One Old Dawg: Ganging up on Spurrier in 1966 and heating up the gator fryer in 2016

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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

Vince Dooley in Dooley's Playbook says, "The best tackles I ever had at Georgia were Bill Stanfill and George Patton." Writing about the Florida game, Jesse Outlar in the Atlanta Constitution reinforced that statement, "The Georgia line kept Spurrier under tremendous pressure all the way. All -American tackle George Patton, Bill Stanfill, playing despite a painful neck injury, end Jerry Varnado, guard Dickie Phillips, linebacker Steve Neuhaus and their playmates ganged Spurrier in the second half."

 

Additionally, newspaper accounts noted the significant contributions of Bob Etter (Atlanta Falcons, Memphis Southmen) for extra points and a field goal, Lynn Hughes' interception (All SEC, All American, New York Giants, Coaching positions Georgia and Vanderbilt) , as well as the efforts of Brad Johnson, Larry Kohn (All SEC) and Frank Richter (Denver Bronchos).

 

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.”

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.