Two-minute drill: Could 1980 Dawgs win it all today?
1980 national champions. (University of Georgia)
We’ll head into the weekend with fingers crossed for a must win in Nashville and some quick reads of interest.
First up, College Football News’ Pete Fiutak tries to answer the question: Could the 1980 Georgia Bulldogs play with the top teams of today? Or could any of the best teams of all-time challenge for the national title in today’s game?
Says Fiutak: “Older fans like to think that the teams they grew up loving and cheering for were special, and in their time, they were. But no, the most talented teams of the past wouldn’t stand a chance in today’s college football world. Yeah, some of the great national champions that were full of NFL talent could be competitive and could get to a bowl, but they’d get destroyed by the big-time programs of today.
“The biggest player on the offensive line of the 1980 national champion Georgia Bulldogs was 6-3 and 260 pounds. Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh is 6-4, 300 pounds and is as fast as any of the 1980 Georgia safeties. You think a 245-pound linemen could slow him down? Florida’s defensive end tandem of Carlos Dunlap (6-6, 290) and Jermaine Cunningham (6-3, 252) would blow into the backfield on every play and sit on Buck Belue’s curly head. With today’s scouting, training, and advancements in player development, there’s no way any national champion before around 1990 could hang around with the top teams of today.”
DOGS RANK LOW IN THIEVERY
MrSEC.com has updated the SEC defensive thievery stats, which show you not just each team’s total takeaways, but how often — in terms of actual snaps — a defense has forced a turnover from its opponent.
In first place is Alabama, which through six games has played 358 plays on defense and had 13 takeaways, which averages to a takeaway every 27.53 plays. Vandy ranks second, having gotten 14 takeaways in 418 defensive plays, or one every 29.85 plays.
Georgia, as you probably guessed, is in last place in the conference, with five takeaways in 410 defensive plays, or one every 82 plays.
BY THE NUMBERS
Georgiadogs.com’s Dave McMahon has up his latest collection of UGA sports statistics, including an item noting that on Saturday Georgia will try to post win No. 50 all-time against the Commodores.
To date, the Dogs’ all-time most wins against an opponent is 59 over Georgia Tech, followed by 51 over Auburn, 49 over Vanderbilt and Kentucky, 47 over Florida and 46 over South Carolina.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
112 comments Add your comment
Mary_M
October 16th, 2009
3:56 pm
Football is so much more sophisticated today, plus bigger, faster players, plus better training and conditioning that the old-time teams could not beat most of the best teams today.
Saint Simons
October 16th, 2009
3:58 pm
45 – 19 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahaha
McDawg
October 16th, 2009
4:02 pm
i watched a replay of the UGA/ND sugar bowl not long ago and that was one of the hardest hitting games i think i have ever seen-perhaps the players are not as athletic but guarantee you the players are as tough if not tougher
ugaaccountant
October 16th, 2009
4:03 pm
Not even close. The raw athleticism, especially size and speed, on display today is vastly superior due to modern training technology.
dap01
October 16th, 2009
4:08 pm
Dooley would be lost now. Belue could not throw. Hershel could dominate still.
Dawgs73
October 16th, 2009
4:10 pm
Bill, are you really bringing the ‘80 DAWGS back into another conversation…doesn’t say a lot about the current state of affairs. Maybe we can harken back to the days that they wore leathers helmets and played with a plastic football.
dap01
October 16th, 2009
4:10 pm
If Saint Simons used his time to make money instead of trolling UGA’s blogs, he could aford to actually attend a game at GA Tech. Goodness knows, the tickets are EASY to get.
poopdawg
October 16th, 2009
4:15 pm
I’m sure the players on that team could go up against anybody regardless of size and speed issues. Today ,just running the ball (even with Herschel) would be hard to go unbeaten. So with a little modern day pass offense coaching, the QB and Receivers would be tallented enough to compete today.
C from Marietta
October 16th, 2009
4:17 pm
Lame blog nuff said.
WTF?
October 16th, 2009
4:20 pm
1980 Dawgs would not make it against todays atheletes, except Walker. Would love to have him now!
DMWC
October 16th, 2009
4:21 pm
Your must-win game was last week, brah.
