Georgia football: What on earth was James Jackson thinking?
Sep 19, 2015; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) runs against South Carolina Gamecocks linebacker Skai Moore (10) during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Georgia defeated South Carolina 52-20. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The Game
Like many games between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks, the 1986 meeting was another close battle with Georgia coming out on top.
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Georgia was following a disappointing three-point setback against Clemson to start the season 1-1. South Carolina was 1-2 with their only win coming against Western Carolina. On this day, Georgia’s 1986 season could have been totally derailed while South Carolina’s season could have been much more positive, even if they still would have only won four games.
The game went back and forth all night. James Jackson had the biggest highlight of the game with a 46-yard bomb to Cassius Osborn to give Georgia a 12-7 lead in the second quarter.
Despite how well the gamecocks played that day, Jackson and the Bulldogs had a 31-26 lead in the fourth quarter with possession of the ball in the games closing moments. And that’s when Jackson nearly made a game-costing error.
For Jackson, up to that point, it was not one of his better games. Despite 223 yards of offense with a pair of touchdown passes, he fumbled the ball three times and threw two interceptions.
Following the game against South Carolina, the 1986 season became somewhat of a disappointment for Bulldog fans. Georgia ended the year 8-4 and 4-2 in the SEC.
Two weeks after the near blunder against South Carolina, Georgia lost to LSU 23-14. You can actually see that game in the background in the opening scene of the 1988 Tom Cruise movie Cocktail. The Tigers went on to win the SEC Championship that year. Had Georgia won that game, the Bulldogs would have been the 1986 SEC Champions.