Bulldogs

CFP National Championship Game Tale of the Tape

January 8, 2018 By Jim Weathersby Leave a Comment

The 2017 season’s College Football Playoff National Championship game will feature two teams from the Southeastern Conference. This year marks the first time two teams from the same conference will meet in the title game in the short history of the CFP. The combatants are the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Each team has a rich history. The following contains some facts about each school: first football season, overall record, national championships (Awarded by the Associated Press and/or the designated coaches’ poll at the time. Claimed titles while on probation do not count.), conference titles, consensus All-Americans (players voted first team, second team, or third team by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, the Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation), players and coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, and Heisman Trophy winners.

Alabama

First Season: 1892

Overall Record: 890-327-43

National Championships: 16

Conference Titles: 30

Consensus All-Americans: 69

College Hall of Famers: 23

Heisman Trophy Winners: 2

2. Georgia

First Season: 1892

Overall Record: 808-419-54

National Championships: 2

Conference Titles: 15

Consensus All-Americans: 33

College Hall of Famers: 17

Heisman Trophy Winners: 2

The game will feature head coaches that know each other very well: the teacher (Alabama’s Nick Saban) and the pupil (Georgia’s Kirby Smart). Smart worked for Saban as an assistant coach for 11 years. The odds makers have made the Crimson Tide a 3.5 point favorite, and the game should be an old fashioned donnybrook. Make no mistake about it—blood, sweat, and tears will accompany this game. Fierce battles will take place in the trenches. Spectacular plays will be made on both sides of the ball. The coaches will be on edge and quick to anger. The tension will mount with each play as the game progresses. Only one team will walk away victorious. Will it be the Crimson Tide or the Dawgs? Whoa Nellie! Let’s bring it on!

Filed Under: College Football, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Bulldogs, Crimson Tide, Dawgs, Kirby Smart, Nick Saban, University of Alabama, University of Georgia

Alabama-Georgia Gridiron History

January 7, 2018 By Jim Weathersby 1 Comment

While the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia do not play football against the other every year, the games seem to have conference and national implications when they do meet. This time the two schools meet Monday in arguably the biggest of them all–the College Football Playoff national championship game from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game will mark the 68^th meeting between the two schools; Alabama leads the series 38-25-4 while averaging 16.8 points per game to Georgia’s 12.1.

The series dates back to 1895 when Georgia defeated Alabama 30-6 in Columbus, Georgia. Alabama earned its first victory over the Bulldogs in a 1904 game in Tuscaloosa with a 16-5 victory. The two schools, between 1895 and 1930, played in six different cities—Athens, Atlanta, Birmingham, Columbus, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. Interestingly, Georgia was Alabama’s first opponent in the Birmingham Fairgrounds (1905), Cramton Bowl (1922) in Montgomery, and Legion Field (1927) in Birmingham. Alabama was the home team for 21 of the first 25 games.

Many of the games have been memorable. Joe Namath made his debut against the Bulldogs in 1962, a 35-0 win at Legion Field. Georgia executed a hook-and-ladder play to defeat the Tide in 1965 in Athens by the score of 18-17. Alabama quarterback Jay Barker dueled with Georgia quarterback Eric Zeier in the 1994 game won by the Tide in Tuscaloosa, 29-28, and Georgia kicker Billy Bennett hit a game-winning field in 2002 for Georgia’s first victory in Tuscaloosa, 27-25. The last time the Bulldogs and Tide met in Tuscaloosa, 2007, Matthew Stafford hit Mikey Henderson for a 25-yard touchdown in overtime to lift Georgia to a thrilling 26-23 victory.

