Running back Herschel Walker tore up the SEC as a freshman in 1980
1 A PERFECT SEASON THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL EXPERTS THOUGHT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA WOULD HAVE AN IMPROVED TEAM IN 1980 THE BULLDOGS WERE RANKED NO 16 IN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PRESEASON POLL BUT NO ONE COULD HAVE PREDICTED THE IMPACT THAT A NEW FACE IN ATHENS GEORGIA WOULD HAVE ON THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL WORLD THAT YEAR The Bulldogs had generally been a strong team throughout coach Vince Dooley's time at Georgia But in 1979 the offense was inconsistent and the team stumbled to a 6 5 record For the second time in three years the Bulldogs were not invited to a bowl game Looking to change its fortunes Georgia began the 1980 season with a game at Southeastern Conference SEC rival Tennessee The Georgia coaches used a few different running backs in the first half One was a freshman from Wrightsville Georgia named Herschel Walker None of them had much success as Tennessee took a 9 0 lead into halftime
Then the Georgia coaches made a decision that changed the future of the program Dooley wasn't known for giving playing time to freshmen But he decided to end the running back rotation and give Walker the ball in the second half Tennessee extended its lead to 15 2 Then Walker took over First he made one of the most famous plays in Georgia history Walker took a handoff cut through a huge hole on the left side of the line and built up a head of steam Tennessee safety Bill Bates tried to make a one on one tackle just inside the 10 yard line But Walker simply ran over Bates on his path to the end zone That 16 yard touchdown run cut the Volunteers lead to 15 9 Walker then struck again scoring from 9 yards out Rex Robinson's extra point gave the Bulldogs a one point lead and Georgia held on for a 16 15 victory The Bulldogs moved up to No. 12 in the national poll after that win and they kept climbing Behind Walker's powerful running the Bulldogs won the next five games to push their record to 6-0 and found themselves ranked fifth in the country A 27 0 victory at Kentucky bumped Georgia to No. 4. The next week a 13 10 win over No. 14 South Carolina left the Bulldogs ranked No. 2 behind only Notre Dame The next week 20th ranked Florida provided the stiffest test yet Walker scored on a 72 yard run in the first quarter part of a 238 yard day for the freshman superstar But the archival Gators took a 21 20 lead on a field goal in the fourth quarter
BILLIONS The Bulldogs perfect season was PAPER CHAMPIONS in trouble Their last chance to keep The National Collegiate Athletic it alive began at their own 7 yard Association NCAA used to decide line with 90 seconds left Their first its Division I national championship two plays went nowhere Then on on paper not on the gridiron third down quarterback Buck Belue Media organizations and coaching scrambled to his right He spotted associations once conducted polls wide receiver Lindsay Scott open over of their members to determine the the middle and hit him at the Georgia national champion Whichever team 25 yard line got the most votes would be declared the champion by each organization But Scott wasn't satisfied with just That often led to split championships getting a first down Surrounded by when one team didn't win each poll four Florida defenders Scott spun to In 1992 the NCAA began taking steps his right and took off running One to ensure that the No. I and No. 2 Gator slipped and that was all the teams would face off in a bowl game opening Scott needed With beloved to determine the national title on the field radio announcer Larry Munson yelling Run Lindsay run Scott sprinted the final 75 yards to the end zone The dramatic 93 yard play was Scott's only touchdown of the season and it gave Georgia a 26–21 victory When Notre Dame tied Georgia Tech 3–3 the same day the Bulldogs vaulted to the top spot in the polls A PERFECT SEASON
