Believe it or not, there was a time when UGA owned Florida
A Dawg day: Tim Worley scores against No. 1 Florida in 1985. (Photo from www.dawgbone.net)
This will come as scant consolation to Georgia fans, but Florida folks were once like you. The Gators would arrive in Jacksonville fearing the worst, and they’d get it.
Here’s how completely this rivalry has turned: Vince Dooley, the best coach in Georgia history, worked against four different Gators coaches over a quarter-century and had a winning record against each; Mark Richt, the second-best coach in Georgia history, has worked against three different Florida coaches over the past decade and has a losing record against each.
From 1964 through 1989, Georgia beat Florida 18 times (and tied once) in 26 meetings. In the 21 games since, Florida has won 18 times. The Bulldogs can’t even rent the game they used to own. The series flipped when Dooley retired as coach after the 1988 season and Steve Spurrier took the Gators in 1990, but even after Spurrier left for the NFL after the 2001 season nothing much has changed.
Which isn’t to say what we’ve witnessed is unfamiliar. On the contrary, the feeling of dread that has descended on Georgia was once expressed rather poignantly by eminent Gators. The year was 1984. Florida arrived in Jacksonville with maybe its best team ever — although Charley Pell, its coach, had stepped down after three games amid an NCAA investigation — but no real confidence that it could beat Georgia.
Because Florida would always lose to Georgia. Bulldogs backers recall Belue-to-Scott as the greatest play in the history of collegiate football; Gators fans remember that the Florida defender with the best angle fell as Lindsay Scott turned upfield. Other Gators lowlights: Bill Stanfill rising from a sick bed to sack Spurrier, who would win the Heisman; Richard Appleby, a Bulldogs receiver, throwing an 80-yard touchdown pass off an end-around; Florida coach Doug Dickey failing on a gamble that became known as “fourth-and-dumb”; Georgia driving 99 yards behind John Lastinger to the touchdown that beat Florida 10-9.
That excruciating drive came in 1983 and was fresh on the minds of Gators this correspondent interviewed in November ‘84. Said Spurrier, then coach of the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits: “Twelve or so times we’ve played Georgia with the SEC on the line, and they were either better or tougher or luckier than we’ve been. Probably Georgia just expects to win big games more than Florida does.”
Said Ray Graves, the Gators’ coach from 1960 through 1969: “After all the strange plays Georgia has pulled off, with guys falling down and guys knocking each other down, there’s always a feeling that a team can start believing in a jinx. You keep losing and losing, and you say, ‘Ah, we’ll get you next year,’ and then the other side says, ‘Yeah, that’s what your grandpa said, too.’ ”
A Georgia fan born in early 1990 has reached adulthood knowing only three Bulldogs victories over Florida: In 1997 under Jim Donnan, when Robert Edwards ran wild; in 2004 under Richt, when Florida coach Ron Zook had already been rendered a lame duck, and again in 2007, the year Richt’s players danced in the end zone after their first touchdown.
Of Richt’s eight losses to the Gators, half have come when he appeared to have the more talented team. A true oddity: Richt has taken Georgia to the SEC championship game three times, but beat Florida in none of those seasons.
Loading ...Speaking 27 years ago, the former Gator Cris Collinsworth said: “Something would always happen to us to make us turn around and say, ‘Wait a minute – is there really a jinx?’ ”
Today Georgia will play as a favorite, having won its past five games. Florida, by way of contrast, has lost three in a row. But similar dynamics prevailed last year: Georgia had won three straight and Florida had lost three straight, and the Gators won in overtime.
Recent history in this series has driven this correspondent into a default position: I’ll believe Georgia can beat Florida only after I see Georgia beat Florida. Which, believe it or not, was a different correspondent’s position regarding a different team back in 1984.
Said Hubert Mizell, then of the St. Petersburg Times: “I’ve seen so many weird things happen in that [Georgia] game that if Florida led by 28 points going into the fourth quarter, I’d call it 50-50.”
For the record, Florida beat Georgia 27-0 in 1984, breaking a six-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. Was Gators domination finally at hand? Nope. Florida entered the 1985 game ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time in its history. It lost to Georgia 24-3.
By Mark Bradley
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260 comments Add your comment
harold
October 28th, 2011
1:03 pm
THAT WAS WHEN THERE WERE CHEVY VEGAS AND PONTIAC SUNBIRDS.