Yet arguably the greatest game in the series, and the one with the most at stake for the teams, took place in 2012 during the Southeastern Conference Championship game in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Alabama was ranked second in the polls while Georgia was third. The Tide took a 10-7 lead into halftime behind a Jeremy Shelley field goal on the last play of the half. The game appeared to be a tough SEC defensive battle, then the second half unfolded as an offensive display of power from the two behemoths. Georgia took the second half kickoff and marched down the field. Bulldog running back Todd Gurley ran the ball seven times, including the final three yards to give the Bulldogs a 14-10 lead. The Tide then held the ball for more than five and a half minutes before calling on Cade Foster to boot a 50-yard field goal, but Georgia’s Cornelius Washington blocked the kick and teammate Alec Ogletree returned the ball 55 yards for a touchdown. Georgia led 21-10. Alabama then drove the field behind the passing of quarterback AJ McCarron and the running of T.J. Yeldon. Yeldon bulled his way the final 10 yards to the end zone and carried again for the 2-point conversion that pulled Alabama within 21-18.

After Georgia punted on its ensuing drive, Alabama used running backs Eddie Lacy and Yeldon to march to the Georgia one-yard line as the third quarter ended. On the first play of the final period, Lacy covered the final yard that gave the Tide a short-lived 25-21 lead.

During Georgia’s next possession, quarterback Aaron Murray hit receiver Tavarres King for 45 yards and Gurley scored from the 10-yard line to put Georgia back ahead, 28-25. The drive took less than two minutes.

McCarron gave Alabama the lead for good at the 3:15 mark after a 45-yard scoring strike to Amari Cooper. Down 32-28, Georgia summoned the red and black spirits of past gridiron greats and marched back down the field through and over the Tide defense. Murray hit Arthur Lynch for 15 yards, then 23 to King, and again to Lynch for 26. The ball rested at the Alabama eight-yard line as the clock ticked down and the Bulldogs out of timeouts. With nine seconds to play, Murray dropped back looking for the end zone and a victory that would go down as one of the greatest in Georgia history. Instead, a defender tipped Murray’s pass and Chris Conley caught the ball before falling at the five-yard line. As Murray hurried his teammates to the line for another play, the clock struck zero. Alabama escaped and later destroyed Notre Dame for the national championship.

The 68^th installment of this great series will take place in the stadium that replaced the Georgia Dome. Odds are that fans on both sides will be breathing heavily and have hearts racing by game’s end, much like the 2012 classic. Roll Tide and Go Dawgs!

Filed Under: College Football, Rivalries Tagged With: Aaron Murray, AJ McCarron, Alabama, Alec Ogletree, Amari Cooper, Arthur Lynch, Billy Bennett, Bulldogs, Cade Foster, Chris Conley, College Football Playoff national championship game, Cornelius Washington, Crimson Tide, Eddie Lacey, Eric Zeier, Georgia, Georgia Dome, Jay Barker, Jeremy Shelley, Joe Namath, Legion Field, Matthew Stafford, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Mikey Henderson, Sanford stadium, SEC Championship game, T.J. Yeldon, Tavarres King, Todd Gurley

UGA, The Goat and Other Interesting Facts about the University of Georgia’s Nickname and Mascots

January 4, 2018 By Jim Weathersby 5 Comments

Courtesy of Beussery at English Wikipedia

The University of Georgia’s official nickname is the “Bulldogs,” and has a live bulldog named “UGA” that roams the sidelines during football games. However, the school, during its athletic history, has had several different monikers and live mascots.

Some people believe that the University of Georgia took its nickname from the Yale University Bulldogs. Georgia’s first president, Abraham Baldwin, graduated from Yale, but no definitive evidence can be found that Georgia adopted the bulldog moniker from Yale. Before 1920, University of Georgia sports teams had nicknames such as the “Crackers,” the “Wildcats,” and the “Bulldogs.” Morgan Blake is credited with the call for the “Bulldogs” as the permanent nickname for the school. In a November 3, 1920 article in the Atlanta Journal, Blake wrote, “The Georgia Bulldogs would sound good because there is a certain dignity about a bulldog, as well as ferocity.” Several days later in the Atlanta Constitution, Cliff Wheatley used the name “Bulldogs” five times in his piece about the Georgia-Virginia game that ended in a 0-0 tie in Charlottesville.

