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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2007 > July > 27
Friday, July 27, 2007
Remember the flea-flicker
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You may have seen Ivan Maisel’s recent listing of the 100 greatest plays in college football history on ESPN.com. (If not, go to http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=2915514#.)
UGA cracked the list twice, with Herschel running over Bill Bates at #36 and Lindsay Scott-Lindsay Scott-Lindsay Scott at #40.
Trying to think which other UGA play ought to have made the list, the one that immediately came to mind was the 1965 flea-flicker against reigning national champion Alabama.
The Tide went on to win the national championship again that season and the Dogs were the only team to beat them that year (UT tied ‘em). It happened on national TV and was Vince Dooley’s first signature win.
Along those lines, I figure that if Mark Richt sticks around long enough and wins as many games as I think he will, the hobnail boot play in Knoxville would have to be included on any such list compiled a few years down the road, not only because it was a great call, but because it announced Richt’s arrival on the national stage as a head coach.
I asked some other Bulldog fans if they could think of a UGA play that Maisel should have included, and what they thought were the five greatest UGA plays of all time.
The consensus was that Maisel got it right for the top two: “Run, Lindsay, run” was No. 1. Without it, no national championship, plus it was Larry Munson’s greatest call. And Herschel over Bates was the arrival of a legend and the start of that national championship season. The flea-flicker was pretty much a consensus choice at No. 3 as well.
It gets harder beyond those three, but drawing strong support was Appleby-to-Washington to beat Florida in 1975. Another vintage Munson call, by the way.
The hobnail-boot play over the Vols also drew multiple mentions, though as my son noted, the play itself was pretty simple, but it was the culmination of a fantastic drive and symbolic of UGA’s rise under Richt.
Fran Tarkenton’s across-the-field pass to Bill Herron to beat Auburn and win the SEC in 1959 also drew quite a bit of support for inclusion among UGA’s Top 5 plays, as did Kevin Butler’s 60-yard game-winnning field goal against Clemson in 1984. About the latter, my friend Johnny said: “Do you remember the energy? The crowd was crazy. This play is remembered by both sides. Clemson fans still swear that the ball was filled with helium. And they say they can prove it by just watching the video of the replay.”
My son also suggested the fourth-and-long touchdown catch against Auburn to win the 2002 SEC championship. As he said, it required “a do-or-die conversion from a sophomore QB in a hostile environment where an incompletion meant we lost the division.”
Also, from recent years, the David Pollack interception against South Carolina in 2002 is a pretty unlikely and spectacular play.
My friend Carl also thought “the TD by ‘The Macon Mauler,’ Theron Sapp to ‘break the drought’ against Tech” should receive consideration. Again, it wasn’t just the play itself in that case as much as the fact that Sapp ran the ball seven consecutive plays on that 1957 scoring drive.
Scott Woerner’s long punt return and interception against Clemson in 1980 also were mentioned, as was Mike Bobo’s game-winning pass to Corey Allen in the closing seconds at Grant Field in 1997. As my friend Steve recalled, it was a game where Munson said “everyone thought we were dead.”
Steve also liked the long TD pass to tie the game in the 56-49 four-overtime upset win over Auburn in 1996.
And my friend Dan, the smart aleck, noted that “almost every pass Reggie Ball threw against UGA would make it!”
What other plays would you consider among the Dawgs’ all-time top five?
