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
TallaDawg
October 28th, 2011
2:41 pm
@Beat from the East – 12:27 – That is MB’s point. Things change, but …. they can always change again.
ARdawg
October 28th, 2011
2:42 pm
Talla, Beast
They will change again. Of that I have no doubt. I would personally prefer it was in THIS decade…LOL
hammerhead
October 28th, 2011
2:44 pm
Love the vintage Worley pic! That was my freshman year in Athens and I didn’t go to Jacksonville due to being flat broke! I never let that stop me again as I went to my first Cocktail Party in ‘86 (loss to Kerwin Bell and Ricky Natiel) and each year after ’til ‘91 when I damn near froze (yes it was FREEZING in Jax that year). Been watching from afar ever since (married and raising babies).. will return someday soon. Hopefully, we’ll be winning our share by then! Great blog, Mark.
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
2:45 pm
Mrs. Krinkle @ 2:09pm. Stay classy and keep making mama proud! By the way, did your old man make parole?
McDawg
October 28th, 2011
2:45 pm
whew
i thought you were making a perdiction
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
2:49 pm
ARdawg,
I wouldn’t mind seeing it go back to being about 50/50 with the winner going to Atlanta. That’s how it was with UF/UT in the 90’s and those were some great games to watch. The younger Gators don’t have much respect for the rivalry and I suspect the younger Dawgs are tired of hearing about the good ol’ days. Kinda crazy how streaky the past 40 years have been, isn’ it?
18/21
October 28th, 2011
2:51 pm
in 28 hours it will be 19/22
david
October 28th, 2011
2:52 pm
Beast, please ignore Kringle as he apparently doesnt know you are a civil and knowledgable gator. Good luck tomorrow and if we somehow win, please beat SC.
Jack
October 28th, 2011
2:54 pm
the difference mark is today florida and ga are on equal footing football recruiting wise. heck ga ranks 2 on rivals list over the past decade. florida was not known for it’s football until ss arrived. so when ga was winning, they were doing it against a lesser team most of the time. florida’s domination speaks for itself and is a much bigger deal today.
ARdawg
October 28th, 2011
2:58 pm
Beast
You know it would probably be a much more intense rivalry if there was no more than a 2-3 year swing either way. The last 60-70 years it’s decades of dominance by either team. I was around in the 70s-80s and remember Florida as the team we beat no matter what. My son, quite the opposite.
I don’t know, maybe it’s better this way. AU is a pretty intense rivalry but with a lot of respect and it swings every year or so but it doesn’t measure up to the FL game
Zeus
October 28th, 2011
2:59 pm
“Mark Richt, the second-best coach in Georgia history.”
No love for Wally Butts???
GaTruth
October 28th, 2011
3:00 pm
Read a column in Gainesville FL paper. It made a good point about the current streak. One can pretty accurately infer that based on the state of this series you can assess the state of the program. For that reason, I’ve finally some to the conclusion, that if Richt doesn’t win this one and turn the tide, he has to be let go. Spurrier changed things with passion – it wasn’t the spread offense. We haven’t had passion since ‘83. Yes Dooley’s final years didn’t have much passion. Bring in someone who loves the Dawgs and has the fire.
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
3:01 pm
david,
Thanks and may the best team win. I just hope it’s another close one. Last year was pretty intense. If it’s lopsided, it will more than likely be in UGA’s favor. Honestly, on paper UGA should win, but that’s why they play the games.
Eldawg
October 28th, 2011
3:02 pm
Good job MB.
ARdawg
October 28th, 2011
3:03 pm
GA Truth
I’ve spewed to anyone that would listen, this game makes or breaks Richt. The discussion can go away or the nails can get hammered in the coffin. It’s this one, the rest don’t have as much meaning as this one does
Stinger2
October 28th, 2011
3:04 pm
Can someone please tell me when toe meets leather in Jacksonville.
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:05 pm
Now that was a quality article Mark. Good on ya. I enter every day and every year in the hopes that today is a new and better day. I learned that approach to denial by being one of those dawgs fans born in 1986. I remember the 3 wins vividly, but I’m sick and tired of only knowing losing. GO DAWGS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:08 pm
From Athens, but my hatred of Florida is made stronger by the fact that my dad and uncles went to Florida State. You won’t find a more passionate GAYTOR HATER than me!
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
3:08 pm
Stinger2,
3:30 on CBS.
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
3:10 pm
“From Athens, but my hatred of Florida is made stronger by the fact that my dad and uncles went to Florida State.”
I can tell you’re a youngster. If you were my age, your dad and uncles would have had to go to school elsewhere, as FSU was an all girls school. FSU…..where the women are women and the men are, too!
