Nick Chubb (left) has drawn a lot of comparisons to 1980 national champ Herschel Walker (right)
After the 1980-81 season, in the Sugar Bowl 37 years ago, Georgia football made history. The top-ranked Bulldogs, facing off against Notre Dame, debuted Hairy Dawg, a red-and-black-clad mascot that has roamed the sidelines ever since.
Oh, and the Dawgs went on to beat the Irish and claimed the school’s second national championship.
Monday, UGA will be playing for its third title, and Hairy Dawg will be there to root his team on against Alabama.
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So how do Hairy Dawg’s first and current teams stack up? Let’s dive in.
Record
1980: 12-0
The Dawgs struggled in their season opener at Tennessee, barely winning 16-15, but no other game ended within three points for the Bulldogs, who posted three shutouts (42-0 against Texas A&M, 41-0 against Vanderbilt, 27-0 against Kentucky) and took down three ranked teams (No. 14 South Carolina, No. 20 Florida, No. 7 Notre Dame) on the year.
2017: 13-1
UGA's closest game of the season came in just the second week, as the Bulldogs traveled to Notre Dame, where they held on to win 20-19. They won the next seven games by an average of 28.9 points per game, until a trip to No. 10 Auburn arrived, where UGA was dismantled 40-17. The Dawgs responded with four straight wins, including a revenge game against the No. 6 Tigers and a thriller in the CFP semifinal against No. 2 Oklahoma. In total UGA went 4-1 against ranked opponents, and held opponents to 10 points or fewer seven times.
Points per game
1980: 27.8 (ranked 15th of 138)
2017: 36.3 (ranked 17th out of 130)
Winning margin
1980: 16.4
2017: 20.6
Scoring breakdown
| 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 68 (22%) | 99 (31%) | 76 (24%) | 73 (23%) |
| 2017 | 125 (25%) | 127 (25%) | 154 (31%) | 93 (19%) |
Defense
| YPG | Passing YPG | Rushing YPG | PPG | Turnovers forced | Third-down conversion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 306.3 | 166.3 | 140 | 11.4 | 30 | 37 |
| 2017 | 289.5 | 167.6 | 121.9 | 15.7 | 19 | 33.66 |
Rushing vs. Passing
| % plays rushing | Rushes per game | Rushing YPG | Rushing TD per game | % plays passing | Passes per game | Passing YPG | Passing TD per game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 77.6% | 54 | 240.6 | 2.2 | 22.4% | 15.6 | 132 | 1.1 |
| 2017 | 69.7% | 44.9 | 267.4 | 2.9 | 30.3% | 19.5 | 172.9 | 1.6 |
Starting quarterback
| CMP | ATT | PCT | YDS | Y/A | TD | INT | EFF | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Buck Belue | 77 | 156 | 49.4 | 1314 | 8.4 | 11 | 9 | 131.8 |
| 2017 | Jake Fromm | 165 | 259 | 63.7 | 2383 | 9.2 | 23 | 5 | 166.4 |
Running backs
| ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Herschel Walker | 274 | 1616 | 5.9 | 15 |
| 2017 | Nick Chubb | 205 | 1320 | 6.4 | 15 |
| ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Carnie Norris | 56 | 353 | 6.3 | 1 |
| 2017 | Sony Michel | 142 | 1129 | 8 | 16 |
| ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Jimmy Womack | 49 | 209 | 4.3 | 0 |
| 2017 | D'Andre Swift | 77 | 603 | 7.8 | 3 |
Wide receivers
| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Lindsay Scott | 19 | 374 | 19.7 | 1 |
| 2017 | Javon Wims | 44 | 704 | 16 | 7 |
| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Amp Arnold | 20 | 357 | 17.9 | 4 |
| 2017 | Terry Godwin | 34 | 591 | 17.4 | 6 |
Kicker
| XPM | XPA | XP% | FGM | FGA | FG% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Rex Robinson | 36 | 36 | 100 | 16 | 22 | 72.7 |
| 2017 | Rodrigo Blankenship | 61 | 61 | 100 | 17 | 20 | 85 |