SimpleDawg
October 16th, 2009
4:22 pm
Of course not Bill, those guys are all about 50 years old.
Tom
October 16th, 2009
4:23 pm
No, for two reasons….
(1) it was pre-Jan Kemp, so many of the key players wouldn’t be able to read today’s complicated playbooks
(2) they’d all be about 50 or older….duh.
Gman
October 16th, 2009
4:23 pm
I’ve often noted that in the 1980 title game, nobody on either ND or UGA weighed over 280 lbs.
Shananeeeeeee Fananeeeeeeeeeee
October 16th, 2009
4:26 pm
Dumb question, no response needed.
Sam
October 16th, 2009
4:28 pm
McDawg, I have watched that replay a few times and the small size and slow speed were amazing. A better question is: how good, big and fast would those players be today with modern training? As fast as Lindsey Scott was, I think he is slower than just about any receiver on UGA’s squad today–however, he might have been faster using today’s training.
RedMan
October 16th, 2009
4:30 pm
There is a gross assumption in there that the same players would not be bigger and stronger due to nutrition and higher level training since middle school. When I played HS football in the mid ’60s, I was 6′2″ and 170 lb. as a DE. We had one set of weights, one kitchen-sized “training room”, and that was a school in the 2nd highest classification in Georgia. We were a .500 team, so that would represent the average, I guess.
Out of Town
October 16th, 2009
4:31 pm
That team could have easily been 6-6.
superDawg
October 16th, 2009
4:34 pm
I think heart and determination can prevail if everyone has the same goal,execution is key in winning games.The great teams of the past all had it and could play with the best today.
Joe T
October 16th, 2009
4:36 pm
You can’t under estimate Erk Russell and what he brought to a team. His defence that year was crazy stought. Players would walk through fire for him and come back around and ask for another turn. You could bring Tebow and the rest of these current players against the ‘80 team and you might be suprised. Football is more that 40 yard dashes and bench presses. Heart has a lot to do with it.
SuperB
October 16th, 2009
4:36 pm
The players of today are bigger and the schemes more sophisticated. But as far as I can tell– people’s brains haven’t grown over the last 30 years. The great skill players like Herschel Walker, Buck Belue, Lindsay Scott, etc. could play the game in ANY era. Other than beefing up some linemen and having Belue call plays at the line of scrimmage– it ain’t all that difficult or different.
I wish those three were playing for the Dawgs this year!
superDawg
October 16th, 2009
4:36 pm
Would you like to get hit by Dick Butkus,ran over by Herschel Walker or Earl Campbell.
CRIMSON TIDE PRIDE FOREVER
October 16th, 2009
4:41 pm
The Legend known as COACH PAUL “BARE” BRYANT could win the the National Title with ANY team and whip all your candy rectums in the SEC, ACC, BIG 10, PAC 10, BIG 12 and anybody else.
No college football team in the past, present or future will ever be better than a COACH BRYANT team.
Go hate on that all you haters and wannabes.
ROLL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TIDE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SuperB
October 16th, 2009
4:41 pm
To Tom and the other Tekkies: The one thing the 1980 Georgia team could have done was beat the hell out of the 1990 Tech team that won a title by playing in the Florida Citrus bowl– or some game (other than the Orange Bowl,) held in Florida.
Ford Truck Salesman, NOT a Coach
October 16th, 2009
4:43 pm
Coach Mark Richt wear his wife’s panties on the sideline…
..and soils them.
NewnanDawg
October 16th, 2009
4:47 pm
Uhhhh, wasn’t Belue 1 for 13 in the NC game? No matter how good your tailback is, you can’t do that today. Just like he couldn’t have a NC ring without Herschel, he can’t hadle a radio show without Kincade. When Buck’s on his own, he’s painful to listen to, just like his passes back in the day.
Go 2009 Dawgs!
NewnanDawg
October 16th, 2009
4:48 pm
handle, sorry
RedMan
October 16th, 2009
4:48 pm
I think most have heard of Billy Cannon due to the famous punt return in LSU’s 7-0 win against Ole Miss. Cannon won the Heisman in 1959. He was 6′1″, 216, and he was the #1 pick of the NFL and the new AFL.
