Erk's 1980 Bulldog Defense
Taking a breather from the 2010 'Dogs. They should be able to handle Idaho. Or is it Idaho State?
Our 1980 Championship team will be recognized at the game and we have a reception on Friday night. It's our 30 year anniversary, which is hard to believe. Where does the time go? It's always fun to see everyone. I'm looking at the video of each game that season and writing about it. You can see that by clicking on the icon Insiders Look. This week it's the South Carolina game.
We couldn't have won the National Championship without Herschel Walker, but the '80 team was far from a 1-man show. It takes more than 1 guy to win a championship. Just ask Bo Jackson, or Marcus Allen. Out defense that season was special. Erk's Split-60 scheme was awesome. And he had multiple playmakers. The result: they shut opposing offense down.
Up front, Jimmy Payne was a special player. He passed several years ago and I miss seeing him. He was a gentle giant. And almost unblockable on Saturday. Eddie Weaver was his tag-team partner and they gave us an All-SEC pair on the DL. Eddie was intimidating physically and is a great guy. But it didn't stop there. Creamons, Crowe and Parks gave us great depth. At DE, McShea & Miles were versatile players, who always made plays. We also had quality depth, with Carver and Gilbert getting playing time.
Our LBs were tough, rugged tacklers. Frank Ros and Nate Taylor got ball carriers to the ground. Forts and Thurson played a lot and were physical guys too. This was an outstanding group.
The DBs were ball-hawks. Scott Woerner was one of the best CBs in CF. Mike Fisher was a playmaker on the other side. Dale Williams stepped in and played tough. Rover Chris Welton seemed to always be in the right place to make plays. FS Jeff Hipp roamed the middle of the field and made plays.
Opponents averaged 10.8 points a game. They threw 3 shutouts. The most they allowed was 21 points. How could we lose? But wait, here is the most important stat: Erk's 1980 defense forced an incredible 47 turnovers!! That led CF in 1980. That's 10 more than Texas forced last season. Let me say it again...how could we lose?
Our 1980 Championship team will be recognized at the game and we have a reception on Friday night. It's our 30 year anniversary, which is hard to believe. Where does the time go? It's always fun to see everyone. I'm looking at the video of each game that season and writing about it. You can see that by clicking on the icon Insiders Look. This week it's the South Carolina game.
We couldn't have won the National Championship without Herschel Walker, but the '80 team was far from a 1-man show. It takes more than 1 guy to win a championship. Just ask Bo Jackson, or Marcus Allen. Out defense that season was special. Erk's Split-60 scheme was awesome. And he had multiple playmakers. The result: they shut opposing offense down.
Up front, Jimmy Payne was a special player. He passed several years ago and I miss seeing him. He was a gentle giant. And almost unblockable on Saturday. Eddie Weaver was his tag-team partner and they gave us an All-SEC pair on the DL. Eddie was intimidating physically and is a great guy. But it didn't stop there. Creamons, Crowe and Parks gave us great depth. At DE, McShea & Miles were versatile players, who always made plays. We also had quality depth, with Carver and Gilbert getting playing time.
Our LBs were tough, rugged tacklers. Frank Ros and Nate Taylor got ball carriers to the ground. Forts and Thurson played a lot and were physical guys too. This was an outstanding group.
The DBs were ball-hawks. Scott Woerner was one of the best CBs in CF. Mike Fisher was a playmaker on the other side. Dale Williams stepped in and played tough. Rover Chris Welton seemed to always be in the right place to make plays. FS Jeff Hipp roamed the middle of the field and made plays.
Opponents averaged 10.8 points a game. They threw 3 shutouts. The most they allowed was 21 points. How could we lose? But wait, here is the most important stat: Erk's 1980 defense forced an incredible 47 turnovers!! That led CF in 1980. That's 10 more than Texas forced last season. Let me say it again...how could we lose?
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