GIVE ‘EM HELL, PELL – Part IV: Florida bounces back in a big way in 1980
Victory cigars, a freshman quarterback brings peace of mind, and a shot at the SEC

[Editor’s Note: This is the fourth part of an ongoing series covering Charley Pell’s career as the head coach of the Florida Gators. You can start back at the beginning or check out Part III in case you missed it.]

Charley Pell’s first season as the head coach of the Gators didn’t end well. It didn’t start well, either. The team didn’t have a single win in 1979. But change was coming for the University of Florida. The 1980 season, as we’ll see, had a number of wins and even included a trip to a bowl game. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s get to it.

September 13, 1980
Tampa Stadium (Tampa, FL)

For the second time in six seasons, the Gators kicked off their season with the California Golden Bears. In 1974, UF knocked off Cal 21-17 in Gainesville, but the 1980 game was played at neutral site at Tampa Stadium.

Cal’s third-year head coach, Roger Thedar, posted a 6-5 regular season record in 1979, which might not seem like much on paper, but it was a big deal in Berkeley. The winning mark was good enough for the Bears’ first bowl bid since their appearance in the 1958 Rose Bowl. The 1979 Bears lost their five regular season games by a combined total of 18 points.

This was a tough opener for a Gators squad coming off of a winless season in 1979.

Additionally, the 1980 Bears were led by quarterback, third-year starter and senior captain Rich Campbell. He was considered a Heisman candidate by some heading into the season after throwing for 2,859 yards and 15 touchdowns in 1979, and Green Bay ended up selecting him with the sixth pick of the 1981 NFL Draft, despite having his 1980 season cut short by a knee injury.

If you’re like me, then Aaron Rodgers just had another slide in the draft. Who knew the No. 24 pick of the 2005 NFL Draft was only the second-highest quarterback selection out of Cal in Packers history?

Aside from being a heralded NFL prospect, Campbell was also known for dodging a hang glider that decided to land on the field in the third quarter of the 1979 Cal-USC game in Berkeley. Steve Kroner wrote about the incident in a 2004 piece for sfgate.com: “During a timeout in the USC game in ’79, a hang glider decided to land on the stadium grass. The glider’s path had him heading straight for a 6-foot-5 quarterback named Rich Campbell. ‘I had to drop to all fours,’ Campbell recalled. ‘If I hadn’t, he’d have clipped my head off.’”

Note the player ducking in the path of the hang glider:

A quick aside into the origin story behind a well-known Charley Pell victory tradition.

In 1977, Charley Pell was the first-year coach for a Clemson Tigers team that included future San Francisco 49ers star Dwight Clark.

The Clemson football program had been mired in mediocrity since the early 1960s and in Pell’s second game at the helm, his Tigers walked out of Athens, Georgia, with a 7-6 victory. The win ended Georgia’s 17-game home unbeaten streak against Clemson that dated back to 1914 and kicked off a new tradition: victory cigars.

According to Lou Sahadi, author of 100 Things Clemson Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die:

“What ignited Clemson was its exciting 7-6 victory over Georgia in Athens. As the Tigers were making the 70-mile trip back to Clemson, Coach Charley Pell instructed the bus driver to pull over, which surprised everyone. Pell had a reason. He wanted savor the win because it was Clemson’s very first victory at Georgia since 1914.

“As legend goes, Pell went into the convenience store and bought every player on the team a cigar to commemorate the win. The cigar celebration became a big part of the 1977 season, as the Tigers used the Georgia game to jump start a great run.

“Pell and the Tigers went on to win seven straight games, and after each victory, they lit up a cigar.”

Nuthin’ to see here, NCAA…move along. Back to the 1980 Gators.

A 13-game losing streak that had eaten up the entirety of an 11-game 1979 season hung over the Gators’ heads as the team travelled two hours southwest to Tampa to kick off the 1980 season against darkhorse Pac-10 title contender, Cal.

Sophomore quarterback Bob Hewko, a 6’3” lefty out of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, would make his first start in what Tampa Tribune writer Craigh Dolch referred to as the Gators’ “much publicized ‘run-and-shoot’ attack that UF Coach Charley Pell spent all summer talking about.”

New offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Shanahan was brought in by Pell after one year in the same position at the University of Minnesota. Though Shanahan was only 28 years old and had only coached Division I-A football for two seasons, the 1979 Golden Gophers broke 40 school records on offense. It may have seemed risky to hand the keys of the offense to such a young coach, but after watching the 1979 offense, Pell was likely more than happy to roll the dice on Shanahan.

The Gators wasted no time putting 1979 behind them by scoring on the first three possessions of the game. On the first drive, sophomore tailback Doug Kellon punched it in the end zone from the 1-yard line to give Florida an early 7-0 lead. Cal went three and out for the second time on the following drive, and Florida used a big pass play from Hewko to tight end Chris Faulkner to get into field goal range before settling for a 32-yard kick from Brian Clark to go up 10-0. A fumble by the Bears led to another Clark field goal and a 13-0 lead.