ARdawg
October 28th, 2011
3:11 pm
Stinger
it’s always 3:30 on CBS. Unless of course we get any worse than we have and it’ll be the noon game of the week on the SEC network
bill arp
October 28th, 2011
3:13 pm
Here’s the question. What happens if A Murray throw 3 picks and fumbles a couple of times and we lose? Would that be Richt’s fault? We all know that it is very possible with Murray. Just wondering…
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:13 pm
Beast…what do you call a pretty girl in Gainesville? A tourist. Least we got Jen Sterger.
Skokie Dog
October 28th, 2011
3:13 pm
Maybe, if we’re fortunate enough to play to a tie score at the end of regulation, the refs could change the rules for overtime and have Weis and Grantham have a doughnut-eating challenge: first guy to wolf down a dozen get the win!
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
3:14 pm
bill arp,
To many, it’s all Richt’s fault. To others, he hung the moon. There seems to be very little middle ground.
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
3:16 pm
invictus,
I’ll take Erin over Jen. MUCH more class. I have to admit there are some serious lookers over in Tallahassee, though.
sane dawg
October 28th, 2011
3:17 pm
Damn the results. It’s better to be a Bulldog losing than a Gator winning. Having said that, the results say we still lead the series, you suckers.
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:17 pm
Beast,
Erin? Nice rack, but the face man…can’t do it. Good ole fashioned rivalry…I love it! Nice chiding with ya.
Spike 80DF
October 28th, 2011
3:18 pm
Puhleezeeee Beast…Jen Sterger > Erin
Fair and Balanced
October 28th, 2011
3:19 pm
Enjoyed the walk thru history. Go Dawgs!
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:21 pm
Beast,
You’re right about middle ground. I think CMR hung the moon, but his assistants let it get away. Called for Martinez’ firing 2 years before he did it, been grumbling the same about Bobo for 3. We paid dearly for Martinez and are just now getting back to where we were. Reminds me a lot of when Bobby couldn’t fire his boy in Tally. I’m sure there’s a case for loyalty to a point, but in the end it costs money and makes losers of us all. Gotta pull the plug sooner or later.
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
3:21 pm
I’ll take Erin anyday over Jen. I’m probably one of the few out there that hasn’t hit that yet. LOL!
Spike 80DF
October 28th, 2011
3:23 pm
yea invictus, I’m an official Gator hater as well.
1. UGA alum
2. Grew up FSU fan since family in Tally went to FSU and had season tickets
Fair and Balanced
October 28th, 2011
3:23 pm
Also interesting that Fl wore puke colored unis during Worley’s days. Actually they still do. I hate FL.
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:24 pm
You’re one of the few who’d make that choice to Beast…lol.
Stinger2
October 28th, 2011
3:24 pm
Thanks Beast and ARdawg. Good luck tomorrow. I believe
UGA will win in an easy fashion.
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:26 pm
Thanks for the backup Spike! Explains your impeccable taste in women. Lol.
Runnin with the Dawgs
October 28th, 2011
3:27 pm
Dawgs 31 Gators 17
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:27 pm
I went to the Air Force Academy, so not really an alma mater you can expect much from in football…broke my heart when we played UGA in basketball in the NIT that year though…definition of mixed emotions.
Wistful thinking...
October 28th, 2011
3:31 pm
…I don’t believe Vince Dooley is going to coach UGA any time soon…
PreyDawg
October 28th, 2011
3:33 pm
I am supposed to be working. I am on my office computer risking getting in trouble and sitting here like a dope with butterflies already over this game. I could care less about game 7. It is a mere distraction. This is Florida week. I don’t want us to win this game. I NEED us to win this game. The madness…the pain…must stop. I can’t take another loss but I got a bad feeling. I am like Bradley. I will believe it when I see it.
Joke
October 28th, 2011
3:39 pm
Husband, who graduated from Florida and his wife, who graduated from Ga, were driving to J-ville for the big game. They had been arguing for hours over who would win, and were really mad at each other. When they passed a herd of jackasses, the wife turned to her husband and said” relatives of yours”? The husband looked at his wife and said “yeah, in-laws”!
Beast from the East
October 28th, 2011
3:39 pm
PreyDawg,
Calm down. Remember, it’s just a game played by college kids. Life will go on, win or lose.
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:42 pm
Screw getting rid of CMR…bump Bobo to replay consultant so he can learn something about calling a football game, and bring in a real OC.
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:44 pm
Joke,
That was halarious…thanks for the belly laugh.
Dust
October 28th, 2011
3:45 pm
believe it or not, there was a time when mark bradley wrote interesting articles.
Judy
October 28th, 2011
3:46 pm
Gators 27 dogs 24
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:47 pm
Dust,
That was the first quasi-quality one in a while…let’s take the CMR approach…let’s be patient. Gotta build the kid up a bit. Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty…he can’t help he stepped outa his league.
invictus mon
October 28th, 2011
3:48 pm
We chide because we love ya Mark!
Mark Kozee
October 28th, 2011
3:51 pm
We’ll beat the Gators but lose to Auburn. Richt will be gone.