Alabama Again Stands At a Pivotal Juncture for Georgia Football
Sep 26, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide fans prior to the game against Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
In 1974, Georgia football under Vince Dooley hit rock bottom, a 6 – 6 season ending in a bitter 34-14 loss in Sanford Stadium to Georgia Tech followed by an embarrassing loss to Miami of Ohio in the Tangerine Bowl.
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The Saturday after Thanksgiving 1974, a winter cold rain descended early on Athens and the memory of the Tech offense sloshing east and west at will against Georgia is often the answer to the question asked of Bulldogs in attendance, “What was the worst day of your life.”
But in that 1974 Tech disaster, a young Ray Goff showed a flicker of life in the fourth quarter. And after the game, Vince Dooley and Erk Russell set about toughening up the Dawgs.
In 1975 with Dump Dooley stickers appearing on and off campus, Erk Russell summoned the Bulldog Nation to anoint his defense the Junkyard Dogs and Offensive Coordinator Bill Pace’s veer took hold on the strength of a deep offensive line plowing the way for running backs Horace King and Glynn Harrison.
Georgia finished the 1975 season 9-3 and came within a game of running the SEC table for an SEC Championship. After whipping the big three of Florida, Auburn and Georgia, Vince Dooley shaved his head and Georgia stormed into 1976, ready to again explode on the national scene. After overwhelming Cal, Clemson and South Carolina for a 3-0 start, Alabama once again appeared Between the Hedges asking, “Show me what you got.”
The Dogs did, and what they showed was plenty, whipping the Tide 21-0, catapulting Georgia to the top of the SEC where it finished the season as champion. Four years later Georgia was National Champion.
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