As the game headed into the second quarter, Campbell took over. The senior passer completed an NCAA-record 19 passes in the second quarter (which would lead to another NCAA record of 43 completions in a single game), and the Bears would storm back behind a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dave Lewis and two second-quarter field goals to knot the game at 13-13 heading into the half.

Florida stayed quiet on offense for the first part of the third quarter before exploding for three touchdowns. Hewko hit Faulkner for a touchdown with 5:49 remaining in the third. Then, with just under three minutes left in the third, fullback James Jones tacked on a 3-yard touchdown run, and Hewko connected with wide receiver Curt Garrett for a 20-yard score a few minutes later to put the Gators up 34-13. The Gators’ 21-point explosion in the third quarter was more than UF had scored in all of the third quarters of the 1979 season combined.

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, fullback Terry Williams scored on a 2-yard run, allowing Pell to substitute and savor the 41-13 lead for the rest of the game. On the other hand, the 1979 Gators had averaged only 9.6 points per game and did not score their 41st point until their seventh game against Auburn.

Cal finished the game with nearly 500 yards in total offense, with Campbell putting up 422 passing yards, but Florida’s defense came up with four fumble recoveries, and one interception kept the Bears off the scoreboard. After the game, Campbell credited the Gators’ defensive strategy, saying the safeties were deep in coverage, forcing him to check down all game. “They moved down the field,” 1979 safety Tim Groves told Mike Tierney of the St. Petersburg Times, “but they got down to the money zone and couldn’t put it in for six.”

In a Tampa Tribune article, Mick Elliot reported that Pell was thrown into the showers by the players while fully clothed. He later said, “It’s the greatest single victory I’ve ever been associated with. And that’s no bull. It’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten what to say.”

Elliot summed it up well: “Finally, Charley Pell gave ’em hell. Sweeping aside last season’s winless season with one brisk stroke, the University of Florida bounced back to college football respectability Saturday at Tampa Stadium, giving Pell his first victory as a Gator coach in a most unexpected and dramatic fashion.”

Senior wide receiver Cris Collinsworth, who spoke to reporters after all of the losses in 1979, continued his upbeat tone after the Gators’ blowout win, “If Bob Hewko can pick defenses apart like he did against California, we will go to the Sugar Bowl.”

Pell and the Gators smoked victory cigars—a tradition Pell carried over from his time at Clemson—and the unbeaten team traveled to Georgia Tech next.

September 20, 1980
Grant Field (Atlanta, GA)

The Yellow Jackets had parted ways with Pepper Rodgers after the 1979 season, and much like the Gators a year prior, 1980 would end up being a year of growing pains for new head coach and Georgia Tech alum Bill Curry.

Georgia Tech would go on to a 1-9-1 season that was oddly enough highlighted by a 3-3 tie in November against the No. 1 ranked Notre Dame team that would eventually face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Two early field goals and sloppy play from the Gators gave Georgia Tech an early 6-0 lead until a 22-minute lightning delay suspended the game with 13:22 left in the second quarter. After the delay, Pell and Florida didn’t waste any time and buried the Jackets. Quarterback Bob Hewko shook off a slow start and led the offense to three scores within eight minutes once play resumed. Fullback Terry Williams ran it in from 4 yards out, Hewko scored on a run of his own, and Hewko hit tight end Chris Faulkner for a touchdown to put Florida up 21-6.

In the third quarter, UF defensive end Tim Golden repeated his feat from the 1979 Georgia Tech game and scored on a pick-six. Clark then tacked on a field goal to give the Gators a 31-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Faulkner snagged another touchdown, and defensive back Ivory Curry returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown. Tech scored a meaningless touchdown late in the game and missed the two-point try. After the game, Pell said, “Everybody has a piece of this victory, and everyone has a share in the enjoyment. We had a curiosity among the coaches as to how our young team would react to being behind. We had that curiosity pleasantly answered. We learned another lesson about winning today.”

September 27, 1980
Florida Field (Gainesville, FL)

The Gators welcomed a tough Mississippi State team into Florida Field for the 1980 SEC opener. This wasn’t a typical year in Starkville. Second-year head coach Emory Bellard jumped out to a 3-0 start with wins over Memphis State, Louisiana Tech and Vanderbilt.

Later in the year, the Bulldogs would go on to beat No. 18 Miami on the road—the first of only six losses the Canes would suffer in the Orange Bowl throughout the 1980s—and knock out the two-time defending national champion, Alabama, in a 6-3 slugfest that ended with a Tide fumble inside the Mississippi State 5-yard line with less than 25 seconds remaining in fourth quarter.

The win over top-ranked Bama carried extra significance to Mississippi State, since it was their first victory over the Tide in 22 consecutive meetings and would be the only win over Alabama between 1957 and 1996.

