PAT’s WEEKLY STAT (You Won’t Find Anywhere Else): So impressed I was with the Bulldogs’ 48-play, 164-yard, 6-first down defensive performance against Missouri, I decided to research where each of the statistics ranked in Georgia football history, or at least what “history” was readily available.
The athletic department began releasing official play counts on a game-by-game basis beginning with the 1989 season. Over the last 26+ seasons, Missouri’s 48 offensive plays rank as the ninth-lowest against a Georgia team:
37—Auburn, 2006
43—Missouri, 2014
45—Tennessee, 2008
46—Marshall, 2004
47—Ole Miss, 1999
47—Tennessee Tech, 2009
47—Vanderbilt, 2010
47—Kentucky, 2013
9th) 48—Missouri, 2015
Often in basketball, statistics are specifically “during the shot-clock era.” Similarly, the era of college football from the late 1960s to the present could be called the “stop-clock era” because before 1968, the clock did not stop upon a team gaining a first down. When the rule was implemented, the average number of plays, yardage, and first downs per game in major college football all increased roughly 15 percent. During the stop-clock era, I found that the 164 yards Georgia yielded to Missouri ranks as the program’s 22nd lowest:
55—Tennessee Tech, 2009
86—Auburn, 1968
99—TCU, 1980
112—Coastal Carolina, 2011
128—Louisiana-Lafayette, 2010
132—South Carolina, 1998
137—Clemson, 1970
139—Arkansas, 2002 SECC
140—Vanderbilt, 2010
t-22nd) 164—Missouri, 2015
Finally, the six first downs the Tigers gained ranks as notably the third-lowest allowed by a Georgia team during the stop-clock era:
5—Auburn, 1968
5— Louisiana-Lafayette, 2010
3rd) 6—Missouri, 2015
7— Clemson, 1970
7— Kentucky, 1972
7— Cincinnati, 1976
7— TCU, 1980
7— Marshall, 2004
7— Coastal Carolina, 2011
**********
ON THIS DATE – October 21st: Georgia has an 11-5-1 all-time record on 10/21. Memorable games on this date include the Red and Black’s only victory over Virginia in the series’ first seven meetings from the late 1890s through 1920: a 13-7 upset by Georgia over the Cavaliers in Charlottesville in 1916.
On October 21, 1978, Georgia defeated Vanderbilt on Homecoming, 31-10, but it was the game’s halftime show which gained the most attention. The Redcoat Band performed for what was determined to be the first time a wedding took place during a football halftime intermission. The couple—both 20 years old and from Marietta, Ga.—were married in a short, but legal ceremony conducted by a Baptist minister.
And, the next-to-last time the Bulldogs played on October 21st featured a remarkable starting quarterback debut by perhaps the unlikeliest of all of Georgia’s starting quarterbacks in recent memory. Filling in for the injured Quincy Carter on October 21, 2000, sophomore Cory Phillips completed 20 of 38 passes for 400 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in a 34-30 win at Kentucky.
The athletic department began releasing official play counts on a game-by-game basis beginning with the 1989 season. Over the last 26+ seasons, Missouri’s 48 offensive plays rank as the ninth-lowest against a Georgia team:
37—Auburn, 2006
43—Missouri, 2014
45—Tennessee, 2008
46—Marshall, 2004
47—Ole Miss, 1999
47—Tennessee Tech, 2009
47—Vanderbilt, 2010
47—Kentucky, 2013
9th) 48—Missouri, 2015
Often in basketball, statistics are specifically “during the shot-clock era.” Similarly, the era of college football from the late 1960s to the present could be called the “stop-clock era” because before 1968, the clock did not stop upon a team gaining a first down. When the rule was implemented, the average number of plays, yardage, and first downs per game in major college football all increased roughly 15 percent. During the stop-clock era, I found that the 164 yards Georgia yielded to Missouri ranks as the program’s 22nd lowest:
55—Tennessee Tech, 2009
86—Auburn, 1968
99—TCU, 1980
112—Coastal Carolina, 2011
128—Louisiana-Lafayette, 2010
132—South Carolina, 1998
137—Clemson, 1970
139—Arkansas, 2002 SECC
140—Vanderbilt, 2010
t-22nd) 164—Missouri, 2015
Finally, the six first downs the Tigers gained ranks as notably the third-lowest allowed by a Georgia team during the stop-clock era:
5—Auburn, 1968
5— Louisiana-Lafayette, 2010
3rd) 6—Missouri, 2015
7— Clemson, 1970
7— Kentucky, 1972
7— Cincinnati, 1976
7— TCU, 1980
7— Marshall, 2004
7— Coastal Carolina, 2011
**********
ON THIS DATE – October 21st: Georgia has an 11-5-1 all-time record on 10/21. Memorable games on this date include the Red and Black’s only victory over Virginia in the series’ first seven meetings from the late 1890s through 1920: a 13-7 upset by Georgia over the Cavaliers in Charlottesville in 1916.
On October 21, 1978, Georgia defeated Vanderbilt on Homecoming, 31-10, but it was the game’s halftime show which gained the most attention. The Redcoat Band performed for what was determined to be the first time a wedding took place during a football halftime intermission. The couple—both 20 years old and from Marietta, Ga.—were married in a short, but legal ceremony conducted by a Baptist minister.
And, the next-to-last time the Bulldogs played on October 21st featured a remarkable starting quarterback debut by perhaps the unlikeliest of all of Georgia’s starting quarterbacks in recent memory. Filling in for the injured Quincy Carter on October 21, 2000, sophomore Cory Phillips completed 20 of 38 passes for 400 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in a 34-30 win at Kentucky.
