Happy Hour: Herschel vs. Knowshon
I thought we’d head into the weekend with one of those imponderable but nevertheless fun discussions that come up so often over a few beers, matching up two great teams from different eras and arguing about who would win.
Part of the problem in doing this, of course, is that modern era players are much bigger and faster than those from decades ago. So the 1942 national champion Georgia team probably would get killed by an average team from today, despite having Frank Sinkwich and Charley Trippi in the backfield.
Even the 1980 national championship Dogs technically would be at a weight and speed disadvantage against a 21st century team. But then they did have Herschel and a helluva defense, which might be the equalizer.
In this game for the ages, I’d put them up against the 2007 Dogs, a team that lost a couple of games (one badly) but finished the season as a juggernaut.
Think about the possibilities: The 1980 SEC and national champs with Walker, Buck Belue, Lindsay Scott, Jimmy Payne, Eddie Weaver, Scott Woerner and company against a team that didn’t win its division but finished No. 2 in the nation, thanks to Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, Mohamed Massaquoi, Marcus Howard, Jeff Owens, Kelin Johnson and others.
The first inclination would be to favor the 2007 team just because you’d figure that even with Herschel, Vince Dooley’s 1980 offense couldn’t keep up with Mark Richt’s 2007 scoring machine. But then I start wondering whether the 2007 defense really could stop Walker. And whether that stout 1980 defense might not be able to shut down Stafford.
It would be a great game either way. Who do you think would win?
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187 comments Add your comment
Mark
June 26th, 2009
8:45 pm
AC, I can’t belive that you think Walker in his prime would rip GA defense in 07…What are you looking at? The HT and WT and speed of the players back then compared to now? Walker 240 and a 4.3 forty….Moreno 190 and 4.7 forty? Would the 80’s team give up some weight…yea but not much as far as speed….Linsey Scott was a 4.3 guy….Give me Meat CLeaver at 290 and Payne in the line any day….mean..nasty and never die attitude of that defense….always six or seven guys in on a tackle…THE ONLY player on the 07 d with the heart of the 80 d is Curran….imagine if the current d played with his passion and heart….STATS MEAN NOTHING…..TEAMWORK AND HEART will defeat larger and faster…just ask that ND TEAM in 80….they were faster and were 40 pound heavier on average….80 TEAM beats 07 team hands down
Dawgcrew34
June 26th, 2009
8:45 pm
I would rather see the 1980 team play the 2002 team that finished 13-1 and beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl. They didn’t have as much offense, but could you imagine Pollack and Walker two 3 time all americans playing against each other! Heart vs Heart!
Rasheed Willis, Jr.
June 26th, 2009
8:46 pm
Rasheed! Don’t you know me? I’m your son! Obama maybe your black president but your black butt never paid my child support! Get a job, fool! You like a teacher on vacation; no class! Youknowwhatimsayin’?
superDawg
June 26th, 2009
8:46 pm
Herschel was well Herschel.Knowshon was a great RB,but he could not touch Walker on speed,power,or impose his will on any D.
Rasheed Willis
June 26th, 2009
8:53 pm
I will not stand for this racism. Just becuase I’m black does not mean I dont pay child support.
Obama is my Black President!!
Mrs. Rasheed Willis
June 26th, 2009
8:54 pm
Rasheed! Not another abandoned son! Your worse than your brother Ray Nagan when it comes to abandoning people!
Rasheed Willis, Jr.
June 26th, 2009
8:56 pm
I don’t care about racisim, I just want you to accept me, Daddy!
superDawg
June 26th, 2009
8:56 pm
Rasheed you need to catch a bus on out of here.Your boy obama has already caused more harm to this country than all others combined.He is on his way to bankrupting this country which is the way of most DEMS.I see him as one and done.GOD HELP US UNTIL THEN!
Rasheed Willis
June 26th, 2009
8:59 pm
Whitey you better sit down. I’m about to get mad, real mad, Joe Jackson.
Obama is my Black President!
Rasheed Willis
June 26th, 2009
9:01 pm
Ray Nagin is a hero to Black people, just as Mayor Bill Campell was. Obama is spreading the wealth, it is about time becuase we deserve it.
Rasheed Willis, Jr.
June 26th, 2009
9:01 pm
Daddy, I know what you mean by “RACISM.” It stands for Rasheed Isn’t Confident In Supporting Me. Now send me some coins or I’m gonna get Obama to get on TV and call you out! He may be your black President but he’s my enforcer! You dig?!
Rasheed Willis, Jr.
June 26th, 2009
9:02 pm
Daddy, I know what you mean by “RACISM.” It stands for Rasheed Isn’tConfident In Supporting Me. Now send me some coins or I’m gonna get Obama to get on TV and call you out! He may be your black President but he’s my enforcer! You dig?!