Any other year, Bellard’s 9-2 Bulldogs would have been in great shape to win an SEC title by finishing 5-1 in conference play with wins against Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Ole Miss, but in 1980, Charley Pell’s Gators played the spoiler.

Mississippi State had entered the game against Florida averaging 317 yards rushing per game. “Nothing fancy about them,” said nose guard Robin Fisher in Tampa Tribune article by Craig Dolch. “They just come at you with some big, physical people.”

Mississippi State only managed 141 yards on 44 carries against Fisher and the Gators defense. Florida played a “bend but don’t break” style throughout the game and made key plays when needed.

Down 7-0 in the second quarter, the Bulldogs faced a 4th & 1 from the Florida 2-yard line. “We knew we had our backs to the wall,” defensive end David Galloway said.

Instead of relying on their steady run game, MSU quarterback John Bond rolled out to the right, but his receiver was knocked off course by UF cornerback Bruce Vaughan, and Bond was met by Gators linebacker Fernando Jackson in the backfield for a loss. “We knew from the films that State liked to throw out passes to their receivers around the goal line,” Vaughan said.

Florida’s offense also did its part. UF quarterback Bob Hewko led three scoring drives that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by fullback Calvin Davis, a 5-yard touchdown run by Hewko that was set up by a 23-yard completion to Collinsworth, and a 35-yard scoring strike from Hewko to wide receiver Johnny Gaffney, the uncle of Gator great Jabar Gaffney.

Leading 21-7 in the third quarter, the Bulldogs were once again threatening when safety Tim Groves shut down a Mississippi State drive with a critical interception at the Florida 15-yard line. Florida’s defense managed to keep State out of the end zone until running back George Wonsley ran it in with 2:05 remaining. The Bulldogs converted on a two-point attempt to cut the Florida lead to 21-15.

The Gators made it interesting and allowed Mississippi State to get the ball back and advance to the Florida 45-yard line, but time expired and Florida prevailed once again. “I hope the other folks down the line aren’t much tougher than Mississippi State was,” Pell said. “It was two hungry football teams going at each other, but we had enough pride to win.”

Statistically speaking, this was as close of a game as two teams could play.

“Every phase of the Florida football program did their part,” Pell continued. “One of my greatest thrills is to see them pull together like that. We’ve still some improving to do, but I’m so proud to see the progress we’ve made. There is no question this is the best team we’ve played this season. That was the hardest-hitting game I’ve seen in a bunch of whiles.”

October 4, 1980
Florida Field (Gainesville, FL)

Twelve fumbles, with five lost. That’s a recipe for disaster on most days, but somehow, LSU made it work on this day. The Tigers fumbled the opening kickoff and proceeded to fumble the first three center-quarterback exchanges to open the game. Yet LSU recovered each time.

First-year LSU head coach Jerry Stovall would go on to replace both the quarterback and the center on the next drive. Stovall, a 1962 All-American and Heisman runner-up, needed this win after the Tigers’ 2-2 start, which included a loss at Rice the week before LSU’s trip to Gainesville.

Florida didn’t miss any opportunity on its first drive to repay LSU’s generosity when starting quarterback Bob Hewko fumbled a snap and LSU nose guard George Atiyeh recovered on the Florida 31-yard line. LSU would cash in on the turnover with a 30-yard field goal by kicker Mark Johnston to take a 3-0 lead.

A Hewko interception later in the first quarter led to a 31-yard touchdown pass from Tigers quarterback Alan Risher to wide receiver Tracy Porter to put LSU up 10-0.

Florida’s rough start only got worse when Hewko’s day was cut short with a knee injury late in the first quarter. Charley Pell turned to backup quarterback Larry Ochab, and No. 19 Florida spent the rest of the game walking in the shoes of the 1979 Gators.

Ray Holliman of the St. Petersburg Times set the scene in the second half:

“Florida still had a chance to win thanks to LSU’s continuing giveaways, and the Gators did in fact cash in on one of the opportunities handed to them in the third quarter.

“LSU’s Eric Ellington fumbled a punt when smashed by freshman tight end Wilber Marshall, and David Norwood got it for the Gators at the Tigers’ 8. Ochab teamed with Cris Collinsworth, who played despite a thigh injury, for a 7-yard touchdown pass that pulled the Gators within 17-7 with 5:42 left in the third quarter.”

On the next LSU possession, running back Jude Hernandez fumbled on the second play of the drive. Florida defensive end Yancey Sutton jumped on the ball at the Tigers’ 20-yard line. The offense sputtered and settled for a 36-yard field goal attempt, but kicker Brian Clark pushed it right.

Back to Holliman’s piece:

“Two fumble recoveries later, Florida was in business again at its own 43 and was soon in LSU territory after a 17-yard run by [running back] Doug Kellom. But, on a third-and-2 from the 32, Ochab checked off a running play at the line of scrimmage and threw deep for [wide receiver] Curt Garrett. Garrett was open but dropped the ball, and on fourth down Pell decided to try Clark on a 48-yard field goal, which was both short and wide.