UGA IS NOW 3-18 IN THE LAST 21 GAMES. RICHT HAS WON AGAINST FLORIDA ONLY TWICE!
HOWEVER I PREDICT THAT AN AVERAGE UGA TEAM DEFEATS A POOR FLORIDA TEAM EASILY 41-17! MUSCHAMP IS A VERY POOR FOOTBALL COACH BUT HE IS A GREAT “SPITTER”!
IF RICHT IS NOT IN THAT SEC TITLE GAME HE IS DONE!
dtaner
October 28th, 2011
1:04 pm
remember a classic line by spurrier when he was late in his tenure as coach at florida,a reporter asked spurrier if he thought florida could ever tie the series between the two which at the time was still 19 games in georgia’s favor, spurrier said idon’t know,i don’t know if i will still be coaching here 19 years from now
Heath
October 28th, 2011
1:04 pm
Here’s a good poll:
Is English a second language for GT?
Augusta Dawg
October 28th, 2011
1:06 pm
Look for a way for Vanilla Coach Bobo to call a predictable game again!!!! Dogs will find a way to give this one away!!!!
Nerds! Nerds! Nerds!
October 28th, 2011
1:06 pm
OR AN IGNORE BUTTON!
Abnerish
October 28th, 2011
1:09 pm
Yeah, not having Shockley during the 2005 game is just an excuse for losing. It’s not an excuse, it’s a reason. We lost because we didn’t have our starting QB that day and our backup wasn’t very good. We were an SEC championship team with Shockley and an average team without him. JTIII did the best he could but we just couldn’t muster up enough offense to win that day.
Saying otherwise is just not accurate. Likewise, I believe that Florida would have won in 2007 had Tebow been healthy. He clearly had shoulder issues and it affected his play.
Perhaps having a former Georgia player as the UF coach is just the psychological shake-up that is needed to turn this thing around.
Go Dawgs!
OoltewahDawg
October 28th, 2011
1:14 pm
HT, just who would UGA be able to attract that would have a better record than Richt over 10 years?. There’s a lot of schools that would love to have Richt as their head coach. Keep in mind that the grass always looks greener from the other side.
GeorgianaBulltiger
October 28th, 2011
1:14 pm
GT, at least we beat the nobodies.
Big Dawg
October 28th, 2011
1:14 pm
Great column Mark. Awesome quotes and blasts from the past. Really puts it all into perspective. Should be required reading for the entire coaching staff and players.
Rich Rod
October 28th, 2011
1:19 pm
I’m available.
Augusta Dawg
October 28th, 2011
1:22 pm
Look for Coach Bobo to coach Div.II or a better junior college after this season………… Maybe opening an ice cream franchise specializing all brands of vanilla…………………. He is large part of the problem along with CMR’s passive attitude………………………………………………Never will UGA beat the top tier of the sec. on a regular basis…………………………………………………………………..
DTC
October 28th, 2011
1:22 pm
HT, you keep calling for Mark Richt to be fired. Who would you suggest to be the Head Coach? For whatever reason I do not believe that Smart coming in would improve the situation. Muschamp sure hasn’t helped FL, and he was supposed to be one of the HC in-waiting, to be considered, for GA.
My opinion is Bobo needs to be either fired outright, be demoted to QB Coach, or RIcht find a team somewhere that wants Bobo as a HC. I am not sure demoting Bobo to the QB coach is a real fix for the offense, because he sure hasn’t gotten Murray to the point that he can hit the fully open man, over 30 yards downfield. 30 yards, he is ok. Anything over that, you might as well forget it.
Richt has without a doubt been down for the last few years, but, I think the team would be better with Richt as the HC, and bring in a high profile OC.
Just curious HT.
GT Grad
October 28th, 2011
1:24 pm
I like turtles!
Barack Bush
October 28th, 2011
1:31 pm
Yeah, not having Shockley during the 2005 game is just an excuse for losing. It’s not an excuse, it’s a reason.
—–
No, it’s an excuse. Shockley or not, UGA would have most likely lost. You know why? 3-18 in the last 21 games.
bubba4dawgs
October 28th, 2011
1:32 pm
Talent-wise and physically, the Dawgs are superior this year! Is it possible that they could go into the game determined to win and physically outman the Gators? Why go into the game scared they’re going to lose and sure nuff, they will!! It all seems that they simply find a way to get beat. I muse at 3rd and long situations and then give up the first down soooooo often!! Please, just this once….GO DAWGS!!!!!!