KD
June 26th, 2009
9:04 pm
This is a no brainer. My vote would be for the Herschel Walker led team. Without Herschel Walker, UGA does not win a national title. Also, I do not see Georgia winning another football national championship no time soon. Georgia will always have an extraordinary football season but they always come up with “snakes eyes” when it comes to football national championships. I am not a Georgia Tech fan, but I would place my money on Tech winning a football championship before Georgia.
McDonough Dawg
June 26th, 2009
9:06 pm
Imagine a Willie Martinez defense trying to tackle Herschel. 1980 team 77 2007 team 10
Juan Willis
June 26th, 2009
9:17 pm
Then how did we come to exist?
larrymunsonthe3rd
June 26th, 2009
9:18 pm
Herschel by 14
Rasheed Willis, Jr.
June 26th, 2009
9:18 pm
I’m sorry I ever logged onto this site. Dad, you are an embarrasement. Do me a favor: keep the checks and stay out of my life.
byron hinson
June 26th, 2009
9:20 pm
All about HEART, 1980
tech man
June 26th, 2009
9:25 pm
I doubt whether hershal and noshon could have done what 2 Tech backs did last year in athens. 408 yards rushing!
Spike
June 26th, 2009
9:28 pm
I have seen both play. No doubt about it. The 1980 team would spank these guys.
Juan Willis
June 26th, 2009
9:34 pm
Tech Man! Be careful! You could soon find yourself filling in for the role of my popi, Rasheed Willis.
Buddy El
June 26th, 2009
9:38 pm
Each of Herschel’s personalities would score and put the game away early
Hawkinsville Dawg
June 26th, 2009
9:44 pm
There is no comparison. The 2007 team had talent and potential. The 1980 team had little preconceived potential, but they just won when they had to win. May God bless Knowshon, but he is not in the same galaxy as Hershel Walker. I recently saw Hershel, and he can probably still play.
Lets be honest
June 26th, 2009
9:45 pm
Tech man – I doubt whether GT will EVER have the longest winning streak in the UGA/GT rivalry. 7 straight. BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! And own the overall winning record. LOL. Now go cry in the shower while you rock back and forth. BEOTCH!!
Hawkinsville Dawg
June 26th, 2009
9:48 pm
The 1980 team had an attitude. If you should be fortunate enough to meet some of the 1980 team members, they still have a swagger. It is an attitude with results air about it. They refused to lose, and always managed to find a way to win.
tech man
June 26th, 2009
9:51 pm
hershal + noshon = Dwyer
tech man
June 26th, 2009
9:53 pm
1942 + 1980 = 1990
tech man
June 26th, 2009
9:55 pm
Terence Moore + Lee Corso = Bill King
Hawkinsville Dawg
June 26th, 2009
9:55 pm
Jonathan Dwyer is an excellent football player and a fine person. His mom is and should be prod of him. However, he would sit on the bench an play third team behind Hershal and Knowshon
yellow fuzz
June 26th, 2009
9:59 pm
WTF?? + Cuz = scene from Deliverence
ghost dawg
June 26th, 2009
10:03 pm
Alec ogletree is a dawg, gotta love it
Gt fan four evur
June 26th, 2009
10:08 pm
I like Hershey bars….
D.Ellis
June 26th, 2009
10:19 pm
2 more recruits coming in. D. Rogers…..and the NUMBER 1 or 2 S in the country!
Welcome OGLETREE AND ROGERS!
the dawg
June 26th, 2009
10:19 pm
Not a problem…Meat cleaver weaver would sharpen his teeth on Stafford. Moreno is good..However Herschel walker would injure you if you considered getting in his general vicinity. The confrence has not seen the likes of a Bombastic punisher like him since and will never in the future. Lindsey could catch and Belue had heart and accuracy.Terry hoage would ride green like sea biscuit!!
And I’m done
the dawg
June 26th, 2009
10:25 pm
Rasheed,
It is obvious you did not investigate “Your black President”before you voted . If you think you got it rough now..Try and hold on to your wallet and your freedoms there coming for ya…and guess who is leadin the way..Yep you guessed it”your black president”
Steve
June 26th, 2009
10:29 pm
Well, at least Herschel doesn’t have a stupid and fugged-up name like, Knowshon . . .
