The history of laying an egg
The Georgia team laid an egg Saturday which left the Bulldog faithful in dismay.
Eventually the bubble bursts for undefeated teams, but when it happens you want less humiliation than the Bulldogs suffered before the CBS cameras at Auburn.
Every team has humiliating moments.
Think of what life is likely to be with the New England Patriots when Tom Brady succumbs to the ravages of time?
When did Tiger Woods win his last major?
You know the Hall of Fame highlight of the Braves’ Tom Glavine who won 305 games. Are you aware of how many games he lost?
A friend of his produced golf balls that had two statistics — the numerals 47, which was Glavine’s number, on one side of the ball, and on the other side the number 203, which represented the total games he lost.
That, Glavine said, sure keeps him humble.
We will now find out how this
Georgia team handles adversity.
When it comes to adversity, nobody is immune. The Bulldogs, like all teams, have laid an egg in the past. Some examples:
The undefeated “Dream and Wonder” team lost to Georgia Tech 12-0 in 1927, losing a Rose Bowl opportunity, but won the national championship anyway. The best result of this loss was that Dr. S.V. Sanford vowed to build the classiest stadium in the south so that the Bulldogs would enjoy home field advantage between the hedges. Georgia’s record versus the Yellow Jackets in Sanford Stadium is a sparkling 27-15- 1.
In 1942, undefeated and No. 1 ranked Georgia was upset in Columbus by Auburn, 27-13. The good news was a trouncing of Tech 34-0 to bring about a Rose Bowl invitation, which led to a 9-0 victory over UCLA and a national championship.
In 1959, the Dawgs laid an egg at Columbia, losing to South Carolina 30-14 but winning the SEC title, which was followed by a 14-0 victory in the Orange Bowl over Missouri.
The 1976 team laid an egg in Oxford, losing to Ole Miss, 21-17 but won the SEC title.
The 1983 Dawgs lost Herschel, who signed a contract with the New Jersey Generals, leaving Georgia without a substantial running back. Nonetheless, Georgia came within a game of winning the conference title.
In 2002, Georgia was on the way to an undefeated season, but lost to Florida in Jacksonville, 20-13, but still won the SEC title. Coach Mark Richt defeated his old team, Florida State, in the Sugar Bowl and finished ranked No. 3 in the country.
This team can finish strong and enjoy a serendipitous season.
It, for sure, will play for the SEC title. It is an overachieving team which, perhaps, is ahead of schedule.
The team does not have the maturity and physicality to match up favorably with heavyweights.
However with cogent coaching and a savvy attitude, it has won the hearts of the Georgia constituency.
It has unfinished business, but good news could follow this team into January.
Before you sound the alarm, this season is not over yet and the scrambling of top-ranked football teams is likely to continue with rivalry games coming up.