In the Driver's Seat

One Old Dawg is plenty ready to go after taking a week off. He thinks his Bulldogs are, too.

“A lot is riding on the annual swamp showdown with the Florida Gators – some things never change. But this one is about more than border wars and bragging rights. Whoever loses this one can just about hang it up as far as the SEC title is concerned. For now, Florida is in the driver’s seat with only one conference loss, while we have two. But if we win Saturday and take care of Auburn and Kentucky, we will be in the Dome December 5 playing for the championship. Even if Florida also wins out the rest of its schedule and ties us for SEC East title, we would get the nod because we wrestled the Gators into submission. Hunker down Dawgs; we really need this one.”

He picks up a yellowed newspaper article lying on the dining room table. The bold headlines read, “Georgia’s Best Game Goes Down Drain.”

 

 

He winces as he remembers a Saturday fifty years ago. “It was a similar situation then, but reversed, the Dawgs were in the driver’s seat. The 1965 Dawgs had one conference loss going into the game and we had already beaten the defending national champion Alabama.  Florida had two conference loses with UGA and Tulane left on their schedule (Yes, Tulane was in the SEC in 1965). If Florida could win both games, they would have an outside chance at conference honors but for sure, a good bowl game.

“Keep in mind there were only nine bowl games in 1965, getting to one of them was a big deal. If we could whip Florida and Auburn, we had at least a piece of the conference championship, maybe the whole thing. This game was big. And we were ready to play, or at least “they” were. I was on the injured list and didn’t see any action; but I did travel with the team.”

One Old Dawg was a frequent recipient of the Johnson and Johnson award for his many injuries. This time, though, it was serious. He required disc surgery at the end of the season.

He continues about the 1965 Florida game. “It was hard fought, and due to a Pat Hodgson (All SEC, Washington Redskins, Coach at San Diego Chargers, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets) touchdown, we were tied 7-7 late in the fourth quarter when we got our big break – Florida fumbled a punt in their territory, and we recovered. Bobby Etter’s (Atlanta Falcons, Memphis Southmen) twenty-five-yard field goal put us on top 10-7 with only minutes left in the game. Then the unthinkable happened.

 

 

“Steve Spurrier completed a pass to their all-star receiver, Paul Casey, for forty-six yards and a first down at our thirty-two. Then Spurrier unloaded another long pass to Jack Harper. Our safety Lynn Hughes had him covered like a blanket. I’ve read accounts of that play that differ but from the sidelines, but it looked as though they both went up for the ball and collided in mid air and fell into the end zone. Unfortunately, the ball fell into Harper’s arms for a touchdown. 

“A few minutes remained on the clock but we were not able to mount another scoring drive and Florida won 14-10, dashing our hopes for a shot at the conference title.  It was a very sad day. In the 1990s, as head coach of the Florida Gators, Spurrier whipped us bad and bragged about it, but the rift so many feel with him first appeared twenty-five years earlier.”

One Old Dawg contemplates the deeper meaning of that giant disappointment in 1965. “Disappointment is a fact of life. Often things do not turn out the way we planned, hoped and maybe even prayed they would. Disappointments and failures do not determine or define us, unless we let them. I’m reminded of a biblical principle from Paul’s writings in Philippians 3:13-14, “ But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul had resisted God in the recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. He persecuted the church, even had Christians jailed and consented to the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. How stunned he must have been to discover he was wrong and had been fighting against the God he claimed to serve.

“Talk about disappointment! The principle of the text is to forget what is behind and it applies to all aspects of living. Forgetting does not mean removing it from our brains. Rather it means to not letting past events discourage us from pursuing our dreams, from pressing into the future that God has for us.

“Paul repented and turned his life over to God and became a great apostle of Jesus establishing churches in gentile areas of Asia Minor and Western Europe and authoring two-thirds of the New Testament. His life literally changed the course of world history. I’m sure glad he did not let his past disappointments and failure keep him from pursing the preferred future God had planned for him.

“This same core group of young men who suffered such disappointment with that loss to Florida in 1965 would return the next year to give it another shot. Next fall you’ll hear the continuation of their story.

“I’m figuring the similarities in 2015 to 1965 are going to continue. The team in the driver’s seat is going to suffer disappointment and have a very sad day this Saturday as the Dawgs drain their swamp on the way to the Georgia Dome. I just love the Florida Gators, stewed, grilled or fried. Sic ‘em Dawgs; woof, woof, woof.”

Stewed, grilled, or fried? No one can doubt where One Old Dawg’s allegiances are.   

We’ll be right here again next week for more of One Old Dawg’s “mostly true Bulldog lore.” Join us, and until then Go Dawgs!

