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The polls had us at #6 that week, entering Homecoming against the Commodores. Scanning the student section, there were a lot of young dudes wearing ties for this one. Also, the stadium expansion was well underway. The tracks were slammed again, as the end zone construction continued. There was a tarp over the slope behind the Sanford Stadium locker rooms, with huge construction equipment in full view. It was a beautiful October afternoon.

The Vanderbilt team must have known what was about to happen. The Commodores hit the field 0-4. We were 5-0 and about to unleash a healthy Herschel Walker on them. His ankle had healed, since he sprained it against TCU two weeks prior. The Commodores were in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Herschel was about to explode.

I could see it in his eyes, prior to kick-off. Hersch looked zoned in. We were five games into the season, so he was finally at a point where he was comfortable. This was a day we would witness greatness.

We got the ball first and Haffner called three straight pass plays. On 3rd and 10, I hit Amp Arnold on a deep curl, off play-action, good for 20 yards and a 1st down. But Herschel came in late and just laid a Vanderbilt DB out, who was standing by the pile. He hit him up high, knocked the dude out of his shoes, and was hit with a personal foul penalty. They backed us up 15 yards. I can remember looking into his eyes and thinking Herschel looks like a man possessed today.

The next play, which was Herschel’s first carry of the day, went the distance. It was our base, I-formation run play…lead right and it was blocked perfectly. LT Jeff Harper cut the DE. LG Jim Blakewood blocked the DT away from the hole. Center Hugh Nall went for the inside LB, who ended up over-running the play. RG Tim Morrison just dominated the DT and turned him out. RT Nat Hudson and TE Norris Brown doubled the DE and then Norris released up to the next level. FB Jimmy Womack took out the play-side LB. Herschel saw a big hole.

I handed it to Hersch 5 yards deep and he accelerated like we hadn’t seen before. He was untouched 10 yards downfield, before the free safety came up to hit him. But it was Herschel delivering the spine-tingling blow, at top-end speed. That dude got crushed. A moment later, the strong safety jumped on Hersch and he shook him off like a bull tossing a rodeo rider. He then slipped the cornerback and was off to the races for the final 40 yards.

Herschel immediately shifted into sprinter’s mode and less than 4.3 seconds later was in the end zone. Nasty. Jaw-dropping. World-class. Wow. The 76 yard TD sprint against Texas A&M was impressive, but nothing like this. This one featured him mauling a couple of DBs, before he displayed that lightening fast speed. The Sanford Stadium crowd roared. We led 7-0, and Vanderbilt was in for a beating.

Erk’s defense was out to get Vanderbilt QB Whit Taylor, who was just a sophomore. Whit would do great things for Vandy in the next couple years, but this day would be a struggle. The Commodores were running a 2-back set, with a mix of the veer-option and a roll out passing game. Whit got picked off in their 1st possession. DT Tim Parks tipped Whit’s throw at the LOS, and our star DL Jimmy Payne intercepted it. The route was on.

Herschel’s 2nd touchdown was a couple of series later, when we were up 10-0 in the 2nd quarter. This was a sweep right call and it was blocked cleanly. TE Clarence Kay sealed the edge. Hudson dominated his DL. Morrison pulled and cut the LB. FB Chris McCarthy took down another LB. WR Chuck Jones blocked the CB. Herschel never got touched. He took the corner and turned up field. Off Chuck’s block, Herschel cut back to the middle of the field and turned on the jets, galloping 48 yards to the end zone. It was 17-0 and Herschel’s numbers looked like this: 11 carries for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The great Charlie Trippi’s single-game, Georgia rushing record (236 yards against Florida in 1945) was about to fall.

After our great defense shutdown Vandy’s next drive, Coach Haffner dialed up our favorite big-play, passing play. The call was twins right to the wide side, which put TE Norris Brown on the left. I faked it to Herschel and hung it up deep backside to Norris, who just ran by the weakside corner. He caught it in stride and cruised into the end zone, for a 58 yard touchdown. It was 24-0 at the half and Herschel’s numbers were: 15 carries for 207 yards and 2 TDs.

Word got around the locker room at the half about Trippi’s single game record. So, we would be witnessing Georgia history in the 2nd half. Herschel only needed 30 yards to break it.

The only scoring in the 3rd quarter was a Rex Robinson field goal, which made it 27-0. Herschel carried it 7 times for 23 yards in the quarter. So, we went to the 4th quarter, with Herschel needing 7 yards for the record. And he would get it on his first touch. It was the coup de grace.

It was 1st and 10, from our own 47 yard line. Haffner called twins left, sprint draw left and there was a huge hole right up the middle. LT Jimmy Harper released up on the LB. LG Jim Blakewood blocked out on the DT. Center Hugh Nall blocked the inside LB. RG Joe Happe blocked out on his DT. RT Nat Hudson crushed a LB. FB Jimmy Womack took down the play side DE. Again, the play was perfectly blocked.

Herschel took the hand-off, saw the big hole, cut back into the middle, accelerated into sprinters speed and was gone, again. In the blink of an eye, he was into the 2nd and 3rd level of the defense. It was a 53 yard TD sprint. No one touched him.

Herschel finished the day with 23 carries for a record-setting 283 yards. His 3 touchdown runs went for 60, 48 and 53 yards. Hersch averaged 12.3 yards a carry that day. It was amazing. He was a man on a mission that day. I saw that look on his face in pre-game and knew he was in for a big day, but at the time I wasn’t aware of what Trippi’s record was.

Lost in Herschel’s amazing accomplishment was Lindsay Scott involved. Lindsay had 4 catches on the day. Norris and Amp made big plays. I was thrilled with Coach Haffner mixing in the pass early in the game. The offense had finally hit our stride. We finished with 545 total yards and 41 points.

Erk Russell’s defense continued its amazing play too. Those guys pitched its 2nd shutout of the season and forced 4 more turnovers. Scott Woerner had an interception. Tim Crowe forced a fumble. Jeff Hipp picked one off. And the great Jimmy Payne intercepted one off a tipped ball.

Through 6 games, our defense had forced 28 turnovers! That averaged out to 4.6 per game. Amazing, uh? Last season, the 2009 Bulldog defense only forced 12.