The UGA live bulldog story began in earnest in 1956 when Georgia alumnus Frank “Sonny” Seiler took an English bulldog to the first home football game that season. Apparently impressed with the dog, Georgia coach Wally Butts asked Seiler if he would allow the dog to become the school’s official mascot. From a suggestion from a college friend, the dog became known as “UGA.” That dog took the official name of UGA I and Mr. Seiler has provided the dog’s offspring to serve as the official UGA mascot since then. Currently, UGA X roams the sidelines.

UGAs that have passed on have their remains placed in a mausoleum located at the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium. A eulogy and a brief description of a dog’s time as UGA are etched on a plaque under each dog’s respective tomb. A bronze, life-sized UGA statue guards the entrance to the mausoleum.

UGA can be seen at every home football game and some road games, as well as other sporting events and school functions. The dog normally wears a spiked collar and a red jersey with a “G” on the front. The jersey is made of the same material as that of the human jerseys. However, the school, which has played football since 1892, has had a few other live mascots over the years.

The first was “The Goat” in 1892. The animal first appeared at the Mercer game on January 30, 1892 and the initial Auburn game on February 22. The Goat donned a black coat with red letters “U. G.” on each side.

Trilby, a white Bull Terrier, owned by student Charles Black, Sr. came to games in 1894. After Trilby no animal earned the distinction of “official mascot” until the 1944 season.

From 1944-46, Mr. Angel, a brindle-and-white English bulldog, assumed the official mascot reins. Butch and Tuffy, English bulldogs, took over in 1947. Tuffy passed after the Kentucky game in 1948, after which Butch manned (dogged) the sidelines until after the 1951 season. Keeping with the English bulldog tradition, Mike assumed the official mascot mantle from 1951-1955, then handed the scepter (bone) to Frank Seiler’s UGA I the next season.

The University of Georgia has a proud athletic tradition and one that includes a goat, a bull terrier, and a litter of bulldogs. Go Dawgs!

Filed Under: College Football, College Traditions Tagged With: Bulldogs, Butch and Tuffy, Charles Black, Dawgs, English bulldog, Frank "Sonny" Seiler, Mr. Angel, Sanford stadium, Sr., the Goat, Trilby, UGA, UGA I, UGA X, University of Georgia

The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

October 27, 2017 By Jim Weathersby 1 Comment

The moniker for the University of Florida Gators-University of Georgia Bulldogs football series came from Florida Times-Union sportswriter Bill Kastelz in the 1950s. He remembers walking in Jacksonville near the Gator Bowl, now EverBank Field, before one of the games and seeing an inebriated fan offering a policeman a drink. Kastelz also noticed fans using binocular cases to carry a flask and that many fans were openly drinking adult beverages while being ignored by police and other authorities. In front of his typewriter after the game, Kastelz thought the appropriate name for the annual affair was, “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” While the party roars outside the stadium and in the stands, the teams wage a war on the field reminiscent of the days of the Roman Empire—fierce, tactical, and merciless.

One of the great Deep South rivalries finds Georgia leading 49-43-2, but Florida currently holds the victor’s trophy, the Okefenokee Oar. The longest winning streak in the series for both schools is seven: Florida from 1990-1996 and Georgia from 1941-1948.

Georgia dominated the series before the 1950s. Led by Bulldog greats such as Bob McWhorter, David Paddock, Tom Nash, and Chick Shiver, UGA outscored the Gators in six games from 1915 to 1927, 190 to 9.

The Gators recorded their first two victories over Georgia in 1928, 26-6, and 1929, 18-6, but the 1930s witnessed total Bulldog domination. Led by Coach Harry Mehre and College Football Hall of Fame players Vernon “Catfish” Smith, Frank Sinkwich, and Bill Hartman, the Bulldogs won eight of nine contests. Also during this decade, Jacksonville became the permanent home of the series (1933). College Football Hall of Fame coach Wally Butts continued the Bulldog supremacy through the 1940s with victories in seven of the nine games.

