The 2018 Georgia football season begins in 68 days.
There are only 68 days separating us from kickoff if the 2018 Georgia football season. And 68 is a very important number in the Bulldog nation. Because in 1968, the Dawgs finished 8-1-2, won the SEC and a piece of the National Champions.
The 1968 team included some of the greatest Bulldogs of all time. Bill Stanfill, who was the topic of the countdown too kickoff yesterday, was an All-American who won the Outland Trophy. Jake Scott had a great season at safety. Kent Lawrence and Charles Whitmore had two of the greatest seasons for Bulldog receivers considering how little the team passed the ball. And Mike Cavan’s sophomore year at quarterback isn’t talked about enough.
Georgia finished undefeated in the SEC with a controversial tie with Tennessee being their only in-conference blemish. They also tied Houston that year before losing to Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. They were one of the best teams of the early Vince Dooley era and were probably the best assembly of talent he had at Georgia until 1975.
1968 schedule
Georgia began the year by getting robbed of a victory against Tennessee. With a 17-9 lead late in the game, Tennessee threw a pass which bounced off the ground and into the hands of one of their receivers in the end zone. The official didn’t see a bounce, which was clear on video, and he ruled the play a touchdown. The game ended in a 17-17 tie after a two-point conversion.
Although the game is also fondly remembered for Jake Scott’s amazing day which included an interception deep in Georgia territory and a punt return for a touchdown where Scott embarrassed many Tennessee players. Bruce Kemp also had an 80-yard touchdown that should have decided the game.
The Dawgs responded with a five-game winning streak beginning with a 31-13 win over Clemson and a 21-20 win over South Carolina. Georgia then beat Archie Manning and the no. 13 Ole Miss Rebels 21-7 before beating Vanderbilt 32-7 and Kentucky 35-14.
Georgia, now ranked no. 7, hosted no. 15 Houston who defeated them in the Astro Dome in 1967. The Dawgs found a bit of revenge with a 10-10 tie. Georgia once again recovered from the disappointing result with a 51-0 slaughtering of Florida and a 17-3 win over no. 12 Auburn to win the SEC Championship. A 47-8 win over Georgia Tech gave the Dawgs an 8-0-2 regular season record.
Georgia missed their chance of possibly winning a bigger share of the National Championship with a 16-2 loss to Arkansas. But the Litkenhous Poll had Georgia at their no. 1 spot at the end of the year to give Georgia a sliver of the National title.
Next: Georgia, Auburn and the college football Mecca of Atlanta
The stats
1968 featured one of Georgia’s best passing and rushing seasons of that era. Cavan had 1,722 yards with nine touchdowns. Whittmore led the Dawgs with 664 receiving yards and Lawrence added 555 yards. Bruce Kemp led Georgia with 573 rushing yards and Brad Johnson rushed for 501.