“Pell apparently was confused on the distance, ‘Clark has been very accurate from 38 yards out in practice all year, and we had a lot of confidence that he could kick it,’ he explained.”

An Ochab fumble would set up LSU running back Jesse Myles’ second touchdown run on the day. Myles torched the Gators with 148 yards on the ground. This feat is super impressive considering he only rushed for 403 yards and two touchdowns all season. Afterward, Stovall said, “It wasn’t a pretty victory by any means.”

Pell watched 1980’s fresh coat of paint wear off in one afternoon, and the fanbase had to be wondering how the rest of the season would play out after such an ugly performance.

October 18, 1980
Hemingway Stadium (Oxford, MS)

Florida had a bye week before its trip to Hemingway Stadium, but the Gators were hit with terrible news. Bob Hewko, who played a big part in the opening three wins, was diagnosed with a season-ending knee injury. Enter true freshman quarterback Wayne Peace.

Peace made a brief appearance in the LSU game, but with a bye week to fully prepare, Pell handed the reigns of the offense over to the 6’2”, 190-pound All-American out of Lakeland High School.

As reported in the Orlando Sentinel, Pell said, “I don’t know how much Peace will play, but we’re going to give him the chance to do some things. We’re not going to scatter if he has a bad series.” Freshman quarterback Roger Sibbald and senior quarterback Larry Ochab were available if Peace didn’t work out.

Peace got his chance against one of the worst defenses in the SEC. In the first month of the season, the Rebels (1-5) had allowed an average of 28 points per game.  “We plan to have two backs in the game most of the time,” Pell said. “We want to run the ball. I think we can run it.”

Pell was no stranger to starting freshman quarterbacks early in his tenure at Florida. The Gators had trotted out two freshman starting quarterbacks in 1979: Johnell Brown and Tyrone Young.

On the offensive side, Ole Miss quarterback John Fourcade was one of the best passers in the league, but the Gators had already shut down one of the top quarterback prospects in the country and felt their defense was up to the challenge.

A short kickoff and a pass-interference call on his first attempt helped get Peace off to a quick start on the Gators’ first drive of the game. The freshman added a 14-yard scramble off of a bootleg, but the drive stalled after two penalties (offsides and motion), and kicker Brian Clark bounced back with a field goal to put Florida up 3-0.

The defense held up its end of the bargain, and tied 3-3 late in the first half, Peace drove the Gators deep into Ole Miss territory but was once again relegated to a field goal after an offsides penalty. Florida was up 6-3 going into halftime.

Peace didn’t find the end zone in the second half, but three field goals and a defensive shutout of Ole Miss gave the Gators a 15-3 victory. Florida’s defense flustered Fourcade all game. Fourcade fumbled, was sacked, threw a pick and suffered two injuries that day. Pell’s game plan, held back a bit by offensive penalties, worked almost perfectly.

A year after playing a disastrous game of musical chairs with the quarterback position, Peace’s steady performance had to settle the minds of the team and fans going forward. Florida proved it could win without Bob Hewko, and this game started to set the tone for a resilient bounce-back season in Gainesville.

October 25, 1980
Florida Field (Gainesville, FL)

Florida welcomed the Louisville Cardinals in front of a homecoming crowd of 62,687.

The Louisville football program had only posted two winning seasons since Lee Corso’s departure after the 1972 season. First-year head coach Bob Weber started 0-3 with losses to Miami (24-10), Florida State (52-0) and Murray State (13-9) before winning three straight game heading into their first meeting with the Gators. The Cardinals’ roster was highlighted by linebacker Eddie “The Assassin” Johnson (a future Cleveland Brown) on defense and wide receiver Mark Clayton (future Miami Dolphins Ring of Honor member).

Gators quarterback Wayne Peace was 9-13 for 93 passing yards with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Cris Collinsworth, but the offensive highlight of the day was a pass from 1979 quarterback-turned-wide-receiver Tyrone Young, who returned from a four-game suspension.

The offense had practiced a reverse pass beforehand and used the trick play to catch the Cardinals off-guard. As reported in an Orlando Sentinel article before the game, Young said, “The last pass I threw was in last year’s homecoming game. When the fans see my arm go up, they’re going to boo me out of the stadium.”

On the opening drive, Florida had the ball on its own 48-yard line when Shanahan dialed up the trick play. Peace rolled left, gave the ball to Young, and just when it seemed like Young was going to run it around the right end, he stopped and lobbed a 40-yard pass downfield to a wide open Collinsworth, who was stopped immediately since the ball hung in the air for so long. After the game, Collinsworth joked, “I sang the national anthem waiting for it to come down.”