 

Resting up for Florida

Since the Bulldogs are taking a week off, so is One Old Dawg. He’ll be back next week with his usual “mostly true Bulldog lore,” and his thoughts on the Florida game. Until then, consider looking through the archives by clicking HERE.

Pictures below are from the Letterman’s club before the Missouri game with One Old Dawg and a couple of his 1965 teammates. Apologies from One Old Dawg's wife about the blurriness.

Pete Gaines and Jerry Varnado

Bill Harber and Jerry Varnado

 

One Old Dawg on Canine Superiority

Cue melancholy music.

You have to hand it to One Old Dawg. He takes it hard, but always keeps the hope for his beloved Bulldogs.

On the way back from an out of town trip Saturday, he had to turn off the radio a few times to regroup after some of Tennessee’s antics. A hard day, for sure.

Today, he’s looking ahead and leans back in his desk chair, taking a break from preparing what he might say to  the Athens Academy Football team this week (he’s the FCA chaplain). “Look Dawg fans, I am already real tired of long, sad Saturdays, we’ve got to get these guys in gear and back on the winning track. Saturday morning I would have laughed if you had told me we would score thirty-one points on Tennessee and still lose; but what do I know?

 

“There are so many good players today, any team can win or lose on any given Saturday. The ball didn’t bounce our way last weekend―nothing we can do but shake it off and keep moving. You’d better believe when the Missouri Tigers stalk into town, they’ll be snarling not purring.”

He glances over at the newspaper clipping his mama saved from the 1965 North Carolina, Georgia matchup and remembers, “Fifty years ago we were traveling to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels, (what is a Tar Heel anyway?). I misspoke last week saying we had North Carolina and Ken Willard ahead of us. Actually, Willard had graduated and was a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers. I was happy about that because he was a big, punishing runner I didn’t particularly enjoy tackling.

“The Tar Heels were off to a slow start. They were even at 3-3 coming into our game but those three losses were by a narrow margin. Neither team had scored more than twenty-four points in a game, making this game the surprise of the season. They beat us 14-7 in the first quarter, we beat them 14-7 in the second. In the third, they tacked on another fourteen points, so they had a 35-21 lead going into the fourth quarter. We drove down and scored mid quarter to cut the lead to seven. Then our defense toughened up, and we got the ball back late in the quarter.”

We are sad to report that One Old Dawg reinjured his back on this series. He continues.

“I was on the sidelines long enough to see us score. It was late in the quarter so we decided to go for two, but they intercepted in the end zone. It’s 35-34 and just a few minutes left on the clock. I remember thinking that’s it. We’re out of time.

 "The team doctor had given me a shot for pain, and I could hardly keep my eyes open as they carried me into the locker room where I lay half-asleep on a training table, suffering our loss. All of sudden the door flew open and the team came storming in jumping and shouting. After missing the two-point conversion, we had executed a perfect onside kick, which Bill Cloer recovered on their forty-seven-yard line. It only took us two plays to score but we missed a second two-point conversion making it 40-35, but a few minutes remained on the clock.

“After we kicked-off, our defense stymied the Heels again. On fourth down with about two minutes to go, they went for the first down and failed giving us the ball on their twenty-four-yard line. We scored again and won 47-35.

One Old Dawg laughs. “In those days that sounded more like a score in basketball than football. We were 5-2, but with only one conference loss, we were still in the hunt. We had Florida, Auburn and Tech to go.”

In the Atlanta Journal, the headlines read in bold face type, “Bulldogs Rock Tar Heels.” Sportswriter, Furman Bisher, highlighted  Ronald Jenkins for outstanding play.

Jerry Varnado and Ronald Jenkins at '64 reunion.

 

He also commended Lynn Hughes, (All SEC, All American) and Preston Ridlehuber, (Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets).

Preston Ridlehuber, George Nowicki, Jerry Varnado, Pat Hodgson

And he gave a shout out to Randy Wheeler (Buffalo Bills).

 

Bisher said, “Georgia hadn’t been involved in a game in which this many points were scored by two teams since beating Newberry, 82-13 in 1922.”

One Old Dawg grows serious as he ponders the greater meaning of what he learned in that 1965 match-up with North Carolina. “I’m reminded of Luke 18:1, ‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.’ Often in life, there are situations that seem hopeless, but the Bible consistently encourages us not to give up but to keep trying. It had been a hard fought game; we were tired, and when we missed that first two-point conversion, we were discouraged. But our coaches had driven it home that no matter if you are winning or losing, it’s not over until it’s over. On October 30, 1965 we were able to secure a victory because we did not give up, we kept trying.”  

