The 2018 Georgia football season begins in 65 days
Another week is winding down as there are only 65 days, just over nine weeks, left until the 2018 Georgia football season kicks off. The Bulldogs will likely enter the season ranked in the top five, maybe even the top three. Meaning they’ll have to avoid an upset all year-long.
On the subject of upsets, back in 1965, Georgia football had two monumental upsets in the span of three weeks. Georgia opened the year by defeating no. 5 Alabama with the flea flicker. Two weeks later, a great defensive performance produced a win over no. 7 Michigan.
The wins were a real head turner for the college football world. At just 33 years old and barely into his second year as head coach, Vince Dooley had defeated two powerhouses in 14 days. While the fallout from these wins wasn’t immediate, the momentum carried over to championship seasons in 1966 and 1968.
Dawgs shock Alabama
The Crimson Tide were defending National Champions. In fact, Bear Bryant’s team had won the championship in 1961. They would go on to win the National title in 1965 and should have won it in 1966.
Bryant’s Alabama squad was in the middle of a dynasty, Georgia practically had a new coach. The edge was firmly in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. But Dooley had a scrappy team in Athens that matched Alabama shot for shot. It didn’t appear as though the Dawgs had enough left in the tank for a win late in the game though. Alabama led 17-10 with less than four minutes left in the game.
That’s when Dooley called for a play from his childhood in Mobile Alabama; the flea flicker. Georgia still shows the play during the Battle Hymn video. Some older copies of the media guide even included a photocopy of the actual film of the play.
But the play never worked in practice according to players. Dooley just needed a miracle and that was a miracle play. Quarterback Kirby Moore dropped back and quickly threw a low pass to Pat Hodgson who then tossed the ball back to Bob Taylor. No Alabama defender came close to making the tackle. The play gained almost 80 yards.
The Dawgs still trailed 17-16 however and Dooley had a choice to make. Kick the extra point to settle for a tie, or go for two points and the win? The decision was easy. When you’re on the field with the best, you go for the win.
Georgia, out of the wing-T sent tailback Taylor in motion. After the snap, Moore sprinted to the right. The direction of the play gave Hodgson a bubble in the back of the end zone, Moore just had to find him. Before any defender could get to Moore, he slung the ball to Hodgson for the game-winning score. Georgia defeated Alabama 18-17.
Of course the play is not without its detractors. Many have argued for years that Hodgson’s knees were down so the lateral shouldn’t have counted. And it’s definetely close. But I would argue that Hodgson never really caught the ball. To me, it’s doesn’t appear as though he had a firm grip on it. Instead, he bobbled it a bit and then pushed it to Taylor.
Dawg defense shuts down Michigan
The upset over Alabama happened in the friendly confines of Sanford Stadium. The game against Michigan featured a trip to Ann Arbor to play the no. 7 Wolverines. Georgia was smaller and skinnier than the Wolverine’s from the aptly named Big 9. But Co-captain Vance Evans thought that Georgia actually had the size advantage.
“I also think we had more speed and were in much better condition than Michigan,” he said to Danny Strickland, UGA student and writer for the Red & Black. “General” George Patton meanwhile, pretty much said Michigan was soft for their size.
“They definitely looked tough because they were so much bigger than we were,” he said. “But we found out later that they don’t hit any harder than anyone else.”
Kicker Bob Etter was likely the player of the game. He set a school record with three made field goals to score nine of the Dawgs 15 points. But Georgia trailed at halftime 7-6. Etter and Evans credited Dooley and the coaching staff for the second half turnaround.
“The coaching we received at the half was a deciding factor,” Evans said. Etter also said that the coaches were confident in Georgia’s conditioning and knew that the Dawgs would win. The Dawgs scored nine points in the fourth quarter to leave Michigan with a major victory.
Next: Georgia needs to make Atlanta their second home
Over 10,000 Georgia fans who couldn’t make the trip, went to the airport to greet the returning team. Since the last SEC Championship in 1959, the Bulldog Nation had it rough. But two huge upsets in three weeks meant that Georgia was headed in the right direction once again.