Two plays later, Collinsworth caught a touchdown pass from Peace to give the Gators an early 7-0 lead. A scoring attempt on Florida’s second drive of the game was derailed when fullback James Jones lost a fumble on the Louisville 3-yard line. “We lost some emotion then,” Pell said, as the Gators would rely almost entirely upon the defense the rest of the way. Florida managed to tack on a field goal in the second quarter to take a 10-0 lead into halftime.

Early in the third quarter, Louisville appeared to swing the momentum with a blocked punt that set the Cardinals up on the UF 8-yard line. A few plays later, Cardinals quarterback Pat Patterson lost the ball after being sacked by Florida defensive end David Galloway, and nose guard Robin Fisher recovered it on the UF 22-yard line. That’s as close as Louisville got that day.

Gators kicker Brian Clark addd another field goal in the fourth quarter, and Florida ground out a 13-0 victory. “It wasn’t pretty,” Pell said, “but it’s the first goose egg I can remember in a long time. It was nice to see [the zero] on the other side of the scoreboard.”

The Florida defense held Louisville to 166 total yards, but the feeling around the program was that this team had to improve in order to deal with the final stretch that included Auburn, Georgia, Florida State and Miami.

November 1, 1980
Florida Field (Gainesville, FL)

The Tampa Tribune’s sports section ran this headline on Sunday, November 2, 1980:

The Charley Pell era officially took off in this game. Pell had come to Florida to win the school’s first conference title, and for the first time since he arrived in Gainesville, the fans and media were beginning to believe.

An aggressive Florida defense forced five turnovers against Auburn. “It seemed like we ran up and down the field like gang-busters, then fumbled it away,” said Auburn head coach Doug Barfield, “We had our chances to win, but we just couldn’t up with the big play when we needed it.”

“In the Auburn locker room, they’re talking about all those turnovers,” said Pell. “But I’m here talking about a great defense.”

The Florida offense produced big plays to go along with long steady drives in one of their most balanced efforts of the season. Down 3-0 early after Auburn’s Al Del Greco kicked a field goal, Collinsworth set up the first touchdown with a 56-yard reception from Florida quarterback Wayne Peace. The Gators managed to piece together a 10-play, 72-yard drive in the second quarter to go ahead 7-3, and Collinsworth went on to catch six passes for 112 yards.

Auburn backup quarterback Joe Sullivan responded by hitting flanker Byron Franklin, who managed to evade four Florida defenders for a 40-yard touchdown completion that put the Tigers up 10-7 at the half.

Stellar Tigers running back James Brooks, who topped the 1,000-rushing-yards mark on the season with 163 yards on the ground, fumbled to open the second half. Florida marched 78 yards in six plays, and fullback James Jones ran it in from 9 yards to give the Gators a 14-10 edge.

Later in the third quarter, UF linebacker David Little intercepted Sullivan at the Florida 36-yard line, and Peace led a nine-play, 64-yard drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown scamper from 1979 quarterback-turned-tailback Johnell Brown.

The Gators rode the 21-10 lead the rest of the way, locking up a big victory in front of representatives from the Orange, Gator, Peach and Tangerine bowls. “The No. 1 thing in my mind this year was to play in a bowl,” said Collinsworth, “I’ve never played in one, and when I came here, I expected to go to four straight. Before the season started, I think a bowl was this team’s No. 1 goal. Now we’re getting close.”

“It was a great victory for Florida,” said Pell. “So many young men played their hearts out. They had to make the big play, and they did. We showed a little more explosiveness on offense. We stepped forward today.”

On the same day, Mississippi State sent shockwaves across the SEC with a 6-3 upset over the previously unbeaten and two-time defending national champions Alabama.

After a disastrous 1979 season, the Gators’ six-win turnaround started to draw notice, and Charley Pell had the team only two victories away from their first SEC title.

“There is nothing more thrilling and significant than us beating Auburn,” Pell said. “But we’re not going to enjoy and celebrate this long, because as soon as the door is closed, we’ll be working on them ‘Dogs.”

November 8, 1980
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)

Georgia entered the season ranked 16th, with 16 of the roster’s 24 seniors listed as starters. The seniors provided the Bulldogs with experience, but it was a freshman running back by the name of Herschel Walker that took Georgia to the next level.

Prior to 1980, Georgia claimed a national title in 1942, but I found that interesting because growing up in Columbus, Ohio, I recalled the Buckeyes also claimed the 1942 title. It turns out that Paul Brown’s 9-1 Buckeyes won the top ranking in the AP Poll, while Heisman winner Frank Sinkwich and the 11-1 Dawgs claimed a title after the lesser-known Berryman, Litkenhous, Poling and Williamson polls awarded Georgia their top ranking at the end of the year.

Interestingly, Georgia was the top-ranked team in these same polls in other years, but the Dawgs do not claim those national titles:

• Georgia was the top-ranked team in the Berryman poll in 1920, but the Dawgs do not claim to be the 1920 national champions.
• Georgia was the top-ranked team in the Berryman and Poling polls in 1927, but the Dawgs do not claim to be the 1927 national champions.
• Georgia was the top-ranked team in the Williamson poll in 1946, but the Dawgs do not claim to be the 1946 national champions.
• Georgia was the top-ranked team in the Litkenhous poll in 1968, but the Dawgs do not claim to be the 1968 national champions.