Under Mehre and Butts in the 1930s and 1940s, UGA enjoyed some of its greatest success on the gridiron. Georgia dominated Florida and the rest of their opponents, compiling a .640 winning percentage. UGA also won three conference titles, one national championship, and had twelve All-Americans on these teams. Florida, on the other hand, was in disarray during this same time period. None of UF’s five coaches stayed more than five years. The school won no titles and had no All-Americans. However, Florida changed its gridiron fortunes beginning in the 1950s.

Florida governor and grad Fuller Warren spearheaded a campaign to improve the plight of the UF football program in 1950. The school hired away Bob Woodruff from Baylor to become head coach for $17,000 a year, the highest salary of any state employee at that time. Woodruff convinced the administration to increase Florida Field capacity to 40,000, increase the salaries of assistant coaches, and allow the athletic department to be fully autonomous.

As Woodruff recruited better football players—Charlie LaPradd, Joe D’Agostino, John Barrow, Vel Heckman, for example–the Gators began to turn the tide in the Georgia rivalry. Florida won the series against the Bulldogs in the 1950s with a 6-4 mark. The rivalry was now on.

Neither school enjoyed much success on the gridiron from 1960-1965, but the 1966 game marked the first time both schools had title aspirations. Under Hall of Fame coach Ray Graves and a young quarterback by the name of Steve Spurrier, the Gators came into the Georgia game undefeated and ranked number seven in the country. The Bulldogs, under third-year Hall of Fame coach Vince Dooley, had lost only to the University of Miami by a single point. Georgia boasted a ferocious defense led by Jake Scott, Bill Stanfill and George Patton. UGA harassed Spurrier and the favored Gators the entire first half but trailed 10-3 at halftime. The second half belonged to the Bulldogs. Georgia’s defenders began to sack Spurrier and the offense mounted a lethal ground game. Georgia waltzed off the Gator Bowl field with a 27-10 victory. As Spurrier walked off the field, a Bulldog fan barked to the future Heisman trophy winner, “There he goes, Mr. Quarterback. Some quarterback.”

With both programs sporting perennial winners, the series saw the Gators take the 1960s with a 7-3 record while Georgia won the 1970s with the same record. Georgia continued to beat the Gators in the 1980s under Vince Dooley and such superstars as Herschel Walker, Terry Hoage, Jimmy Payne, Kevin Butler, and Tim Worley, as the Bulldogs won eight out of the ten meetings. Arguably, the most exciting game in the decade and the entire series took place in 1980.

With about one minute and twenty seconds left in the game, Florida led Georgia 21-20 and had the Bulldogs backed up to their own 7-yard line. Georgia quarterback Buck Belue rolled out, dodged a couple of defenders, and hit receiver Lindsay Scott with a pass. Scott reversed his field and eluded the Gator defense for a 93-yard touchdown that gave Georgia the lead and eventual victory, 26-21. Legendary Bulldog broadcaster Larry Munson became famous for his “Run, Lindsay, run…” call of the play. The victory over the Gators maintained Georgia’s undefeated record on the way to the national championship.

The series began to turn the Gators’ way when future Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier took the helm in 1990. The Gators dominated the decade with nine wins out of ten against the Bulldogs. The Gators were led by such greats as Errict Rhett, Ike Hilliard, Danny Wuerffel, Jacquez Green and Jevon Kearse. Before leaving to coach the Washington Redskins after the 2001 season, Spurrier compiled an 11-1 record against Georgia coaches Ray Goff, Jim Donnan, and Mark Richt. Many of these games were Florida blow outs. However, the 1993 game proved to be one of the more dramatic ones in the Spurrier era.

Georgia entered the game against the nationally-ranked Gators with a mediocre team led by quarterback Eric Zeier and future All-Pro running back Terrell Davis. UF freshman quarterback and future Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel struggled with the football in the rain. Backup Terry Dean led Florida to 10 unanswered points for a 23-20 halftime lead. The Gators maintained the lead throughout the second half and with the score 33-26 Zeier led UGA to the Gator 12-yard line with five seconds left. The Bulldogs thought they had scored a touchdown on the next play but the referees ruled Florida defensive back Anthone Lott had called timeout. During the next play Lott was called for pass interference, but on the last play of the game Zeier threw incomplete to cement the Gator victory.

