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The
pain was palpable after the Vanderbilt game as fans exited Sanford Stadium in
stunned silence. Here at One Old Dawg’s house, it’s taken some time to get
over, but one thing that has helped immensely is the 8-0 record of the Athens
Academy team where One Old Dawg is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
chaplain. He’s so proud of them and it’s a balm for the Bulldog soul for sure.
He
weighs in on the situation at Georgia, “I know everyone in the Dawg nation is
down in the dumps after that loss to Vandy. Many are wondering if we can win
any of the SEC games left on our schedule, much less beat the next one, the Florida
Gators, who are leading the east division. I confess I had the same doubts
until I actually looked at the numbers. We stomped Vanderbilt in every
statistical measurement except score. We had 421 yards to their 171! That’s
enough difference to have to have beaten them twice.
“Florida
beat them 13-6 but Vandy outplayed the Gators in every other category except
passing yards; Florida had about thirty yards more. Total yards: Vandy 265, Florida 236. The bottom line is Georgia’s loss to Vandy was a
fluke, or ‘a chance occurrence’. We can play with the big guys; we just have a
few rough spots we need to get ironed out. I love the way The Message translates Jeremiah 51:46: 'Don't lose hope. Don't ever give up when the rumors pour in hot and heavy. . . Don't listen to the naysayers, pessimists and complainers.' We have good players, good coaches, and we are getting better each week. This team has been through a very significant transition. Cut them some slack. So get your
heads up Dawgs and button up your chin straps, there’s still a lot of football
to play.”
When
we began to look at 1966 newspaper clippings, coverage was about average
for each game. After the win over Florida, the game received front-page
headlines in several papers across the south.
 |
| The Atlanta Constitution |
The
significance of what the University of Georgia Bulldogs did signaled they were
on the hunt for the SEC championship, and that made football fans everywhere
sit up and take notice. At One Old Dawg’s house, no less than seven pages of
newspaper clippings from that one game equal the coverage of all the previous 1966 games
combined.
One
of the most interesting places we’ve seen coverage of the game was at a wedding
we attended on St. Simons Island. The bride and groom had met at the
Florida-Georgia game one year and used a Florida-Georgia Rivalry book for their
guests to sign. We wondered if One Old Dawg might be in it, and sure enough,
there he was on the 1966 page sacking Steve Spurrier. He signed right across
the white pants.
One
Old Dawg and his lifelong friend, Ken Pilsbury were chosen captains for this
game that turned out to be the turning point in the season.
 |
| Jerry Varnado shakes hands with Florida player photo Lou Engle |
One
Old Dawg remembers, “In 1966, Georgia verses Florida was a super big game. The
Gators were undefeated, ranked number seven in the nation and their quarterback
Steve Spurrier was leading the race for the Heisman. The Gator fans were
ecstatic as they looked forward to their first-ever SEC championship. We had only
one loss, the heartbreaker at Miami, and had not yet broken into the top ten in
the rankings. If you want to know why Steve Spurrier has seemed to have held a
grudge against Georgia all these years, just pay attention to what happened in
that 1966 game, his senior year in which he did win the Heisman.
“The
game started out the way everyone expected. Florida took the kickoff and in
nine plays covered eighty-six yards for a touchdown and led 7-0. It was then a
slugfest for the next twenty-five minutes, the teams swapping field goals, and
Florida took a 10-3 lead into half time. Florida’s offensive showing was not up
to par, a little over 100 yards passing and nine first downs, but it was only
to get worse. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune sportswriter John Brockmann described
the Bulldogs pass rush as ‘a pack of wolves’ that chased Spurrier down all afternoon. Take
note of the Gator’s second half numbers: one first down, twenty-nine yards
passing, five net yards rushing and zero points.
“Spurrier,
who had only two interceptions prior to the game, gave up three picks to the
hungry Dawgs. The Gators only managed sixty-one yards on the ground for the
whole game while the Dawgs rolled up 213 yards. Total offense was Georgia 334
yards and Florida 194. Georgia scored three touchdowns and a field goal in the
second half to win the game 27-10. I think it also made the Gators a little hot
under the collar when Georgia scored its final touchdown with one second left
on the clock, I guess they wanted us just to quit. One Old Dawg takes great
pride in being part of the reason why Steve Spurrier has had it out for Georgia
all these years.”
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| Jerry Varnado 88, about to sack Steve Spurrier, 11 |
So after reflecting on the Florida game in 1966, One Old Dawg continues to believe there’s still something good in the future for this year’s Bulldogs. “I know the Gators are riding high right now, but I believe, they can be had. As an assistant coach, Kirby Smart is 8-3 against the Gators, two of those losses were with the Dogs. I think one reason we hired him is he knows how to beat these guys.
"I believe this is the game where the Dawgs put it all together: Eason’s laser arm on target, receiver’s with sure hands, linemen opening holes for our stable of running backs, and a solid effort from special teams, not to mention a stingy defense that refuses to give up yards or points to a pack of overgrown lizards. If we can do that, those Gators will be slinking back to the swamp looking for a mud hole to hide in. Come on Dawgs, it’s been three years since we enjoyed fried gator tail. Gooo Dawgs, Sick ‘em.”
So with that, we're heating up the fryer and looking forward to the outcome of this weekend's game.
Join us again next week when One Old Dawg will be here once more sharing more of his mostly true Bulldog lore.
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