Evansdawg
October 28th, 2011
1:34 pm
I saw Gator fans contemplating slitting their wrists after that 1985 beatdown. It was great. Doesn’t seem possible it was that long ago.
StAug Dawg
October 28th, 2011
1:37 pm
Another irony is that we get the NFL version of the game again on Sunday with Stafford vs Tebow; and this time, Stafford will get some assistance from a Tech nerd…..
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 28th, 2011
1:38 pm
Good memories of that game 1985 game. I was there and enjoyed every minute of it.
I even enjoyed the free score poster given out after that game holding it up in the air
Now many years later I have to hear garbage excuses about where the game is played
Mike
October 28th, 2011
1:39 pm
Mark, It’s not a big mystery what’s going on in this series. Vince Dooley had the week off before playing Florida while Florida usually was playing Auburn. Steve Spurrier knew how big that was, so he got that flipped around in the early 90’s. Since then Florida has only 4 times played the week before the UGA game (all while UGA was under Richt) and lost two of them. That and the fact that Florida, like Miami and Florida St., was not a good football program until the 80’s.
Call it an excuse if you want, but Spurrier thought it was a big deal. I can also tell you Dooley wasn’t beating the Gators when they had the week off. Donnan’s win stands as the only one in decades against Florida when Florida had the week off.
Most of Richts losses are because UF used the week off to make adjustments. Florida comes out rested and firing, get a lead, and then hang on in the end. Last year was a perfect example of this.
This year both have the week off, so it’s different. But there is no mystery as to why this series turned around.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
bubba4dawgs
Talent wise the dawgs have been superior under the entire Mark Richt coaching tenure
hogmtndawg
October 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
Thanks for the pic of the ‘85 game MB. That was my first UGA/UF game and I haven’t had a better time since. I remember Greg “Muddy” Waters in Kerwin Bell’s face all day long. I think he threw for 400 yards or so, but all between the 20’s. I think Keith Henderson had two long scoring plays and Worley had the 89 yarder to cap it off. We destroyed some property that night, also!!
bobby
October 28th, 2011
1:41 pm
LOOK I DON’T GIVE A DARN WHAT YOU PEOPLE SAY ON HERE IF DJ SHOCKLEY PLAYS IN THE FLORIDA GAME IN 2005 UGA WINS THAT GAME IT’S A FACT JT WAS’NT A GOOD QUARTERBACK AND YOU PEOPLE ON HERE KNOW THAT COME PEOPLE LETS BE REAL ABOUT THAT.
Donkey Stomp
October 28th, 2011
1:41 pm
Dawgs will Donkey Stomp the reptiles this year!
Bob
October 28th, 2011
1:43 pm
Great article, Mark! I was in the East stands during the 1983 game, and I remember that drive like it was yesterday. The sun had gone down and there was a cold breeze coming off the St Johns River, but we didn’t mind. Our team was playing to win.
T3
October 28th, 2011
1:45 pm
There once was time when Journalism in general,
and the AJC in particular…HAD…Integrity.
Those days are long gone as well.
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
1:47 pm
Guess we should put an * besides the final score of the 2005 game. Maybe we can get it stricken from the record books? While we’re at it, can we get the last 3 losses by the Gators erased because Brantley was injured? Hooray…..we’re 4-0!!!!!
Red Ranger
October 28th, 2011
1:50 pm
These Dawgs will skin the hated Ga-terds this weekend. Demps and Rainey will run no more than 50 yards the entire game.
1eyedJack
October 28th, 2011
1:52 pm
The Gators don’t deserve to smell Russ’ sh1t.
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
1:54 pm
“The Gators don’t deserve to smell Russ’ sh1t”
We’ll leave that honor to you dogs. One of the only species I know of that does enjoy smelling their own.
mike addington
October 28th, 2011
1:55 pm
I’ve got a good feeling about this one. I think this is a very good GA team, with a very good attitude. Now if we can get Crowell to stop looking like he has a lemon wedge in his mouth and play hard for “4″ quarters, I’d feel even better. That dude has some kind of problem. Don’t know what it is, but it looks like he’s thinking, “Dang, these guys hit a lot harder than those guys in high school.”