In 1962 Bob Hayes of Fla. A&M set the NCAA 100 yard dash record at 9.2 seconds. For comparison, Hayes won the Gold in the ‘64 Olympics in the 100 Meters at 10.0. Later played for Dallas Cowboys.
Billy Cannon was timed in the 100 yard dash in 9.4, and threw the shotput.
Just imagine how those two guys, especially Cannon would have “trained up” circa 2009.
Mark Richt's GEORGIA SATURDAYS
October 16th, 2009
4:49 pm
GEORGIA SATURDAYS: Getting Urinated on by LSU Fans
GEORGIA SATURDAYS: Whining About Not Being Ranked Higher in the Polls
GEORGIA SATURDAYS: Waking Up with Wet Sheets the Morning of a Game Against COACH SABAN
GEORGIA SATURDAYS: Getting Outsmarted by Georgia Tech Nerds
GEORGIA SATURDAYS: Being Laughed at by Vanderbilt Mothers
GEORGIA SATURDAYS: Using Your UGA Diploma as a BBQ Bib
GEORGIA SATURDAYS: Whizzing in a Cup for the Trainer
KJ
October 16th, 2009
4:51 pm
Bare? Really?
playthatfunkymusic whiteboy
October 16th, 2009
4:51 pm
From an ND alum. Nice “One completion” Belue wouldn’t make the backup squad on a D-II school’s team now, much less compete in the “game”.
I mean, what modern era team has won the National Championship game with just a single pass completed?
Walker was a beast. I ran into him at the airport in Dallas a few months back, he looked like he could still play – although I didn’t approach him for fear that it might be “other Herschel” and he wouldn’t know what I was talking about.
woodie
October 16th, 2009
4:58 pm
The idea here in a competitive sport is how you perform against an opponent and not some technical issue about size and speed. The 80’s team was a winning team. That’s the only criteria that matters.
DUDE34
October 16th, 2009
5:02 pm
Crimson tide pride,you are about the biggest back yard trailer trash I have ever heard,good gosh what a loser, you know how dumb you sound don’t you? your coach was an alcohalic,and he paid players on a reagular monthley note.DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wake up
RedMan
October 16th, 2009
5:06 pm
Herschel Walker was freakishly good; no details necessary. Probably the greatest of all time, also freakishly good was Jim Brown. At Syracuse, Brown was All-America in both football and lacrosse and a letterman in basketball. 6′2, 232. He was NFL MVP in ‘57, ‘58′ 63′ and ‘65. In the day, the NFL had 12-game seasons. Brown played 9 years for Cleveland, won 8 rushing titles, and gained 12,312 yards. How good would the Cleveland Browns has been if Ernie Davis (The Express) hadn’t died before his rookie year in ‘62?
war jacket
October 16th, 2009
5:09 pm
Heck, Georgia could not have even beat the best team that played in 1980. The 1980 Pittsburgh team had 23 players that went on to start in the NFL. How many were on the Georgia team? Pittsburgh proved they were better the next year when they beat Georgia straight up.
Georgia beat a mediocre Notre Dame team in 1980 that even lowly Georgia Tech tied that year.
To hell with Georgia and you pukes get ready to play in the Shreveport bowl for the next few years.
guy
October 16th, 2009
5:15 pm
remember that time you guys had hershall walker and were nationally relevant? those were good times…
Hello, St. Simons
October 16th, 2009
5:21 pm
“St. Simons”…do you ever hang out over on your own team’s blog…or do they not want you around there, either? Speaking of your Tech team, do you recall these numbers? (((31-17))), (((15-12))), (((14-7))), (((19-13))), (((34-17))), (((51-7))), (((31-17)))…Are you still laughing???
Slide Rule
October 16th, 2009
5:28 pm
That 1980 Tech team one 1 game and tied Notre Dame 3-3. Wow, UoG won the NC against them. Hurray. Somebody had to do it.
Daisy Mae
October 16th, 2009
5:31 pm
With coaches like we have now, we will never even win another SEC. We need to focus on the present and that means cleaning house at UGA. The Head Circu Clown needs to be fired. Ater Vandy kicks us tomorrow at noon you will all agree with me. After about 4 pm tomorrow everyone will see just how far this program has fallen.