As always, One Old Dawg offers his thoughts on the upcoming game―this week with Missouri, “Take nothing for granted! These Tigers have claws and teeth and know how to scratch and bite. With two conference losses already, many consider them out of the race for the SEC east title. That is probably true, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. We’re 3-1 against this pack of felines, but one of those was the 1960 Orange Bowl. Since they joined the SEC, we’re 2-1. The two wins were in Columbia, MO, the loss was between hedges―a pattern that needs to end this Saturday. We’ve already whipped a Jaguar and we have two Tigers and a Wildcat to go, it is time to establish Canine superiority.  Sic ‘em Dawgs.”

And there you have it. One Old Dawg is unapologetically a Dog man.

As a reminder, any highlighted names are always linked to other articles that you might enjoy. Thanks for joining us this week, and again, if you missed any previous posts, please visit our site by clicking HERE.  You don’t want to miss any of One Old Dawg's “mostly true bulldog lore.”

One Old Dawg and no time for a pity party

One Old Dawg took it better than expected.  

“Well the Crimson Tide rolled in and flooded us out before we knew what hit us. Last Saturday was as hard a day as I’ve had in long time. But as someone, I believe it was Eric Zeier, on the post game radio show said: ‘Let’s not let Alabama beat us two weeks in a row. We can mourn for twenty-four hours but then we have to forget and move on. We play Tennessee in Knoxville in one week.’”

And with that, he regrouped. “That’ all I have to say on the subject.”

Now, he turns his thoughts toward what happened in 1965 at this point in the season.

“In 1965 we limped out of Tallahassee licking the wounds from our first loss of the season to FSU. We were riddled with injuries going into the game and came out even worse including the loss of our all-star running back, Bob Taylor to a broken leg. Kentucky was next on our schedule. They had high hopes for that season because of two players: quarterback Rick Norton and running back Roger Bird. Both were drafted and played several years in the American Football League. After big wins over Missouri and Ole Miss they were ranked number six. A close loss to Auburn knocked them out of the top ten but they rebounded with a win over FSU. A second loss to LSU made them desperate to win in order to save their season and we were next on their schedule. I have not been able to find one article detailing this game either in the pile of clippings my mother saved or on line, so everything from here on, except the score, is memory from fifty years ago.”

It gets a little scary from here. Whenever One Old Dawg relies on memory alone, we lean heavily into our caveat here, “Mostly true Bulldog lore.” So we’re open to gracious corrections as needed. We’re looking at you, 1965 team.  

 

“As I recall, we held our own except for the second quarter. I will never forget one play, which may have been their first score. It was a pro set away from me and our defense was a blitz with man-to-man pass coverage, which I hated because I had to cover the running back, the previously mentioned Roger Bird, who was much faster than I was. My worst fears were realized when the play came my way and Bird crossed the line of scrimmage and broke toward the sideline. I had to scramble to maintain coverage. Man, he was fast.

“Then he planted his right foot and turned straight up field. I tried to do likewise, but I had over-committed to the outside route and could not make the cut. My feet slipped out from under me and I hit the turf, looking up just in time to see Bird catch the ball and waltz about sixty yards to the end zone. We were bombed three more times in less than ten minutes. I’m not sure when we scored our ten points but it fell short of the twenty-eight they scored in the second quarter and we suffered our second loss of the season.”

One Old Dawg takes a deep breath as he considers the implications of that devastating loss in 1965. “I wish now I had known and believed Psalm 55:22, ‘Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.’ I don’t know about all my teammates, because we did not share our inner feelings that much, but I was shaken. I felt like I was carrying a 150-pound barbell around all the time. I needed someone to cast that burden upon. We were doing so well and had such high hopes!  But our coaches were good at forcing us to leave the past behind and move on. With four more games to play, there was no time for a pity party, as we  still had a shot at a good season and a bowl game. North Carolina and Ken Willard were still ahead on the schedule. More about that next week. Now back to the present.”

 

One Old Dawg turns to his weekly prediction.

 

"Do not let the Vols’ 2-3 record lull you into complacency. These guys are for real. Tennessee is back.

“Yes, they have lost three games but the games have been close and they are hungry for an SEC victory. And of course there will be more than 75,000 orange-clad mountain maniacs in the stands screaming Rocky Top at eardrum-breaking pitch.  This means they are extremely dangerously. We need to be at the top of our game. In the end, I’m sure Ole Smokey will find out a hound dog is no match for a Bulldawg, and he’ll limp from Neyland Stadium with his tail tucked between his legs. Go Dawgs, sic ‘em.”

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