Sugar Bowl
1977
Pittsburgh 24
Georgia 3
NEW
ORLEANS (AP) - Johnny Majors' swan song as Pitt's football coach ended
Saturday after a four-year renaissance with a 27-3 Sugar Bowl rout of
fifth-ranked Georgia.
Majors, going back to the University of Tennessee, his alma mater, faced the team he is leaving and did two things for which they had waited all season. He raised his index finger to signify Pitt is No. 1, and he pinned a "Pitt No. 1" button to his shirt.
"All year long I haven't waved my finger in the air and I haven't worn a No. 1 button," he said. "But after the game I told the team it was No. 1 and they all agree that we are."
All week, Majors also had told anyone willing to listen that even with the sensational running of Tony Dorsett, top-ranked Pitt was more than a one-man team. The Panthers went out and proved it convincingly as Dorsett overcame a slow start- 65 yards in the first half- and went on to set a Sugar Bowl record of 202 yards on 32 carries.
While Georgia was keying on Dorsett to no avail, Malt Cavanaugh picked apart the heralded “Junkyard Dogs" defense, completing 10 of 18 passes for 192 yards. Cavanaugh scored the first touchdown on a six-yard keeper and then hooked up with swift Gordon Jones on a 59-yard strike as Pitt, a sorry 1-10 before Majors, Dorsett & Co. arrived in 1973, virtually locked up its first national championship in 39 years.
The Associated Press will announce the national champion on Tuesday in its final poll. Pitt wrapped up a 12-0 campaign in shockingly easy fashion. The combination of Dorsett's running, Cavanaugh's passing and an overlooked, underrated defense that intercepted four passes and recovered two Georgia fumbles was just too much.
"I take my hat off to Pitt." said Georgia Coach Vince Dooley, whose team finished 10-2 with a Southeastern Conference title as consolation. "Without doubt they proved themselves the best team in the nation. Cavanaugh is a great quarterback, a great leader. They have fine receivers. And what can you say about Dorsett?"
For a time, it appeared the Junkyard Dogs might have the answer. They kept college football's all-time rushing king under wraps in the first half, although he did turn the corner for an 11-yard touchdown two minutes before halftime.
That made it an embarrassing 21-0 and the Panthers' defense, led by linebackers Arnie Weatherington and Jim Cramer, All-American nose guard, Al Romano, and tackle Randy Holloway, came down hard every time Georgia threatened to get something going.
The Bulldogs were among the top rushing and scoring clubs in the nation, averaging 279.5 yards and 29.5 points a game. But they were choked off with just 135 yards on the ground and 46 through the air on three completions in 22 attempts.
Even that was a slight improvement over Georgia's total of 66 yards in the first half, including just one completion in 13 passes. Interceptions by Weatherington and Cramer ignited touchdown drives of 74 and 67 yards in the second period and LeRoy Felder and Bob Jury also came through with interceptions before the half as the Panthers saddled Georgia without a touchdown for the first time in 52 games
"This is what we've worked for four years." said Majors, who leaves Pitt with a 33-13-1 log. "This team "never backed away from anybody. We didn't go somewhere for money; we just went so we could play for the national championship. I expected Georgia to play aggressively on defense but felt we quite likely would go to the air early."
Pitt went to the air on its second possession. After Dorsett was held to just two yards on his first two carries, Cavanaugh got the Eastern champions untracked with a 12-play, 80-yard march on their next possession. The junior quarterback completed passes of 14 yards to Jones and 36 to Elliott Walker and also sneaked for a vital yard on fourth down at the Georgia 49. After the strike to Walker put the ball at the 10, Dorsett circled right end for four yards and Cavanaugh took it the rest of the way untouched.
By then, Georgia was aware that Pitt had other weapons besides the fabulous Dorsett. But in the end, "Touchdown Tony" still stole the show with his 137 second-half yards that gave him the 10th 200-yard game of his storied career and erased the Sugar Bowl mark of 199 yards set 33 years ago by Georgia Tech's Eddie Prokop against Tulsa.
"I
have never been so ready for a game in my life." Dorsett said. Georgia
was ready for him. But the Bulldogs couldn't contain him forever. After
giving the New Orleans Superdome crowd of 76,117 and a national
television audience a glimpse of what was to come with some
jitterbugging runs, Dorsett finally took off on a 67-yard third-period
gallop that set up the first of two field goals by Carson Long.
"Dorsett got what-202 yards?" Dooley mused. "I don’t think we keyed on him enough."
“Nobody can think too much about Dorsett,” said Cavanaugh, named the 43rd annual Sugar Bowl's outstanding player by a press box vote of 77-75 1/2 over his celebrated teammate. "Just having him in there is enough. We knew we could pass on them."
In 43 regular-season games, Dorsett netted 6,082 yards in becoming the first 6000-yard runner in college history- including 1,948 this season. Saturday's yardage, along with 242 yards in two other bowl games, boosted his final figures to 6,526 on 1,163 carries.
Georgia's only points came on Allan Leavitt's 25-yard field goal early in the third period after Dicky Clark recovered a fumble by Walker at the Pitt 24. The Panthers' solid defense cracked down after a penalty pushed the ball to the nine and forced Georgia to settle for three points.
Sports Illustrated cover
Attendance- 71,117
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Pitt- Cavanaugh 6 run (Long kick)
Second Quarter
Pitt- Jones 59 pass from Cavanaugh (Long kick)
Pitt- Dorsett 11 run (Long kick)
Third Quarter
UGA- FG 25 Leavitt
Pitt- FG 42 Long
Fourth Quarter
Pitt- FG 31 Long
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Pitt- Dorsett 32-202, Walker 11-35, Cavanaugh 12-15
UGA- Goff 17-76, McLee 14-48, Pollard 5-16
Passing
Pitt- Cavanaugh 10-18-192
UGA- Goff 1-4-13, Robinson 2-15-33
Receiving
Pitt- Taylor 4-72, Jones 3-80, Walker 1-36, Corbett 1-10
UGA- Davis 1-19, Pyburn 1-14, McLee 1-13
