This Date in College Football Belt History – November 12

For the 3^rd week in a row, Auburn faced a top-ten team with The Belt on the line.  Coach Vince Dooley’s 4^th ranked, 8-0-1 Georgia Bulldogs welcomed coach Pat Dye’s 3^rd ranked, 8-1 Auburn Tigers.  Auburn’s RB Lionel James rushed for the Tigers’ only touchdown while PK Al Del Greco kicked 2 field goals & the defense held Georgia to just 51 yards rushing while the offense held the ball for 38:59 in a 13-7 Auburn victory.  Using their wishbone rushing attack, QB Randy Campbell the Tigers drove to the Georgia 35-yard line before Del Greco just missed a 52-yard field goal attempt.  Auburn got the first break of the game when Tigers’ DT Doug Smith stripped Georgia’s QB John Lastinger of the ball on an option play.  The fumble was recovered for the Tigers by DE Quency Williams at the Georgia 23-yard line.  Auburn drove the 23 yards in 5 plays with James scoring the touchdown when he carried 4 yards around right end with 4:34 left in the 1^st quarter.  The highlight of the drive was a punishing 10-yard run by Tigers’ All-American RB Bo Jackson to the Georgia 4-yard line as he broke the tackles of 4 Bulldogs’ defenders before being brought down.  Del Greco’s field goals came in the 2^nd quarter when he hit from 21 & 41 yards giving Auburn a 13-0 halftime lead.  Jackson nearly gave the Tigers another score when he broke a 28-yard run around left end from the Auburn 3-yard line.  Jackson stepped out of bounds at the Auburn 31-yard line but would have gone the distance for the score without the misstep.  Both defenses dominated the 2^nd half as neither team was able to mount a scoring challenge in the 3^rd quarter.  Del Greco could have put the game out of reach with two 30-yard field goal attempts but both of his kicks from the center of the field sailed wide to the left.  The Bulldogs only touchdown came with 2:11 left in the game after an 87-yard drive when Lastinger, who completed 7 of 8 pass attempts on the drive, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to WR Herman Archie.  The highlight of the drive was a 23-yard gain on a pass from Lastinger to WR Fred Lane.  Georgia recovered the on-side kick at their own 45-yard line but they were still unable to move against the suffocating Auburn defense as Tigers’ CB Jimmie Warren broke up the final pass attempt.  Campbell threw for 95 yards completing 12 of 15 pass attempts while Jackson added 115 yards rushing for the Tigers.  Lastinger threw for 110 yards with a touchdown while the Bulldogs were held to just 51 yards rushing & 117 yards passing in the loss.  Auburn finished the season 11-1; SEC Champions, ranked 3^rd nationally while the Bulldogs finished 10-1-1 & ranked 4^th nationally.  Georgia would play for The Belt again in 1987.

The College Football Belt