Phil Paramore: Georgia has the target

As the arrival of college football’s opening day is now just a week away and counting, speculation about whether Georgia can live up to the lofty expectations placed upon the program continues. Not that Bulldog coach Mark Richt needs any advice, but he could turn to a certain prominent alumnus for a lesson on how not to handle the No. 1 hype and subsequent pressure.

It was 24 years ago that ex-Georgia star Pat Dye took his fourth Auburn team to New York City as the No. 1 ranked team in the preseason. The Tigers were to face Miami — the club that leap-frogged over them in the previous year’s final poll — in what was then known as the Kickoff Classic. Much like Georgia in 2007 Dye’s Auburn outfit had finished the 1983 campaign as the hottest team in America.

After a week-two loss at home to Texas that year, Auburn turned into one tough customer. Sparked by an 87-yard punt return by Trey Gainous, the Tigers pounded Tennessee in Knoxville 37-14. The following Saturday, they got in a classic showdown with Florida State before winning it 27-24 on a Randy Campbell-to-Lionel James touchdown pass on fourth down. Relatively easy wins over Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State came next, then nail-biting victories over Florida, Maryland, Georgia and Alabama.

Entering the Sugar Bowl at No. 3 in the country, the Tigers edged Michigan 9-7 on Al Del Greco’s last-second field goal, and when Georgia upset No. 2 Texas in the Cotton Bowl and Miami shocked No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange, many members of Auburn Nation thought they had a national champion on their hands.

Instead, it was the Hurricanes who finished in the top spot, setting the stage for the ‘84 lid-lifter pitting the two teams against each other in the Meadowlands. With new coach Jimmy Johnson at the helm, the ‘Canes never let Auburn’s vaunted wishbone get untracked and used a late-game scramble for a score by Bernie Kosar to knock off the Tigers 20-18.

The next week, a trip to Texas turned disastrous. Not only did Dye’s boys stumble 35-27, they lost Bo Jackson to a separated shoulder when All-America safety Jerry Gray ran down the hobbled future Heisman winner, horse-collaring him in what would now be considered an illegal tackle. But to Auburn’s credit, they didn’t cash in their collective chips. They ripped Tennessee again and edged FSU in one of the greatest games in Deep South history, a 42-41 shootout that people still talk about to this day.

But that would be one of the final highlights of a season that began with so much promise. Charley Pell’s Florida team pounded the Tigers into submission 24-3 in monsoon-like conditions in Gainesville.

And then came the ultimate frustration, a 17-15 loss to a far-inferior Alabama squad that came into the Iron Bowl with a 4-6 record. Dye himself contributed mightily to that one, electing to go for a late touchdown on fourth down inside the Crimson Tide five instead of a chip-shot field goal that would have almost certainly clinched the game. One Rory Turner “I waxed the dude” tackle later, and one of the biggest upsets in series history was in the books.

A shaky Liberty Bowl victory over Arkansas capped the 9-4 ledger, with the Tigers ending up No.14 in both the AP and UPI polls.

So, as that season nearly a quarter-century ago proved, just because you start out on top doesn’t mean that’s the way you’ll end up. Georgia and Richt should consider themselves fairly warned.