RedMan
October 16th, 2009
5:33 pm
This blog is just off-topic rock throwers. I’m gone….
Hey Dogtards
October 16th, 2009
5:40 pm
The only Tech number I remember is 5-1 and 45-42. Just like I’ll forget the score of last years game once this year’s is played. You mutts keep clinging to the past though, it will get your mind off Smokie butt-raping your precious little uga.
jerry
October 16th, 2009
5:41 pm
Hell, they couldn’t even do it again in 1980. That was a one time FLUKE! And the most boring NC game ever played. I mean 1-14 passing. More punts by UGA than 1st downs. Out gained by almost 2-1. Against a team that tied Georgia Tech, who went 1-9-1 and even lost to Navy. Damn.
How to win 1/2 of a National Championship.
October 16th, 2009
5:43 pm
Play #17 Nabraska in the Citrus Bowl. I wonder if the insects from 1990 would win the MAC in 2009. Doubtful.
Is Tech the only team in the modern era to claim 1/2 (or 100%) of a national championship without playing in a major bowl game? The Citrus Bowl was barely a mid-tier bowl until the SEC signed on.
Crimson-Headed Monster
October 16th, 2009
5:43 pm
Coach Bryant was a nudist?
I didn’t know that.
Top Dawg
October 16th, 2009
5:45 pm
Is this a recycle of the collegefootballnews.com article?
BYU pulled the equivalent
October 16th, 2009
5:47 pm
Beat a 6-5 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl in 1984.
WAC vs. ACC = a draw
dean
October 16th, 2009
5:59 pm
Having dinner with a Nebraska fan-couple tonight. Me, of course, a Dawg. The wife doesn’t give a ratsazz. For the last several years I have had to say, “Gee Mike, sorry about y’all sucking again this year.” Alas, tonight they get to have their fun.
shortcircuit
October 16th, 2009
6:04 pm
WHO THE HELL CARES!!!!!!
jim Davis
October 16th, 2009
6:41 pm
1980’s vs modern in football (college or pro’s) same as comparison in any sport…modern teams take the 80s teams apart like Federer takes apart Borg and Woods takes apart Palmer, etc. Watch any 80s sports film and notice how slow everything is…speed is half again higher, size, power, etc. Bear wouldn’t make the slightest difference in spite of his deity according to our redneck tide fans…and oh BTW, Walker would be sitting on the bench behind Bo Jackson on any team in history. Sorry.
arrh
October 16th, 2009
6:43 pm
Another point…I wouldn’t doubt it if people these days are using steroids, to be as big & strong as they are today. I;m sure people back then didn’t use them as much, but this is a different age. Just look how many people have been busted even in sports such as baseball. I’m sure at least some of thes players must be taking them to be as strong as they are. I know some people are naturally strong, but it’s just hard for me to believe that there can be that many players that strong, & at such a young age. I guess I could be wrong, but I doubt it. I’m just saying….that if my theory is right…then that’s just one more unfair advantage that todays players would have, & it could at least partly explain why todays players are so much bigger & stronger.
Delbert D.
October 16th, 2009
6:47 pm
Well, I’ve gained 60 pounds since 1980, myself. No steroids, just beer and pizza.
Delbert D.
October 16th, 2009
6:50 pm
Where the heck is “Nabraksa”? Is that one of those islands that Sarah Palin claims to be able to see?
arrh
October 16th, 2009
6:57 pm
jim davis- Disagree about the Hershcel statement. Don’t get me wrong….Bo was a great player, but some people try to say that Bo was better bc he was so versatile…playing so many sports. However, Herschel had close to 1,000 more yrds., & he did it in 1 less yr. as well. I also never understand why in other sports such as the NFL..people say that you can’t consider a QB to be truely great unless they win a SuperBowl, but yet Herschel won a National Championship, & played for 2 more…in the meantime Bo never won one, but yet why does that suddenly not matter in this argument. Those same people making that argument will say it’s all about winning it all in any sport, but they’re hypocritical in the fact of ignoring this point when making a fair comparison. People also need to consider that being versatile is great, but it doesn’t make one a better football player. Also, Herschel ran track, was on the Olympic bobslead team, & is about to participate in mixed martial arts…he is a 5th degree black belt. He’s pretty versatile too, but Bo gets a lot of credit bc he was succesful in two of America’s major sports. Just saying they’re both pretty versatile. Nothing against Bo…they’re both great, but I’m just saying if you look at the facts, & the overall results….w/ an unbiased opinion…I don’t see how anybody can say that Bo was a better football player than Herschel.