As the century changed, the Bulldog fortunes in the series remained the same—defeats to Florida. The Gators amassed a record of 9-1 against Georgia from 2001-2010. Florida struggled under Coach Ron Zook to win games, but Richt could only beat him once in three tries. UF terminated the embattled Zook after three seasons and hired another future Hall of Fame coach, Urban Meyer. Meyer lost to Richt once in six contests. One memorable Florida victory under Meyer took place in 2008.

Georgia entered that season as the number one ranked team in the country led by such superstars as quarterback Matthew Stafford, running back Knowshon Moreno, and receiver A.J. Green. The teams entered the game with one loss apiece. Stafford threw three interceptions after halftime and Florida scored five unanswered touchdowns in the second half to cruise to a 49-10 win. Meyer called two timeouts with less than a minute remaining to allow his players more time to celebrate. According to Martin Gitlin, author of The Greatest College Football Rivalries of All Time, Meyer called the timeouts in response to Richt ordering his players in the 2007 game to take an excessive celebration penalty after the Bulldogs’ first touchdown. Meyer, according to Gitlin, had not forgotten that Bulldog celebration and wanted the team to avenge the loss in the way that they did.

Florida leads the series in the current decade four games to three, and this year’s battle will be the second meeting between Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Florida coach Jim McElwain. The coaches and players change but the rivalry continues to rage on.

As the teams embark on another chapter of the game by the St. John’s River, let’s raise our cocktail glasses to salute one of the Deep South’s classic gridiron rivalries. Here’s to the players, coaches, and fans who make college football the greatest game in the world—Salute!, Sante!, Prost!, Cheers!

Products from Amazon.com

‹ ›

Filed Under: College Football, Rivalries Tagged With: A.J. Green, Anthone Lott, Bill Hartman, Bill Kastelz, Bill Stanfill, Bob McWhorter, Bob Woodruff, Buck Belue, Bulldogs, Charlie LaPradd, Chick Shiver, Danny Wuerffel, David Paddock, Eric Zeier, EverBank Field, Frank Sinkwich, Fuller Warren, Gator Bowl, Gators, George Patton, Harry Mehre, Herschel Walker, Jacksonville, Jake Scott, Jim Donnan, Jim McElwain, Jimmy Payne, Joe D'Agostino, John Barrow, Kevin Butler, Kirby Smart, Knowshon Moreno, Larry Munson, Lindsay Scott, Mark Richt, Matthew Stafford, Ray Goff, Ray Graves, Ron Zook, St. John's River, Steve Spurrier, Terrell Davis, Terry Dean, Terry Hoage, Tim Worley, Tom Nash, University of Florida, University of Georgia, Urban Meyer, Vel Heckman, Vernon "Catfish" Smith, Vince Dooley

Paul Johnson Has Work to Do

December 11, 2015 By Jim Weathersby Leave a Comment

Photo by Michael Schneider

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Coastal Division has some new and powerful blood among the coaching ranks, which just made Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson’s job much more difficult. Unless Johnson recruits better players and/or hires better coaches, his time at Tech may come to an end sooner than later. Johnson has coached the Yellow Jackets since 2008, has compiled a 61-44 overall record, and a 38-26 mark in the Coastal Division, finishing first or second six out of his eight seasons on the Flats.

The new coaches in the division are Mark Richt at the University of Miami, Justin Fuente at Virginia Tech, and Bronco Mendenhall at the University of Virginia. Before examining some statistics from Johnson’s eight years at Tech, a brief examination of how Johnson has fared against the current coaches in the Coastal Division requires an examination.