Rich Rod
October 28th, 2011
1:55 pm
The only way to end this jinx is with a good, old-fashioned couch burning.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 28th, 2011
1:59 pm
Give me a break people
There is no excuse to lose tommorrow
I dont even want to hear it
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
2:06 pm
Flat Tire,
You gonna be at the game? I’m staying home and watching it on TV for only the third time in the last 40 years. Maybe it’s a good sign for my Gators, as we won the only other two I missed.
dan the nerd
October 28th, 2011
2:08 pm
Ha! This makes me remember looking at the record between UGA and GT – somewhere around 1972. I thought to myself “GT owns UGA – this series will never be close…”
My, how the tables can turn.
Mr Krinkle
October 28th, 2011
2:09 pm
Beast from yo mamma: Take the hotdog out of your mouth for a min. This new coaching staff that UF has hired looks like a bunch of Mr. Bungles (clowns)! UF may beat last years 4 loss team by lossing 5 this season. DBAG!
j.t.keene
October 28th, 2011
2:12 pm
o.k. mr. bradley I agree with that. there also was a time before football was even invented. the question now, forgetting about vandy and kentucky is who does georgia own now?
MattDawg
October 28th, 2011
2:13 pm
Stop getting so juiced for it dawgs. Time to treat it like every other game. I think too much emphasis is being placed on it right now.
B
October 28th, 2011
2:16 pm
GT, I guess that’s why the Nerds hate us…we own ya.
Mike Hunt
October 28th, 2011
2:18 pm
Flat Tire = UF troll. I knew it!!!!!
Dawglasville
October 28th, 2011
2:22 pm
If we win Saturday the same UF fans (and Tech fans who live their football through UF) will be on here as obnoxious as ever. If we win could we at least get a break for 24 hours before we have to read, “17 of 21?”
Alphare
October 28th, 2011
2:22 pm
Mark, great minds think differently as an old wisdom says.
UGA’s defense was ranked in the 70’s before they played the 1-15 teams. So UGA defense is bad. We all know bad defense cannot stop Rainey and Demps.
Watch out for Rainey and Demps to slash up UGA defense and outscore UGA by 2 TD’s.
Dawglasville
October 28th, 2011
2:22 pm
j.t.keene – Tech.
Murphy
October 28th, 2011
2:25 pm
MattDawg,
We as fans are the only ones that will juice this game up!! Our coaching staff sure wont do it. I wish Richt would just come out and challenge his team in the media to win.Call them out but he needs to also call out this coaching staff.Lay it all out and win it.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 28th, 2011
2:26 pm
Mike Hunt = Kool-aid drinking moron troll
Im not a UF fan you idiot why dont you read my 1:38 post
Jeff
October 28th, 2011
2:29 pm
I’m a lifelong Georgia fan who grew up loving those 1980s Georgia-Florida classics. But the way the trend has gone the last 20 years or so, I am NEVER confident going into this game any more. Despite Georgia having the better team several years, the ‘Dogs just find ways to lose. I will repeat what Bradley said in this column: “I’ll believe Georgia can beat Florida only after I see Georgia beat Florida.”
I would love to predict a UGA victory, to say with confidence that Georgia has the better team, to list all the reasons that the Bulldogs will pick up a win… but my head has seen too many losses since 1990, so I predict Florida 28, Georgia 23. Sorry guys… I hope I’m wrong, but it’s hard to reverse a 20-year trend.
Murphy
October 28th, 2011
2:30 pm
Flat Tire,
Must be anew blogger-easy on him now lol
Cuz
October 28th, 2011
2:32 pm
I was at the 85 game.
At the end of the game we struck up a cheer.
Four whole days! Four whole days! Four whole days!
Florida was number one for Four whole days.
PrimeTime#8
October 28th, 2011
2:36 pm
GT you have lost your mind. Who has GT played????? NO ONE… They got beat by Virginia and Miami>>>>> Who the Crap are they???????
Dawglasville
October 28th, 2011
2:39 pm
There is really no point in going back in fourth with Tech, Auburn, or Florida fans. We are all going to see it played out on the field over the next five weeks.
ARdawg
October 28th, 2011
2:39 pm
Hey good column Bradley!
My games only go back as far as the early 70’s but I do remember when FL couldn’t make pooh stink when they played Georgia and I remember thinking to myself when we couldn’t beat Spurrier this could go on forever. I was actually relieved when he left, only to be left with the waft of his pooh years later