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| 1980 Season Opener: Georgia @ Tennessee - 16-15 | ||
A new southern record crowd of 95,000-plus showed up at Neyland Stadium for the season opener, which was played under the lights on a clear, hot day in Tennessee. Looking at the game tape recently, I was impressed with how many Georgia fans made the trip and got in. The ‘Dogs were well-represented. Johnny Majors Volunteers were coming off a 7-5 season, and featured some impressive talent on both sides of the ball. But we were confident our team was capable of making some noise in the SEC. ’79 was a disappointment, with a 6-5 record, but we were 5-1 in conference. And we added hot-shot freshman Herschel Walker. Summer camp had gone well. We got after it pretty good. Although it was difficult to tell what type of impact Herschel was going to make. In practice, he hadn’t really stood out. Like most every freshman, he was busy trying to get a grip on the offense and get used to the speed of play. But he showed flashes of being ready. On the trip up Friday, I felt confident that we had a good team. But could we put it together on offense, defense and special teams, in the opener, at Neyland Stadium? Season openers can be tricky, because of the unexpected. This would be George Haffner’s first game as our OC and play-caller. So, I was wondering how he would call it. To make things even more interesting, the Vols OC-QB Coach was Bill Pace, who was my coach at Georgia the two previous seasons. Earlier that week, Pace was quoted as saying, when the media referenced the newly expanded Neyland Stadium, “Belue probably thinks all those people are showing up to see him.” Never did get to ask him about that comment. Thought we had a decent relationship during our two years together. Maybe he felt like he got forced out, because of the QB situation. He started Jeff Pyburn the year before, but when we got off to a poor start, he was pushed into going with me. Oh well. I believe the change was made because Haffner was an I-Formation guy. Coach Pace made a name for himself running the veer. That night in Knoxville, Herschel was the 3rd RB on the depth chart. Donnie McMickens was the starter and Carnie Norris the back-up. Our O-line featured tough, experienced guys. Harper and Blakewood started at tackle. Hudson started at left guard, with Morrison on the right. Hugh Nall was at center. Those guys never came off the field, except once when Tim Case got a series at left tackle. Rex Robinson got this one started by booming the kick-off to the back of the end zone. And the memorable season was underway. Erk’s defense Hunkered Down immediately. On the Vols first play, DT Eddie Weaver beat a double team, and forced a fumble. “Meat Cleaver” stripped the RB and Jimmy Payne jumped on it. We were in business at the Tennessee 24 yard line After two runs, we ran a TE reverse with Norris Brown on 3rd & 7. Tennessee was not fooled. Norris got stripped at the twenty and fumbled. Volunteers ball. It would be a frustrating first half for our offense. Later in the 1st quarter, we were on the move, by converting three straight, 3rd down plays. Norris bounced back with a big catch and run on a 3rd & 7 crossing route for a gain of around twenty, to set us up at the 26 yard line. But a couple of plays later, I fumbled when guard Tim Morrison blocked down quickly and knocked the ball out, as I took the snap from Hugh Nall. It happened again later. Tennessee took advantage of a short field and drove to our 1 yard line, where another big turn went down. On 4th & 1, DE Jimmy Payne got penetration and stuffed the run just short of the goal line. The game remained scoreless, until the next play I mishandled the snap on 1st down and FB Jimmy Womack fell on it in our end zone. Tennessee took a 2-0 lead and Rocky Top rained down. It felt a little like rugby, with everyone crammed around the line of scrimmage. It all happened so quick. I was trying to anticipate the snap and sneak it quickly, but wasn’t able to secure the ball. The ball just disappeared. It was our 3rd turnover of the half. The Vols took the kick and drove for a 2nd quarter touchdown, to go up 9-0. Neyland rocked. This was the point where Coach Mike Cavan approached Coach Dooley about putting Herschel in the game. When the offense took the field with 5:00 to play in the half, Herschel was in for his first action. His first carry was a 2 yard gain on a 1st & 10, I-formation, lead play. He got another carry on 2nd & 8 and picked up 4 yards. I hit Herschel on a flat route a few plays later for 9 yards, but we would end up punting. We exited the field down 9-0 at half. Offensively, we made some plays, but 4 first half fumbles killed us. The talk at half was getting it cleaned up on offense. The defense was getting after them, so that lead didn’t seem like that big of a deal. Herschel would start the 2nd half and we got the ball The drive started at our 19 and we got a big-play on 3rd & 14. I found Norris Brown again on another crossing route and he took