Johnson has a record of 6-2 against David Cutcliffe at Duke University, but Cutcliffe has won the last two meetings against Johnson’s Yellow Jackets. Larry Fedora of the University of North Carolina, fresh off the 2015 Coastal Division title, is 2-2 versus Johnson, with wins the last two years. Pat Narduzzi came to the University of Pittsburgh before the 2015 season after a long and successful run as the defensive coordinator at Michigan State University. From 2011-2014, Narduzzi’ s Michigan State defenses were the only ones ranked every year in the Football Bowl Subdivision Top 10 in total defense and rushing defense. In Narduzzi’s first season, he led Pitt to the school’s most wins, 8, since 2010. In Johnson’s only game against Narduzzi, Pitt won 31-28.

While at the University of Georgia, Mark Richt’s Bulldogs defeated Johnson’s Yellow Jackets six out of eight times, including this year’s 13-7 victory. Tech is 2-6 against the University of Miami in the Johnson era, and if one combines that with Richt’s dominance while at Georgia, it would seem that Johnson will have a very difficult time beating Miami. Bronco Mendenhall’s Brigham Young University teams easily defeated Johnson’s Tech teams in 2012 and 2013, with the closest deficit being 18 points. Johnson sports a 5-3 record against Virginia, which has not had a winning season since 2011. Johnson will have to do a better of job scheming against Mendenhall than the two games against Mendenhall while he was at BYU. Johnson’s teams have struggled mightily against the Virginia Tech defenses of Bud Foster. Georgia Tech is 2-6 against Virginia Tech in the Johnson era. Virginia Tech now has one of the most sought after coaches in college football, Justin Fuente. Fuente, considered an offensive wizard, took over a University of Memphis program that had won only five games in the prior three seasons. Within three years Fuente brought Memphis a winning season and a bowl victory. Under Fuente, Memphis finished 19-6 the last two years. One of Fuente’s first moves as the Virginia Tech coach was to retain Bud Foster as the defensive coordinator. With Fuente’s offensive genius and Foster’s defensive wizardry, Johnson will find victories over the Hokies to be a challenge.

Paul Johnson has no peers with his knowledge of the triple option. According to cfbstats.com, Tech’s offenses have generally been very prolific. In the Johnson era, his teams have finished in the Top 5 in the country in rushing offense every year (except 2015). This is out of 128 or 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools, depending on the year. In scoring offense, Tech has finished 21^st or better in four of Johnson’s seasons, while in total offense Tech has finished 44^th or better in six of eight seasons, including two Top 20 finishes. However, Tech’s defenses and special teams have struggled most years under Johnson.

Three defensive coordinators have served Tech under Johnson. Tech’s best defense came in 2008, Johnson’s first year. With players recruited by former coach Chan Gailey, the unit finished 25^th in the country in total defense and 28^th in scoring defense. Since then, Tech has finished no better than 53^rd in scoring defense and 43^rd in total defense (except for the 2013 season, 29^th and 28^th, respectively). Again, this is according to cfbstats.com and the rankings are based on 128 or 120 teams, depending on the year.

Special teams play can influence the outcome of a game, and generally, Tech’s units have recorded poor results, according to cfbstats.com. Punt and kickoff returns help to establish field position, while punt and kickoff coverage can effect field position as well, thereby making it more difficult for opposing offenses to score because of the length of the field they must navigate. From a punt unit standpoint, Tech has had one very good season, 2012, finishing 17^th in the country in punt returns and 14^th in opponents’ punt returns (OPR). The 2009 punt return unit finished 10^th and scored two touchdowns but the OPR finish was only 43^rd. In Johnson’s other six seasons, the punt return units have finished no better than 53^rd and the OPR units have finished no better than 39^th, with three of the units finishing 64^th or worse. The kickoff units have been dreadful for almost every season during the Johnson era. The Kickoff Return units have finished 47^th or worse—four units finished 96^th or worse—every year except 2012, when the unit finished 27^th. The Opponents’ Kickoff Return units have finished 41^st or worse—three units finished 101^st or worse—every year except 2010, when the unit finished 18^th.

