How 1980 is like 2017, and how it is not

The 1980 season and the 2017 college football seasons end with Georgia playing for the national championship.

But in 1980, the Bulldogs had to wait a few hours to be voted national champions by various polls. No such wait will be necessary in 2017.

Both the 1980 and 2017 Georgia teams had a Woerner playing for them.

In 1980, it was All-American Scott Woerner, whose interception in the fourth quarter stymied the final Notre Dame drive. In 2017, it is Charlie Woerner, nephew to the aforementioned Scott, who made key catches early in the Rose Bowl win over Oklahoma.

The 1980 and 2017 Georgia teams are alike in that the punishing running of a Georgia-born tailback was key.

But in 1980, freshman superstar Herschel Walker of Wrightsville pretty much carried the load by himself, whereas in 2017, Nick Chubb of Cedartown has had plenty of help from Sony Michel and Co.

The 1980 team was quarterbacked by highly-recruited Buck Belue of Valdosta, and the 2017 team is quarterbacked by highly-recruited Jake Fromm of Warner Robins, two homegrown, hometown legends who excelled in baseball too.

Belue’s best baseball, however, came as a slugging outfielder for the Bulldogs, whereas Fromm’s baseball exploits seem behind him, as a star for Warner Robins’ Little League World Series champions.

2017 is like 1980 in that the top two rushers combined for close to 2,000 yards at the end of the regular season.

The seasons are dissimilar in that in 1980, Walker accounted for 1,616 of the 1,969 yards he and Carnie Norris gained. In 2017, Chubb and Michel were much closer to even on the 2,001 yards they gained before the regular season was over. Adding two post-season games, they have combined for 2,449 yards, with Chubb getting 54 percent and Michel 46 percent.

The 2017 Bulldogs are like the 1980 Bulldogs in that the offensive line has been a stable strength all season.

The only real difference between the lines is that in 2017, a freshman started, Andrew Thomas, whereas the 1980 team was loaded with upperclassmen.

The 1980 season and the 2017 season are alike in that the Bulldogs won their first road game by one point at night. In both wins, a freshman back played a critical role in the win.

In 1980, Georgia opened the season at Knoxville with a 16-15 comeback win over Tennessee. Freshman Herschel Walker came off the bench to rally the Bulldogs, scoring two touchdowns.

In 2017, of course, Georgia’s second game of the year was a 20-19 win at Notre Dame where Jake Fromm started and threw a touchdown pass.

The 1980 and 2017 Georgia teams are alike in that they beat everyone on their schedule.

But while the 1980 team was undefeated, the 2017 team beat Auburn the second time around in the SEC championship.

In both 1980 and 2017, Georgia won games because of a big-time reception by a receiver.

But in 1980, it was Lindsay Scott’s 93-yard catch that rallied the Bulldogs to a late win over Florida in the Gator Bowl. In 2017, it was Terry Godwin who caught Fromm’s early TD pass against Notre Dame. The catch was ultimately declared by ESPN the college football play of the year.

Both the 1980 and 2017 teams featured a consensus All-America football player.

For the 1980 team, it was freshman tailback Herschel Walker, who finished runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. In 2017, linebacker Roquan Smith was a unanimous All-American and winner of the Butkus Award.

Both the 1980 and 2017 teams depended on a veteran, senior kicker.

In 1980, it was senior placekicker Rex Robinson, whereas in 2017 punter Cameron Nizialek has transformed Georgia’s punting game in his one season after transferring from Columbia.

In the preseason rankings in 1980 and 2017, Georgia opened the season ranked in the mid-teens.

The 1980 Bulldogs were ranked No. 16 in the first AP poll. They were not ranked No. 1 until after the comeback win against Florida, coupled with Notre Dame’s 3-3 tie against Georgia Tech, which was winless in 1980. The 2017 AP preseason poll ranked Georgia No. 15. The Bulldogs have yet to be ranked No. 1 by AP this year, rising as high as No. 2. Georgia was ranked No. 1 for two weeks in the College Football Playoff Rankings.

In both the 1980 and 2017 seasons, the Bulldogs enjoyed a dramatic New Year’s Day bowl win over an iconic college football superpower that it had previously never played.

In 1980, it was a 17-10 win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, clinching a 12-0 season and the national title. In 2017, it was Oklahoma, a 54-48 victim in the Rose Bowl, earning a CFP semifinal win.

The head coaches of both the 1980 and 2017 Georgia teams left assistant coaching positions at an Alabama university to coach the Bulldogs.

In 1980, Vince Dooley was in his 17th season, having left his alma mater, Auburn, to come to Georgia. In 2017, Kirby Smart is in his second year coaching at his alma mater, having left Nick Saban’s Alabama staff. (After the 1980 regular season finished, Dooley was courted by Auburn to return as the head coach, but he stayed to coach for and win the national title,)

Both the 1980 and 2017 Georgia teams featured starting cornerbacks who began their career as walk-ons.

In 1980, it was Mike Fisher who had walked on after transferring from Furman. He had an interception in the Sugar Bowl. In 2017, Aaron Davis has been a mainstay secondary starter since he walked on after knee injuries shortened his high school career. Also, Davis in 2017 broke a school record for most games started by a former walk-on, bettering the mark set by linebacker Nate “Ty Ty” Taylor, starting linebacker for the 1980 Bulldogs.