it into Tennessee territory. The drive would stall. Couple of series later, the Vols got the big play. Mike Miller beat an aggressive Scott Woerner on a post route good for a TD. Scott kicked the end zone pylon and we were down 15-0. Neyland Stadium rocked again Our next series ended in a punt, but that’s when we got on the scoreboard. Joe Happe forced a fumble on the punt return and the ball bounced backward. Radloff, Kay, Carver, and Steve Kelly all touched it, before it went out the back of the end zone. Good for a safety. And the score was 15-2. Happe’s play swung the momentum. The Vols run was over. Woerner got a nice return on the kickoff and we got 15 extra yards on a Tennessee penalty. That drive started at midfield. Herschel got 3 on a 1st down sweep. He got six on 2nd down, by bouncing a lead play. Brought up a 3rd and 1, and I got 2 on a sneak. The next play was a bootleg call to the wide side of the field, and I hit Lindsay on a deep crossing route. Had to pump it to give Lindsay time to clear the linebacker. That was good for 25 yards and set us up at the Vols 16. The next play you might remember. It was a 1st & 10 call. I-formation, sprint draw to the right side. The Vols right DT moved down right before the snap, which created a big bubble backside. Jeff Harper blocked down and helped Nat Hudson double the out of position tackle. Norris Brown blocked the DE out. Herschel’s great vision allowed him to see the backside cut opportunity and he took it. And there was Tennessee safety Bill Bates, between Herschel and the end zone. Herschel trampled over him. Left footprints on him, as he galloped in for a 16 yard touchdown run. The Bulldog fans went crazy. Score: Vols 15, Dogs 9. And that would be Herschel’s first big highlight. I don’t remember ever seeing as big a hole as that one. Erk’s defense forced another turnover on the next series. LB Will Forts stripped the Tennessee RB, as LB Nate Taylor delivered a big blow. The ball came out and safety Jeff Hipp fell on the ball. That took us into the 4th quarter, down 15-9. And it was time to drive for a TD. We took over at the Vols 37 and went on an 8-play, touchdown drive to take the lead. I rolled out and hit Amp Arnold on an out cut. Herschel powered for a first down on 3 & 1. I rolled out left and ran for 9. On 3rd & 1, Herschel bullied his way for 6. The big play came on 2nd & goal from the Vols 9. We went twins right, sweep left to the short side and Herschel took it in for a touchdown. The blocking on this play was excellent. Norris Brown took the DE upfield. FB Ronnie Stewert led Herschel into the hole but passed on the LB, when OT Jeff Harper blocked the DT into the LB. Ronnie ended up taking out the DB, which left Herschel a clear path to the end zone. Rex Robinson extra point gave us the lead, 16-15, with around 10:00 to go. The Bulldog fans went nuts. Tennessee would get 2 more scoring opportunities, but on both occasions Erk Russell’s defense Hunkered Down. Erk pleaded on both occasions: “(Stop them) Just one more time.” Vols drove it down inside our 10 yard line. They had 1st & goal at the 5 and we needed just one more big play. LB Nate Taylor delivered the big blow on Tennessee RB. The Vols went to their power package of 2 TEs and 3 RBs and ran Berry off the right tackle. Nate got caught up in some trash and the RB didn’t see the hit coming his way. Taylor put his hat on the ball and knocked it out. DE Pat McShea recovered at our 1 yard line.
Coach Russell blitzed 4 straight times, with safety Chris Welton coming each time, in tandem with a LB. That pressure forced a throw-a-way, a hit on Jeff Olszewski and finally a sack on 4th & 12. Jimmy Payne and Freddie Gilbert combined on the sack. Game over. I got to fall on it 3 times, before the clock ran out. Victory was ours: 16-15. Our defensive line dominated the game. Jimmy Payne was outstanding (5 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, and a QB pressure. DT Joe Creamons had 8 tackles, a forced fumble and 2 tackles for a loss. Weaver killed them (5 tackles, forced fumble and QB pressure. LB Nate Taylor had 8 tackles and a forced fumble. McShea and Welton made some big plays. Forts forced a fumble and had 3 tackles. Ros had 4 stops. The defense forced 4 turnovers and saved us. Our special teams was excellent too. We won two phases of that game Offensively we struggled. There were 3 fumbles that Hugh Nall, Tim Morrison and I were responsible for. We also had some delay of game issues that set us back. I took heat for that. There wasn’t a play clock at the time. But we did enough in the 2nd half to help win the game. Herschel sparked the run game. He made some yards that weren’t really there. He finished with 24 carries for 84 yards and those 2 huge TD runs. There would be better days ahead. It was a relief to win, after being down early. The comeback victory
gave us all a confidence boost. We went into Neyland Stadium and got the
1st one. And we did it without playing well on offense. |
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