arrh
October 16th, 2009
7:04 pm
Delbert D.-That’s pretty funny! lol I don’t argue that it’s possible to put on weight over a period of time. It’s a totally different matter to be the size & strength of these guy…when they’re only 18-22. I’m talking about the amount of people that bench press over 400 lbs. at this age. I just don’t see how it can be that common at that age. I’m just speaking from the viewpoint of me being a trainer, & I’ve worked out for about 19 yrs….all natural, & I can’t come close to that, & I don’t know many people that are natural that can. I’m not saying it’s not possible w/ certain people, but surely not as common as it is these days.
BuzzDawg
October 16th, 2009
7:06 pm
I thought the misspelling on today’s poll was great – Defenseive Coordinator Willie Martinez. Although I think the proper spelling is sieve. Which is our defense this year.
oneeye
October 16th, 2009
7:09 pm
only 4 teams the 80′ team played that year had winning records, right?
David Granger
October 16th, 2009
7:35 pm
The 1982 Dawgs were a better team than the 1980 NC team, and they didn’t win it all. (Dooley got out-coached in the Sugar Bowl.)
Ohmylawad
October 16th, 2009
8:07 pm
I’m not seeing participation by Cuz and Altamaha lately. Have they been taken by space invaders ?
obomaisaclown
October 16th, 2009
9:21 pm
BUCK THE ONE PASS WONDER COULDN’T PASS THEN AND HE WOULDN;T EVEN SEE THE FIELD TODAY. THE PEOPLE THAT THINK BUCK WAS GOOD THEN ARE THE SAME CLOWNS TALKING ABOUT ”PAUL I AM A BIG CHEAT BYANT” BEING GOOD.I DON’T NO WHO THE BIGGEST LAIR IS OR WAS THE BEAR OR BLAME IT ON BUSH OBAMA.
Henry
October 16th, 2009
9:37 pm
Could the 1980 team do it today? No – they scarcely did it THEN. “Run, Lindsay, RUN!!”(26-21) Plus, Tennessee (16-15), Clemson (20-16), Ole Miss (28-21), South Carolina (13-10). More like NC imposters.
Ron Holbert
October 16th, 2009
9:42 pm
Ga is, my thing is at one time the AJC did have good journalistk, but now thaey have people like you and schults (doesn’t deserve any capital letters). ThougH I am a GA fan, I do route for all of GA teams, but when I try and follow all the teams in your paper I realize what doops that this newspaper has hired. It’s no whonder why it’s going broke with journalist such as yourself
SwimTrunkDawg
October 16th, 2009
10:12 pm
Which 80’s dog team are we talking about. The 1800 hundreds or 1900 hundreds.
Dawg fan forever
October 16th, 2009
10:39 pm
Hey Roll Tide, the Bear was in Athens in 1976….no magic for him that day. Dawgs roll 21-0
Cuz
October 16th, 2009
10:57 pm
What’s with all the hatred towards the 1980 team. They were great. It was a great time to be in Athens. We partied on Bourbon Street til the sun came up. When we got back to school in Athens we had parties every night for the first week of classes. I think I made one or two classes that week. I did manage to make it to work that week though. Got to keep the priorities straight, I needed the money for the parties.
I bet it was even fun to be a Jacket in 1990. I forget, how many NC games did Bo Jackson play in?
Cuz
October 16th, 2009
11:01 pm
Forever fan, that game was nuts. I missed it as I was still in high school. I came up the following week to visit my cousin at UGA and was amazed at all the bald guys at UGA. The students went nutts and shaved their heads after the game. Since my hair was longer than any current UGA player at the time, I was glad I missed it. Now, no probs.
bugsquacher
October 16th, 2009
11:07 pm
hey st simon…..MIAMI….hahahahahahahahahahahah!
get ready
October 16th, 2009
11:23 pm
Dang man you are grasping for straws here. Your team sucks and looking back to the yesteryears is just a paci for you stupid trailer trash.