So why were these polls good enough to claim a national title in 1942, but not good enough to claim national titles in 1920, 1927, 1946 and 1968? I like to imagine the guy who decided Georgia would continue to count a 1904 win over Florida in the record books (though the Gators did not officially field a team until 1906) is the same individual who decided to claim the 1942 national title, but not stake any claim to the 1920, 1927, 1946, and 1968 titles.

Georgia’s math doesn’t add up, but thankfully, in 2020, nobody in Athens has had to solve the “to claim or not to claim” riddle regarding a national title in four decades. But I digress.

Prior to 1980, the Georgia Bulldogs held zero national title claims that did not rightfully belong on another team’s wall. But, despite that, Georgia had built a strong resume over the years. The Dawgs captured seven SEC titles between 1942 and Dooley’s third in 1976, good for second most (Tennessee had eight) among teams not named Alabama in SEC history. Georgia’s seven SEC titles during that stretch are very impressive when you consider that none of those titles yielded a single national title.

Times were different back then, and it would be unfair to expect Georgia to convert an SEC title into a single national title like Tennessee in 1951, or Auburn in 1957, or LSU in 1958, or Ole Miss in 1960, or Alabama in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978 and 1979. Voting was regionally biased and, with exception to those 10 instances between 1933 and 1979 (the SEC only averaged a national title once every 4.6 years in that time frame), it wasn’t like today, where the SEC champion was considered an automatic contender for a national title.

The 1980 Bulldogs were off to their first 8-0 start since 1971, but this team was battle tested. Aside from the stunning brilliance of freshman sensation Walker, Georgia fans enjoyed two nail-biting victories with memorable highlights in a one-point win to open the season at Tennessee and a late fumble by the 1980 Heisman winner in a three-point victory at home against South Carolina. Tennessee jumped out to an early 15-0 lead before Walker steamrolled longtime NFL special teams standout Bill Bates and led the Bulldogs to a 16-15 win in Knoxville.

In the week before the Florida game, No. 4 Georgia held a tenuous 13-10 lead deep in the fourth quarter when the tough No. 14 South Carolina drove into the UGA red zone. The Cocks turned and handed the ball off to eventual 1980 Heisman winner George Rodgers, who had sliced the Dawgs up for 167 yards on the ground to that point. Rodgers, returning one play after leaving the field with an injury, had the ball knocked loose, and the Bulldogs came up with the fumble recovery to secure the win.

Heading into this contest, Dooley owned a 10-5-1 record against Florida, winning seven of the previous nine games, including a 33-10 drubbing of Charley Pell’s first team in 1979. The big, bad Bulldogs might have rolled up into Jacksonville unbeaten, but the No. 20 Gators were ready. Let’s break this game down.

The First Quarter

Georgia opened with a first-down conversion on a short Walker run. On 1st & 10 from their own 28-yard line, the Bulldogs ran a toss sweep to the right, and thanks to excellent blocking and his own breakaway speed, Walker took it to the house with a 72-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs up 7-0.

UF quarterback Wayne Peace opened with a strike to wide receiver Spencer Jackson on the left side. Then, on the next play, Peace was once again right on the money, but this time the ball bounced off of Jackson’s chest and into the hands of Georgia senior defensive back Mike Fisher.

Quarterback Buck Belue and the Bulldogs took over on the Florida 41-yard line. Walker quickly moved the Bulldogs down to the Florida 26-yard line. On 2nd & 6, Belue dropped back and completed a short pass to senior flanker Anthony Arnold, but UF freshman defensive back Bruce Vaughan stripped Arnold, and sophomore defensive back Kyle Knight recovered the ball, giving Florida a massive defensive stand early in the game.

On 1st & 10, Peace took over at the Florida 21-yard line and hit wide receiver Curt Garrett for a 15-yard gain. Several plays later, Pell went for it on 4th & inches from the UF 46-yard line, and Peace snuck in for a first down. Two plays later, Peace rolled out left, stopped and fired a bullet to wide receiver Tyrone Young for about a 20-yard gain.

The drive stalled, and the Gators were forced to settle for a Brian Clark knuckleball field goal that the television announcers initially called no good.

Both teams traded punts, and Walker eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the run before Gators linebacker Fernando Jackson ripped his helmet off on a sweep to the left.

Later in the drive, on 3rd & 10, Belue hit wide receiver Lindsay Scott in the soft spot of the zone for about a 20-yard gain down the middle of the field, and the Dawgs took a 7-3 lead into the second quarter.

The Second Quarter

Facing a 3rd & 3 inside of the Florida 15-yard line, Georgia lined up with two fullbacks. Belue took the snap in a run-heavy set, rolled left and lofted a pass to running back Ronnie Stewart for a touchdown, giving Georgia a 14-3 lead about a minute into the second quarter.

