Georgia Bulldogs Flashback: April 28, 1997 Sparked A Return To Glory

April 28, 1997 was a dreary, wet, and somewhat cold day in Athens, GA as the Georgia Bulldogs competed in the annual G-Day Game before a crowd of less than 10,000. Those faithful fans braved both the elements and low expectations to see what might be in store for the 1997 version of their football team—a team that was coming off a 5-6 season and hadn't completed a winning one since 1994.

To say that people weren't expecting much was an understatement—bowl eligibility would have been a nice surprise.

The game ended up being an entertaining one—at least from an offensive standpoint—as the Red team clobbered the Black team 41-10 in a contest which saw 100+ yard rushing efforts from both Robert Edwards and Patrick Pass.

Edwards looked much improved from 1996. A season in which he seemed to struggle with ball control and didn't produce as many yards or as much excitement as many felt he might (Hmmm, a running back with a fumbling issue who is seeking redemption after a disappointing season? I smell a trend here). Patrick Pass offered a nice counter to what was shaping up to be a fine rushing attack.

On defense, sophomore Champ Bailey took advantage of his phenomenal ball skills and wowed the crowd by grabbing two of the team's four interceptions. It was very clear after that performance that Bailey was a star and Donnan let it be known that Bailey would see both sides of the ball that season—offense and defense.

At quarterback, Mike Bobo held a slight edge over redshirt freshman Mike Usry, but it was by no means a comfortable one. Donnan felt that Bobo's experience would be his biggest asset and Bobo's play that day at least offered a glimmer of hope for what was to come (12 of 17, for 157 yards, and two scores), but the crowd ran hot and cold on him all day—cheering when he made big plays, but booing when he failed to capitalize on others.

Imagine that, Bobo was a polarizing figure even back then—very interesting.


Bobo's response to the boo birds was classic, said the embattled QB at the time "...I don't worry about the fans. They're not out there playing, they're not out there practicing with me every day like my teammates. I want to do well for my teammates and my coaches and that's it".


This Georgia team was aiming to be something special in 1997 as they finally seemed to be heading in the right direction under head coach Jim Donnan.


That season did end up being just what the doctor ordered for Donnan's Dawgs as the team ended the year with a record of 10-2, including a big SEC win over the Florida Gators (the team that demoralized them by 40 points the year before), a Top 10 finish in both the AP and Coaches Polls, and a comfortable Outback Bowl victory over Wisconsin (33-6). 

It was a season to remember in Athens. Here's hoping the same type of resurgence is in store for 2011.

Dunta Robinson: "I Grew Up A Bulldog Fan..."

Falcon's defensive back, Dunta Robinson attended the University of South Carolina, had a better than average college football career (he was taken 10th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft), and is now a starter on the 11-2 Atlanta Falcons.
He was recently interviewed by The Post and Courier and one of the first things he was asked was how he, an Athens, GA native (Robinson was a three-sport start at Clarke Central High School) ends up playing football at South Carolina.

Said Robinson:

"The University of Georgia never offered me a scholarship. That's how. I grew up a Bulldogs fan. It was the first college team I fell in love with and had they offered me a scholarship, I would have gone there. But coach (Jim) Donnan didn't think I was good enough to play at Georgia. My senior year, they had a player I knew, not even a coach, ask me if I was interested in playing wide receiver. When I said, 'no' I never heard from them again."

Wow, hopefully, the Georgia Bulldogs are a lot better at scouting the local talent now, than they were under Jim Donnan's watch.

Georgia Bulldogs Football: Has Mark Richt Stopped Expecting "Perfection" from His Team—Self?

This post may seem odd given the fact that the Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a 55-7 drubbing of the Idaho State Bengals. After all, a win is a win, Georgia did what they were expected to do by pounding an inferior opponent.

However, before we go talking about what Georgia has to do to beat Auburn, something that many fans (on both sides) don't feel the Bulldogs are capable of doing this weekend, we should answer the simple question of whether or not coach Richt has stopped expecting perfection from his players?

There was a time when anything less was unacceptable to him.

As a young man of 40 years, coming from an environment (Florida State) where winning meant everything, coach Richt didn't like to settle for average seasons. He wanted national championships, division titles, and Top 25 finishes—every year.

That's what he preached and that's what he felt his team could do if they executed perfectly each and every week.

Are those standards still present now?

Let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we? The time and place, July 2001, Birmingham, AL—SEC Media Days. Coach Richt was in his first season as the Georgia Bulldogs head coach and he chose Curt McGill, Georgia's starting center, as one of the team's representatives.

McGill, green to the nuances of handling such a large media contingency, was open and honest about the differences between his former coach, Jim Donnan, and the new guy—Mark Richt.

The most interesting parts reveal some startling similarities between the Jim Donnan of 2000 and the
perception some now hold of Mark Richt:

"In the past, you'd get to know how a coach was going to be and how far you had to go for him,'' McGill said... I felt guys rested on their laurels a little bit thinking, 'I played a lot last year, I won't have to push myself hard because I'll be guaranteed a spot next year.' With new coaches, that all changed."

He said Richt expects more out of his players than Donnan ever did.

Hmm...where have we seen that sense of entitlement before? It's definitely reared it's ugly head several times in the last few years (refusal to sit Bryan Evans, redshirting Knowshon Moreno, keeping Aaron Murray on the bench in light of Joe Cox's struggles, etc.).

At some point, coach Richt seemed more intent on giving the veterans their time to shine—regardless to better alternatives—rather than rolling the dice on the guy who was performing at a higher level.

Another interesting tidbit from the interview was in regards to how important it was that the team be accountable on every play. Coach Richt expected "perfection" and he required hard work and concentration from every man on the football field:

The example McGill used was running "perfect plays" that they must now run every day in practice.
   "We do them over and do them over until we get them right, which is a big key,'' McGill said. "I felt like last year if something went wrong our concentration would slip and the other team would take advantage of it. These new coaches saw that on film and are drilling that in our heads."
   McGill said the attitude has changed from being self-centered to a team concept. He said he saw it take place with the off-season mat drills, which he called "the toughest thing I've ever done in my life.
   "If one person messes up, the whole group goes back, and then you kind of get on each other,'' McGill said. "You say, 'You can't slack off or we're going to do it again.' I guess that carries over to the game [emphasis added]. If they get a penalty or mess up a play, that hurts everybody. That's the whole idea."

Imagine that, a team where accountability and responsibility are part of the team mentality.

Has Mark Richt's philosophy changed or has everyone else in the SEC gotten that much better?

Perhaps it's both and the effect of that transition is a team that struggles to make it to bowl contention and a coach whom some feel has lost his winning touch over the last three-years.

Either way, at present, this is still a team that is searching for answers about who they are and who they can be.

Their next chance to show the world what they are made of comes this Saturday against the Auburn Tigers. And, despite what many believe, they have the talent, the coaching, and the ability to win this game—they just need a little more perfection.