GT For You And Me
October 16th, 2009
11:25 pm
Hello,St.Simons: You left something off! 45-42
BS Patrol
October 17th, 2009
12:04 am
Oh yeah. They might beat Vandy & MTSU.
Paul Johnson
October 17th, 2009
12:10 am
The modern SEC has more talent on defense. The running speed of the players today is amazing. Plus the immortal Vince Dooley averaged 4 losses a season. Saban, Meyers, and Miles would out coach him easily. Yes, Hershel was good. Today’s modern athlete is just in better physical condition. Heck Buck Blue was the quarterback. Enough said.
bullddogjoe
October 17th, 2009
12:15 am
Maybe we can all rent a billboard in Athens that demends better from UGA football and Willie Martinez gone!
Uncle Ned
October 17th, 2009
12:34 am
Hershel would be on the bench behind Dwyer. Belue & L. Scott would be off the radar screen.
GeorgiaGirl71
October 17th, 2009
12:52 am
Dear GOD — Guardian Of Dawgs –please give us sparks and barks in
Nashville Saturday … and in Jacksonville on Halloween October 31!
Please let the TV cameras show Uga VII barking at Vanderbilt’s mascot,
“Mr. C,” named for Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, and two weeks later
on Halloween barking at the University of Florida’s Gator mascots,
Albert and Alberta. Last Saturday In Knoxville, the TV cameras showed
a sad Uga sitting in his kennel looking bored, depressed and
disgusted, wondering when the game would be over and he’d get back to
home … like most of the Bulldog Nation. Regrettably, his
daddy Uga VI died before he could teach him how to bark when the Dawgs
played football, but he’s cute, sweet and adorable and will soon
understand he’s the best loved “ferocious” mascot in college football.
Bark Uga, Bark!!! Seven is Heaven!!
Also, please let the coaches, players and fans get sparked for the
game. Coach Richt would be wise to show James Brown singing “Dooley’s
Junkyard Dawgs” in the locker room before each game featuring Dooley’s
Dawgs, fans on the train tracks, Uga II, Vince and Erk dancing on
sidelines and the best band in college football. Richt and Martinez
could learn much from the man who hired him away from the ACC to
become members of the SEC religion — The Church of Dawgs Between the
Hedges.
During the Dawgs’ off week, to create a “gator spark” Richt could buy
the coaching staff some red pants like those worn by Vince, Erk and
their ’70’s staff yelling on the sidelines after plays (with no
headphones). Seeing Richt and his coaching staff wearing red pants
and dancing the “Dawg Dance” on the sidelines would certainly bring a
spark in Jacksonville and a bark for Uga VII.
Thank you in advance, GOD — Oh, Guardian of Dawgs for the sparks and
barks. Living in North Carolina ACC territory, GeorgiaGirl71 will be
watching on ESPN Game Plan! Having been a student from 1967-1971, she
misses seeing the fans on the railroad tracks…misses hearing the
band play “Dixie,” misses hearing Larry Munson and most of all misses
Lewis Grizzard! Wonder what he’d write about this season and all the
hoopla about Richt, Martinez, Bobo et al.
Win or lose, oh, how great it is to be a Georgia Bulldog! Go you
beautiful Hairy Dawgs! Love you forever.
Georgia Girl71 Year of Uga II
Georgia born, Georgia bred, Georgia through and through!
James Brown and Dooley’s Junkyard Dogs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YViDwVBpTn4
1980 was a fluke
October 17th, 2009
1:38 am
Was anyone even alive in 1980? Check the records folks- the Tennessee game, Florida, Clemson… UGA got the Ws, but they were hardly dominant. I think Tennessee was the most infamous. UT was going to kick a field goal inside the 5 yard line to win it in the final seconds, and they fumbled the ball. Georgia had all the talent in the world, but Dooley was a hack. They got several wins from dumb blind luck that year.
GaCracker
October 17th, 2009
2:30 am
Also remember that 5 or 6 of UGA’s regular season games were VERY close (Tenn., S.C., Auburn, etc). They might have gone 6-5 without a lot of good breaks!
Big time?? Not
October 17th, 2009
6:23 am
Four tickets, four hot dogs, four cokes.