Dooley dialed up an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but after a mad scramble, Florida came up with the recovery.

Two plays later, Peace rolled left and was stripped by UGA defensive end Jimmy Payne, who came in from the right side. UGA defensive tackle Eddie Weaver recovered the ball on the Florida 23-yard line.

The second turnover on the day left the Gators in dire straits. Walker bullied his way for 7 yards on the first and second downs as the Bulldogs faced 3rd & 3 from the Florida 16-yard line. Belue rolled to his left, and UF defensive back Ivory Curry stepped in front of the intended receiver, picked off the pass and returned it back to the Florida 29-yard line.

The Gators put together a few positive plays but shot themselves in the foot with penalties as the drive stalled out on the UGA 38-yard line. Facing a 4th & 10, Pell sent the punt team out with one wrinkle: Peace lined up under center in a punt formation.

It appeared to be nothing more than formational chess as Peace dropped back about 5 yards and off to the right well before the snap to serve as the punt protector. Tailback Johnell Brown, the left wingback, went in motion to the right, and as he crossed over the right wingback, the long snapper quickly snapped it to Peace. Peace rolled right as Brown streaked wide open along the right sideline, but the ball was underthrown, causing Brown to stop short of the first-down marker to attempt to make a catch on what would be an incomplete attempt.

The call was perfect. The play set up superbly. The execution was lacking, and Georgia took over on the Florida 38-yard line. A quick shot over to Pell showed a remarkably calm individual considering the circumstances, but the second-year head coach had to be fuming about that missed opportunity.

Pell didn’t have much time to dwell on the special teams failure as the defense once again forced another turnover after Walker coughed up a fumble. Florida’s John Whittaker exploded off of the line and drove a lineman into Walker’s arm, causing the ball to pop free, and UF defensive back Sonny Gilliam recovered it at the UGA 46-yard line.

Down 14-3, Florida opened the next drive with a reverse to Collinsworth for a 13-yard run down to the Georgia 33-yard line.

On the following play, fullback James Jones ran through two defenders for another Florida first down. Two plays later, Peace hit Collinsworth on a quick out to the left, and the senior, after jabbing at the fastball with one hand to deflect it up and make the catch, took it down to the Georgia 9-yard line with just over seven minutes remaining in the half.

Peace took the next snap under center, dropped back three steps and connected with Collinsworth on the right side of the end zone for a touchdown. The Gators narrowed the gap to 14-10.

Two nearly identical drives from both sides ended stalled with incompletions on deep pass attempts along the right sideline, though Florida’s Curt Garrett was clearly in.

Georgia started to put a bit of a drive together, but Florida freshman defensive back Vito McKeever intercepted another Belue pass, and the Gators took over at their own 20-yard line with under two minutes remaining in the half. Georgia went into the locker room with a 14-10 advantage, but the confident Gators had seized the momentum heading into the third quarter.

Halftime

The Third Quarter

Florida went three and out, and a mediocre punt gave Georgia great field position to start the second half. Walker pieced together a few excellent runs, and the Bulldogs drove deep into the Gators’ red zone.

On 3rd & Goal from the 9-yard line, Belue rolled right and fired toward a receiver near the pylon, but the pass was nearly intercepted, and the Dawgs were forced to settle for a field goal from kicker Rex Robinson to go up 17-10.

Pell went conservative on the following drive, running an option on third and long. A high punt gave Georgia possession near midfield, and Walker surpassed the 200-yard mark while nearly scoring from 19 yards out.

Fortunately for the Gators, he was tripped up by UF linebacker Fernando Jackson, and Georgia’s red zone nightmares continued. On 1st & Goal, Walker was stopped near the middle. On 2nd & Goal, Walker ran left down to the 2-yard line. On 3rd & Goal, Belue ran a play action, rolled right, stuck his foot in the ground and tried to run it into the end zone, but the Florida defense stopped the Georgia quarterback on the 2-yard line for another big stop in the red zone. The Bulldogs tacked on another field goal and went up 20-10 with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter.

Peace had two nice completions to Young and Garrett on the next drive, but a sack by UGA’s Jimmy Payne took the Gators off course. The Florida defense forced a three and out, and Georgia punted back to the Florida offense, which ran out the clock on the third quarter.

The Fourth Quarter

No. 2 Georgia started the fourth quarter up 10 points while their fellow first-in-the-SEC-standings counterpart, LSU, trailed Alabama by two touchdowns heading into the fourth quarter in Tuscaloosa. A win here would give the Dawgs sole possession of the top SEC ranking. Another gift for UGA fans on this point in the day: Georgia Tech (1-7) held a 3-0 lead over No. 1 Notre Dame while heading into the fourth quarter of their game. The Jackets would eventually go on to tie the Irish 3-3 and leave the No. 1 ranking up for grabs.

