re out of title contention but they need another win to be bowl eligible so they’re still motivated.

 

"Also, I know it’s hard to ask our enemies for help, but swallow hard and get ready to pull for the the Aggies, Vols, and Hogs the next few weeks; we need one of them to whip Missouri for us. Sic em dogs! We’ve skinned two Tigers already; a Wildcat ought not be a problem.”

 

Well, that's it for One Old Dawg this week. The season has gone by so quickly. We only have three more posts from One Old Dawg this year. Join us next week, so you don't miss any of his mostly true Bulldog lore.