“This isn’t an item off the wire, just an editorial minute: The Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech is not sold out yet, and that’s beyond disappointing. The Jackets, who are ranked 19th and have a chance to go to a BCS bowl if they can work their way into the ACC title game, are hosting the No. 4 team in the nation on a Saturday night on national television — and they can’t sell out the game?
Dean Buchan, assistant athletic director for media relations, said just over 1,000 tickets remain for the game. “We expect it to approach capacity. It could sell out but it will depend on the walk up.”
I’m aware of all the factors, including the economy. But to not sell out a stadium of 55,000 by the Friday before a game of this magnitude is stunning.”
LOSERS
Spike
October 17th, 2009
6:43 am
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but rather the size of the fight in the dog.
Spike
October 17th, 2009
6:46 am
GeorgiaGirl71… GATA!!
dgroy
October 17th, 2009
8:30 am
Hey Bill, how ’bout blogging about something relevant and quit living in the past……that was then, this is now. Until UGA gets coaches that know how to coach these four and five star brats, you’ll continue to lose the big ones.
Football for Girls
October 17th, 2009
9:00 am
Let’s think about all the rule changes in the past 30 years. The quarterback should wear flags now. It was at one time you could hit them after the throw if you were within 2 steps. There was no bump and run at 5 yards on receivers. You could throw people to the ground. Real tackling and no shoulder block tackles. Today’s game is for girls, not for the men that played years agao.
Cuz
October 17th, 2009
9:01 am
Fluke I don’t know if you know this but the football bounces funny. If you want to win a NC you need a good team and good luck.
exNFLplayer
October 17th, 2009
9:03 am
Any team that had Herschel Walker toting the rock could beat anybody at any time in any generation. The offensive lines he ran behind were populated by earth movers that teams today would covet. Herschel was like a one man Paul Johnson TO and could take it to the house from any place on the field on any play.
PDawg
October 17th, 2009
9:17 am
Who cares about 1980? I’m worried about Vandy today! I have another bad feeling about this game.
wiley
October 17th, 2009
9:48 am
no they would be on NCAA probation and Walker would have never been cleared to play at UGA….he was illiterate…this is something people rarely mention…kinda sad.
DOUG
October 17th, 2009
10:01 am
Not a chance. I would say that an average Miss. St team could give the 80 dawgs all they could handle. Its a totally different game now at all levels. Bigger faster stronger and more advanced schemes would make it very difficult for them to stay at 500.
Alabama Jack
October 17th, 2009
10:40 am
“Ga is, my thing is at one time the AJC did have good journalistk, but now thaey have people like you and schults (doesn’t deserve any capital letters). ThougH I am a GA fan, I do route for all of GA teams, but when I try and follow all the teams in your paper I realize what doops that this newspaper has hired. It’s no whonder why it’s going broke with journalist such as yourself”
Man, I think we ought to impose a literacy tax on computer sales to the trailer parks. The way them rights hirts my eyes bad. Maybe its just all them ex-dawg players tryin’ to post.
Call it Like It Is
October 17th, 2009
10:45 am
Short answer is NO!
Teams are stronger, faster, and the players are a lot more experienced than they were in the late 70’s.
Nice try.
Enough Said!
mike
October 17th, 2009
10:47 am
UGAs slow white DBs from 1980 would get torched today. No doubt.
Pago Flyer
October 17th, 2009
10:58 am
The DAWGS don’t want Pitt or Rutgers…..
athensdawg
October 17th, 2009
11:00 am
what a useless arguement….however,
this discussion is a great microcosm of what is wrong with our society today.
the media tries to create history with every little thing that happens. The constant drooling over Tim Tebow as the “greatest” is a perfect example of that. ESPN and co is always grasping for that “signature moment” in an effort to capture life and culture in a way that is similar to the “old days” of television and radio.
The reason that those “old days” were great, is because we were not innundated with information every day about every detail leading up to the game. The game was played, we watched it, and there was not 52 hours of analysis and dissection leading up to and after the game.