The above statistics are not meant to give an exhaustive statistical indication of Tech’s strengths and weaknesses under Johnson but do offer a fair account of some of the units’ strengths and weaknesses over the years. While Johnson’s offenses amass large amounts of yardage and points, the defensive and special teams play have generally been detrimental to Johnson’s overall record. Maybe Johnson can improve his defenses and special teams with better athletes on those units and/or better coaching.

His strategy to this point seems to be to score as many points as he can and hope that is enough to win. With the stable of capable coaches in the Coastal Division, Johnson’s chances of using this strategy to win games will more than likely lead to more losses. Of course, he still has to find a way to beat Clemson and Georgia. The bottom line: Johnson must continue to maintain highly productive offenses and consistently develop strong defenses and special teams or he will force Athletics Director Mike Bobinski to make an unpleasant decision.

Filed Under: Coaches, College Football Tagged With: Brigham Young University, Bronco Mendenhall, Bud Foster, Bulldogs, BYU, Clemson, David Cutrcliffe, Duke University, Georgia Tech, Hokies, Justin Fuente, Larry Fedora, Mark Richt, Michigan State University, Mike Bobinski, Pat Narduzzi, Paul Johnson, Pitt, University of Georgia, University of Memphis, University of Miami, University of North Carolina, University of Pittsburgh, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Yellow Jackets

Georgia College Nicknames

September 24, 2015 By Jim Weathersby 2 Comments

Courtesy of Beussery at English Wikipedia

People in the Peach State are proud of their college affiliations. All you have to do is observe people on a daily basis to see what they are wearing. You’ll see colleges from all over the country represented on hoodies, t-shirts, polo shirts, purses and even belt buckles. Of course, you’ll see many people wearing Georgia Bulldog, Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket, and Georgia Southern Eagle clothing. Have you ever wondered how the nicknames for these schools came to be? Here’s a little trivia to impress your friends.

Some people believe that the University of Georgia took its nickname from the Yale University Bulldogs. Georgia’s first president, Abraham Baldwin, graduated from Yale, but no definitive evidence can be found that Georgia adopted the Bulldog moniker from Yale. Before 1920, University of Georgia (UGA) sports teams had nicknames such as the “Crackers,” the “Wildcats,” and the “Bulldogs.” Morgan Blake is credited with the call for the “Bulldogs” as the permanent nickname for the school. In a November 3, 1920 article in the Atlanta Journal, Blake wrote, “The Georgia Bulldogs would sound good because there is a certain dignity about a bulldog, as well as ferocity.” Several days later in the Atlanta Constitution, Cliff Wheatley used the name “Bulldogs” five

Courtesy of UserB

times in his piece about the Georgia-Virginia game that ended in a 0-0 tie in Charlottesville. The name stuck and the market exploded for Bulldog clothing and other paraphernalia.

Georgia Tech athletic teams have been known by many nicknames over the years, including the “Engineers,” the “Techs,” the “Blacksmiths,” the” Golden Tornado,” and the “Ramblin’ Wreck.” In 1905, an article in the Atlanta Constitution used the term “Yellowjackets” to describe the Tech students and other fans of the athletic teams. Supporters of the teams commonly came dressed in yellow coats and jackets. The term became commonplace after the article and eventually came to be spelled “Yellow Jackets.” The origin of the name had nothing to do with the six-legged insect with the sharp stinger.

Over the years Georgia Southern University (GSU) athletic teams have been called the “Culture,” the “Aggies,” the “Normal Nine” for baseball, the “Blue Tide,” the “Professors,” and the “Teachers.” In 1959, after a campus-wide contest and vote, the official nickname became the “Eagles.” The school changed its name from South Georgia Teachers College to Georgia Southern College that year and the administration thought a new nickname was in order.

Every school has its own unique history and the nickname is just a part of it. Be true to your school and wear your t-shirts proudly.

Filed Under: College Football, College Traditions Tagged With: Abraham Baldwin, Bulldogs, Cliff Wheatley, college football, Eagles, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Morgan Blake, nickname, Ramblin' Wreck, UGA, Yellow Jackets