Dog Nation
June 26th, 2009
10:37 pm
PEOPLE, There is no comparison here. The 80 team went UNDEFEATED and won a CHAMPIONSHIP. They didn’t lose to 2 inferior teams, then get “motivated”, or “hungry”, or “focused”, whatever the loser excuse was. The 80 team went out from the first day of off-season workouts willing to pay the price for greatness. The 07 team did not. And as far as Herschel vs Knowshon? Come on, Walker was the greatest college football player ever. Knowshon was good (up there with G. Hearst) but not in Herschel’s class.
will
June 26th, 2009
10:38 pm
1980 team in a blowout 56-14
benadawg
June 26th, 2009
10:43 pm
if you answered 2007 you are an idiot
GT.....Seriously, WTF????
June 26th, 2009
10:56 pm
Ogletree just comitted to the DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELL YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
pcoleman
June 26th, 2009
10:59 pm
Doggone Bill, this blog’s been out since 4PM. Are you asleep at the wheel? You are the most prolific columist/blogger in captivity. Keep ‘em coming!
b/t/w – 1980 Dogs Rule!
Zane
June 26th, 2009
11:01 pm
To paraphrase Lloyd Benson who referred to John Kennedy and Dan Quayle, “I’ve seen Herschel Walker, and Moreno is no Herschel Walker.” I kept a diary of score and yardage for Herschel’s freshman year – between 100 and 200yds per game. Consistent. Crowning game was not sugar bowl vs Notre Dame, but the second 26-21 Florida game. No big pass play like Lindsay Scott in prior Florida game. Time dictated final 80yd drive was win or lose. Almost every play a run with Herschel. Herschel had carried ball a slew already. Ground it out. Amazing drive, amazing running, amazing will to win, amazing stamina, amazing 4th quarter drive and victory. Moreno may have had the ability to do so, but he never showed, on the field, what Herschel showed.
Zane
June 26th, 2009
11:14 pm
Rasheed, Obama is not YOUR black President, Obama is HIS black President. It’s all about him. Obama is a narcissist.
Bishopbulldawg
June 26th, 2009
11:23 pm
Zane hit the nail on the head. That second 26-21 win over the gaytors was Herschel at his greatest. No words can fully capture the heart of that OL and that team as they huddled in front of their end zone and committed themselves to winning and not being denied. I haven’t seen that kind of resolve in along time!
JM
June 26th, 2009
11:31 pm
You must be hosing me…Nat Champs vs over-rated losers???
Coach D
June 26th, 2009
11:34 pm
In terms of athleticism, Knowshon and Stafford are comparable to Herschel. But the thing that separates Herschel from those guys is a concept called Kokoro, which is a mental attitude that Korean Martial artists call ” indomitable spirit” or a refusal to lose. Herschel besides being a phenomenal football player was also a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and understood the concept of Kokoro well. It is a triumphant spirit that we all have inside us, we just have to dig deep to find it.
There is a story about a 19th century karate master in Okinawa who was challenged to a duel. The two met at dawn, each expecting a fight to the death. The master, approached the scene relaxed with his hands by his side. As the master came within fighting range, the challenger suddenly felt ill, and his knees nearly buckled. He excused himself to regain his composure. After several minutes, the challenger returned, and once again felt ill after looking into the master’s firm gaze. Finally, the challenger said ” Sir I withdraw my challenge and apologize. I can see I am no match for you, and fighting would surely cost me my life”.
This story illustrates the difference between someone with athletic prowess and a master who is in touch with his Kokoro. Herschel like a great players, would often beat opponents before he would even step onto the field, because they could sense his spirit. You think this idea sounds far fetched but it isn’t. When the Dawgs rushed the field in 2007, they displayed Kokoro or “a fighting spirit” that refused to except defeat. The Gators were probably more talented than UGA that year, but they sensed the Dawgs will and were scared, you could see it in their eyes. The reverse was true in 2008 when the Gators had Kokoro on their side. The Dawgs were literally scared to hit and be hit by the Gators.
So you ask me, which team displayed more Kokoro? 1980 UGA or 2007 UGA? 2007 displayed it at the end of the year, but 1980 UGA had it the entire year. So who would win between the two? I’m putting my money on the masters of 1980 over the advanced pupils of 2007.
Larry
June 27th, 2009
12:35 am
Shallow end tech…u know ur role son..
Beware of the junkyard dawg
June 27th, 2009
1:44 am
Ocheltree is a junkyard dawg..come 2 Athens and smoke fools and clip straight busters in the secondary…Fear the bulldawg bite in the near future weaklings..yes, I am also talking to the purse carrying, wine sipping, shallow end swimming ticket holder @ grant field with ur gold high heels….u will always be the afterthought in the peach state. Go dawgs
SoCal Dawg
June 27th, 2009
1:57 am
1980!
Randy Freeman
June 27th, 2009
5:02 am
them Dogs of 1980 where the best ever