This made the game special. Whatever game it was. Now, what we have is college football as a commodity, being sold and marketed to the 18-35 year old demographic. But it’s not so much a sales job as it is a constant barrage of useless drivel. Kind of like how Jim Jones used to play his speeches on the PA system in Jonestown. Brainwashing…… How many hours of college football analysis is on tv/radio/internet compared to how many hours of actual game footage….
So, when you try to have an intelligent discussion about todays players vs. yesterday’s players, you can’t have it. The stat filled ESPN zombies refuse to acknowledge anything except the reality in which they live.
The old guys get mad at the youngsters b/c they miss important points about toughness, heart, soul, determination. The haters of UGA football will never acknowledge that any team from UGA is ever worth anything.
So, for a journalist with nothing to write, you simply start one of these discussions and voila, you have tons of activity on the website. Which, in the end, is what this is all about. AJC needs to get some hits so that the advertizers can pay for their people to write these kinds of articles.
Jeff Schultz, Limbaugh, Boortz, Hannity, Michael Moore, etc. have pretty much made a living doing this.
And, true to form, the public acts like a bunch of Pavlov’s dogs, and start drooling and barking as the bell is rung once again……
Don
October 17th, 2009
11:04 am
You could almost argue that today’s college football champion could beat the 1980 winner of the Super Bowl. No comparison. Not ever sure why people would even try to make a comparison. A better question would have been would the 1980 Dawgs beat the 2009 Dawgs? I would have to give the 1980 Dawgs a big edge in that game. Herschel would go for about 500 yards rushing and Belue would have a CAREER day!
Lets see some fire from Richt, the other coaches and the players today on the sidelines and on the field. Richt came out of his shell two seasons ago after Georgia snuck out of Vanderbilt with a win and the vibe carried over to the whole team and the 2007 Dawgs steam-rolled Florida and everybody else that season. Time to do it again. No “End Zone” celebrations this time. Richt really needs to show some emotions and light a fire under his coaches and team. Everybody thought this team would lose 3 or 4 games this year. Finish the drill Dawgs! No more loses! Hunker Down!
Go Dawgs!
MississippiDawg
October 17th, 2009
11:42 am
Hey GAGIRL71 – usually dont read posts that long but yours was GREAT – GO DAWGS – 1971, 1980 or 2009 – Win or Lose – gotta love the Classic City and OUR DAWGS…UGA – ‘89.
Dennis G. Berdanis
October 17th, 2009
11:52 am
Very apples and oranges comparison. If you had today’s teams play against the top teams of the 70s and 80s under the 70s and 80s rule, where you could tackle a guy hard and not get a penalty because you made him cry, the old teams would crush the wusses of today. They don’t know what a hard hit is. Speed becomes very slow when you can’t catch your breath because someone knocked the wind out of you.
Techredneck
October 17th, 2009
11:55 am
WHO CARES
Techredneck
October 17th, 2009
11:56 am
iF YOU GUYS WOULD IGNOR ST. SIMMONS, HE WOULD GO AWAY.
Navigator
October 17th, 2009
12:16 pm
I loved that team (Herschel left, right, straight ahead), but don’t cross period boundaries. A lot of things have changed in college football since then.
GIveMeABreak
October 17th, 2009
12:19 pm
Today’s players are SOFT!!!!!!!!!! THey wouldn’t be able to take a hit from the 80 teams
dave
October 17th, 2009
12:23 pm
What about the ‘27 Yankees vs. the ‘61 Yankees or the ‘57 Braves vs. the ‘95 Braves, or Tyson vs. Ali . . . who cares, no wonder newspapers are done.
What a topic.
Can’t anyone write anymore?
Catsfly
October 17th, 2009
12:55 pm
I don’t mean to be disrespectful, and. of course, this is only my opinion, but I don’t believe the 1980 team was really the best team that year, if that was the year they beat ND for the NC. I don’t believe ND was the 2d best team, and UGa was lucky to beat them. UGa had a very good team, but I don’t believe it was the best team that year. That said, they were awarded the NC.
GeoffDawg
October 17th, 2009
1:47 pm
WTF!?!?!? How in the hell does that Vandy player throw Joe Cox’s towel ten feet in the air and not draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty??? The was a hell of a lot more pronounced than what they flagged Rantavious Wooten for. MY GOD! These SEC refs have absolutely no friggin integrity.