Cue Tyrone Young going beast mode. The Florida wide receiver broke three tackles on 3rd & 5 from the Florida 35-yard line and raced 54 yards down the left sideline down to the Georgia 11-yard line.

Fullback James Jones would get into the act on the next play, breaking a tackle, spinning to regain his balance and diving from several yards out into the end zone for an 11-yard rushing touchdown.

The Gators were now within four points, down 20-16, when Pell decided to go for two after a timeout. Why go for two in this situation? Overtime rules did not go into effect until the 1995–96 bowl season, and Charley Pell wanted to give Georgia hell.

He wasn’t playin’ for no stinkin’ ties. A tie with Georgia did nothing to help Florida in the SEC standings.

“No tie in Charley Pell’s thoughts today,” proclaimed Al Michaels as the Gators’ offense took the field to chants of “It’s Great to Be a Florida Gator” in the background. “He wants to set up a game-winning field goal, if he can.”

As Young moved from left to right, Peace took the snap under center, rolled right, dodged the UGA blitz and hit Young on the 1-yard line, who fell forward into the end zone for a successful two-point try. Georgia 20, Florida 18.

Georgia opened the next drive with another Walker run. He may have lost the ball at the end of the run, but take a moment to appreciate UF defensive back Ivory Curry’s valiant attempt to bring down a violent runner with a full head of steam.

The Florida defense managed to slow Walker on the next three downs, and Georgia was forced to punt. Peace trotted out and took over at the UF 24-yard line. Two plays after a first down run by Jones, Peace rolled left, planted, rolled right, dodged a defender and hit Collinsworth across the field on the opposite sideline at the UF 48-yard line.

Peace snuck ahead on 3rd & 1 to give the Gators a first down near midfield. A Jones run for little gain was followed by a quick play action to Jones and a completion to Young to move Florida down to the UGA 30-yard line.

Florida could not convert on 3rd & 4 from the UGA 24-yard line, and Clark came out onto the field for another field goal attempt. Clark kicked it from right to left, and as it went through the uprights, Florida had its first lead on the day, 21-20 with 6:52 left in fourth quarter.

As the Orange and Blue faithful celebrated, Michaels chimed in to set the stage: “The Florida Gators, who did not win a game in 1979, are trying to win their seventh in 1980. They lead Georgia by one.”

The Bulldogs opened the next drive with a false start. Walker didn’t have any room on 1st & 15; Belue threw it up for grabs deep over the middle on 2nd & 15; and on 3rd & 15, Belue threw a prayer up on the left side to Linsday Scott…but Lindsay did not catch…and Lindsay did not run. So, the punt team headed out onto the field to send it back to the Gators with 5:53 remaining.

Florida took over on its own 31-yard line. Jones ran up the middle for 5 yards on first down, up the middle again for 2 yards on second down, and on third down, Peace stood and fired a quick slant to Young for a first down. Young made a spectacular catch in traffic, and the Gators stayed in business with about 4.5 minutes to go in what was described to the television audience as, “a gutty call by Florida and perfect execution by Peace.”

An option to Jones left Florida with another third down. Peace rolled right, evaded pressure and, throwing off his back foot, completed the pass to Young. Despite a great performance on the day, Young seemed to have dropped the ball after he was hit, and Georgia quarterback Buck Belue attempted to assist the officials with a convincing incomplete call, but the ruling on the field was that Young was down before the fumble went out of bounds.

The big break helped the Gators burn more time off of the clock, and after three running plays, they were forced punt from their own 40-yard line.

Junior punter Mark Dickert wasn’t having a great day up until this point, when he angled his kick perfectly and pinned the Bulldogs at their own 8-yard line with 1:35 left to go in the game.

On first down, Belue ran a play action to Walker and was forced to scramble out of bounds by UF defensive end David Galloway along the right sideline for a 1-yard loss.

On 2nd & 11 from their own 7-yard line, Belue ran another play action to Walker, who rolled right, and fired an incomplete pass.

The dread is building. I’ve paused the game because I’m not ready for what’s coming next.

This would have been such an epic upset in year two of the Charley Pell era. One year before, this team did not manage to win a game and approximately one-half season later, Pell had the Gators on the brink of an upset over one of the best teams in the country that year. A win here would’ve put the Gators in the driver’s seat for their first SEC title.

Ok, time for our medicine. Let’s allow a young Chris Fowler and Georgia announcer, Larry Munson, to take it from here:

If you enjoy pain, here’s an in-depth look at the play from that team in red and black.

Much like the Bulldogs, a band by the name of Devo, dressed in red and black, also produced a one-hit wonder in 1980 and I feel their lyrics would have aptly applied to Pell and the Gators at this point in the season:

“When a problem comes along,
You must whip it…
When something’s going wrong,
You must whip it…
Crack that whip,
Give the past the slip…”

Pop culture at its finest circa Georgia’s last national title.