In 1980 and 2017, Georgia rallied and won in last-minute fashion because of dramatic heroics.

In 1980, it was Belue to Scott for 93 yards against Florida. In 2017, it was Michel scoring as the second overtime ended to beat Oklahoma in the semis, this after Lorenzo Carter blocked a field goal in overtime, that after Nick Chubb had scored the tying touchdown with 55 seconds to play in regulation, and that after Fromm directed a great closing drive.

Both the 1980 and 2017 teams featured great senior leadership.

But 1980’s senior leaders—Chris Welton, Hugh Nall, Frank Ros, Nat Hudson and Scott Woerner—spent their summer painting the practice-field wall as punishment for stealing a UGA hog for a team barbecue in the spring of 1980. The 2017 senior leaders feature four selfless veterans who could have earned millions in the NFL by turning pro after their junior seasons: Chubb, Michel, Carter and Davin Ballamy.

The 1980 Bulldogs won their last game. 2017? Remains to be seen.

The redemption run continues

On the final, glorious football play of the 2018 Rose Bowl, Sony Michel completed his own redemption journey on this magical mystery tour that is the still-unfolding Bulldog season.

Michel’s jaunt measured a mere 27 yards, but its worth far outweighed its length. It ended a wrenching College Football Playoff semifinal, earning for the University of Georgia a place in the title game, by virtue of a 56-48 comeback win over Oklahoma.

Michel’s touchdown run was entirely in character. This proved to be the penultimate game of a career that adds up to a resume equaled by few and surpassed mathematically only by two of his UGA predecessors.

If you are interested in the raw numbers, he traversed 181 yards over the beautiful Rose Bowl turf on a mere 11 attempts. Counting a pass from his precocious quarterback, Michel reached the Promised Land four times.

But for a while, it appeared that he might go home remembering one disastrous carry.

Midway in the fourth quarter, he had uncharacteristically fumbled the football. Oklahoma defender Steven Parker was fortuitously in the neighborhood and was able to scoot 47 yards with the pilfered pigskin, rallying his Sooners to a 45-38 lead.

In his four years, Michel has been entrusted with the football hundreds of times, enough to cover 3,540 yards. Usually, he has responded with alacrity and dependability. In fact, we learned after his ill-timed fumble, that he had not lost a fumble since his freshman season.

Well, this has been the year of redemption for Georgia, avenging the blemishes of Kirby Smart’s first season. Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida, Georgia Tech—victors last year—became the vanquished this year by a combined 168-28 score. Only Ole Miss by virtue of scheduling escaped payback, and perhaps their in-state rival Mississippi State took the punishment instead.

The theme continued in the SEC championship game when the Bulldogs were presented the opportunity to avenge the lone blot on this year’s slate, a 40-17 embarrassment at Auburn. So Georgia won the one that counted, 28-7, earning its placement in this toddler of a playoff system. So we arrive at this point of the season, and only two teams in the nation have beaten everybody on their schedule: Central Florida and Georgia.

As if the buildup to a semifinal game on the hallowed Rose Bowl grounds is not enough drama, a soap opera played out through the week regarding the Sooners’ talented quarterback, Baker Mayfield. He shows promise for those clever Heisman commercials.

Mayfield was afflicted with a mysterious illness. Confession: his history fostered thoughts that perhaps the young man was at first dealing with the effects of a hangover. But there was ample evidence to the contrary that he was dealing with an upper-respiratory ailment. Hoarseness is a challenge in these days of audible calls.

Mayfield showed no signs of illness Monday. He navigated his team to a “name-your-score” 31-17 halftime lead. He even managed to catch a touchdown pass.

That was very nearly the last demonstration of his considerable skill. What looked easy in the first half became difficult in the second half.

Meanwhile, across the field, his opposite, Jake Fromm performed admirably. Yes, he reminded us with a “what-were-you-thinking” backwards pass under pressure that he is a freshman. But honestly, he is not an ordinary freshman. The world is his stage, and if he has found the limits of his comfort zone, they have yet to be seen.

So in the Granddaddy of Them All, with a championship season on the line, Fromm directed a 59-yard scoring drive in seven plays, leaving just 55 seconds for Mayfield to answer.

Curiously, or not, little was asked of either quarterback in the overtimes. Coaches Kirby Smart and Lincoln Riley—sharing three years of head coaching experience between them—opted for a very conservative approach.

The handwriting was on the wall for the Sooners when Lorenzo Carter—who under different circumstances might have been counting his NFL money by now—swiped an Oklahoma field goal try. As it developed, Georgia would have won the game even without the block, but it certainly put a different spin on things when the Bulldog offense took the field.

And so, on the last play, Michel ran from the Wild Dawg formation, a plain announcement of an infantry advance. The aforementioned Fromm blocked like an expert, and Michel strolled unbruised into Bulldog history, into college football history.

There remains yet one more contest, and if you are looking for redemption, just remember that the last time Georgia and Alabama played under a roof in Atlanta, five years ago, a tipped pass in the last five seconds robbed the Bulldogs of a chance to play for a national title.

Well, if you can look on the other side of the bus, you would note that they tore that building down. And Georgia is undefeated in the new place. Against an Alabama school.