Deep South's Oldest Rivalry (1)
#. October 3, 2020
#-1. Athens, Georgia, USA
#-2. University of Georgia
#-3. Sanford Stadium
#-4. Gate 1
Starting today, the stadium would admit 17,000 general spectators observing social distancing, along with 3,524 VIPs.
Players' families counted as VIPs.
Some of the guys had even brought friends along as family.
But as of now, I was the only person from Hawaii on the entire Georgia roster.
Which meant I was the only one whose family couldn't come.
And then, while I was preparing for the game in the locker room.
Coach walked in and said this to me:
"Go take a look at Gate 1."
"?! Really?"
"Yeah."
Gate 1.
The exclusive entrance for players' families.
On game days, the players' families waited at the Tate Student Center, and two hours before kickoff—when all the gates opened at once—they entered Sanford Stadium through Gate 1.
"Mom!!"
Oh, my goodness.
Hawaii was currently enforcing a mandatory fourteen-day quarantine for incoming tourists—they were taking COVID precautions that seriously.
Same went for anyone returning from the mainland.
Two full weeks without setting foot outside the house.
So of course I'd assumed there was no way I'd get to see my family—and then the school went and gave me the most incredible gift.
I threw my arms around my mom.
"I'm seriously so happy."
"Me too."
Dad walked over slowly with a smile, gave my shoulder a couple of pats, and said, "That uniform looks good on you."
"How on earth did this happen?"
"The school sent a charter plane for us."
"Really? Wow. I had no idea."
"They even talked the Governor of Hawaii into it."
The story of how my parents got here was genuinely astonishing.
First.
The school contacted Brian Kemp.
The Governor of Georgia.
They said they wanted to invite my parents into the stadium.
Was there any way he could help make that happen?
Brian Kemp immediately picked up the phone and called the Governor of Hawaii, and before long the two sides reached an agreement.
My parents would be tested upon arrival in Hawaii.
And quarantine only until the results came back.
Roughly two hours after that call from Brian Kemp, the school phoned my parents directly and locked in the itinerary.
And then, this very morning.
They sent a charter plane to Hawaii.
"This is just... incredible."
"They're good people over here."
"Yeah. They really are."
I was so happy I felt tears welling up.
This was truly an enormous gift.
Just as I was giving thanks for the school's thoughtfulness.
Coach appeared behind me.
"Welcome to Sanford."
"Coach!"
I strode right over to him.
And hugged him hard, too.
The school had made it happen, sure.
But I doubted Coach's influence wasn't behind it as well.
He had definitely wanted this just as badly.
"Family's watching now, so you'd better play even harder, right?"
"Absolutely. We're going to blow Auburn apart."
"That's the spirit. Your parents are Brian's responsibility while they're here, so now get yourself back to the locker room."
"Yes, Sir."
After hugging my mom one more time.
I promised them a great game.
And then.
A little while later.
Inside the locker room.
My morale was at its absolute peak.
I gathered my teammates' hands.
"Out there today is family and fans!! We are NOT going to look like clowns in front of the people we love!! Let's blow them apart!! One-two-three—WIN!! One-two-three!!"
"WIN!!!"
(Chris Fowler) — ESPN Play-by-Play
"Good evening from a warm night in Athens, Georgia. This is ESPN College Football Prime Time, presented by PlayStation 5! The SEC's belated second week of play is finally upon us. Sanford Stadium is famous for its raucous crowds, but even pandemic-era social distancing hasn't managed to cool that heat down. As you can see, 20,524 fans are more than enough to carry the noise. Tonight's SEC matchup features one of the ten oldest rivalries in the entire nation: the Auburn Tigers. And the Georgia Bulldogs. The Oldest Rivalry in the Deep South—this is the Dr Pepper Championship Drive Game of the Week. I'm Chris Fowler, and beside me is Kirk Herbstreit."
(Kirk Herbstreit) — ESPN Analyst
"This matchup is absolutely fascinating, Chris. Both teams hired new offensive coordinators this year, and both are being led by brand-new quarterbacks. The question is how all this new personnel will hold up under the pressure of the oldest rivalry in the South."
(Chris Fowler)
"As Herbstreit just mentioned, both teams are breaking in new quarterbacks. Georgia recruited two phenomenal quarterback prospects back in 2018. But Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State in 2019, and Jake Fromm left for the NFL. And the man who inherited that spot is Dwayne Moi Stone."
(Kirk Herbstreit)
"The 6-Star quarterback the whole country has been watching. He put on a spectacular show last week—86.1% completion rate, 31 completed passes, 316 passing yards, and four touchdown passes. No interceptions. Having watched the entire game, I'll say this: every team left on Georgia's schedule should be nervous."
00 — 00 Georgia(#4)
00 — 00 Auburn(#7)
The stands weren't empty today.
Up there were my family.
Down here, the fans.
Classmates.
Or.
People who simply lived in Georgia.
Out ahead of us, the cheer squad boys had laid Georgia's flag down on the field, waiting for us to make our entrance.
Then came the voice we'd been waiting for—the stadium announcer.
【"Ladies and gentlemen."】
We erupted with energy.
"LET'S GO--!!!!!!!"
The cheer squad and the team mascot sprinted out waving the flag, and we followed right behind them.
Before long, boos rang through the stadium.
Because the Auburn players were entering.
Once we'd advanced all the way to the opposite end zone.
We knelt on one knee on the football field.
Call it a ritual with religious meaning.
Like I said before, the football field is, quite literally, a battlefield without gunfire—so this is how we protect ourselves, one way or another.
No bayonets.
Just our bodies doing the fighting.
Just as the guys crossing themselves were wrapping up the ritual.
I started striding the length of the field.
Ran all the way to the goalpost on the far side.
Faced the stands and shouted.
"LET'S GO--!!!!"
And then.
"?"
Someone waving at me caught my eye up front.
Katerina Rozmajzl.
And standing next to her was—
"Hey."
"Hey. Was the trip okay?"
"...Yeah."
Alexi looked so adorably flustered that Katerina, clearly entertained, started filming beside her.
"A historic first meeting—!"
"Haha. Right. Film away."
"Moi?"
"Yeah?"
"This is..."
Alexi, still shy as could be.
Held her hand out toward me.
Resting on her palm was—
"This is for me?"
"Yeah."
A bracelet made of knotted thread.
I asked her to put it on me herself.
Told her to take just one step back.
Then I hopped up in a single bound and perched on the railing.
And held out my right hand.
"Here."
"..."
Alexi, concentrating hard as she tied the bracelet on.
She was even prettier in person than in the pictures.
Soon the bracelet was snug around my wrist.
I thanked her and dropped back down to the field.
Then I turned around and flashed her a wide grin.
"I'll play a third of today's game just for you!"
"A third?"
"Yep! My parents are here! A third is for my parents! And the last third is for me and the team! See you later!!"
I shot her a wink and jogged back the way I came—and from where the girls were standing, a scream erupted.
That time belonged to them now.
I figured I'd leave them to enjoy it.
"Damn-! Who are those gorgeous girls?"
"The Rozmajzls."
"What?? Last year's Miss Georgia?"
"Yup. But I'm on the little sister's side."
"Shiiiit- Miss Georgia?!"
I smacked the back of Zamir's head—he couldn't tear his eyes away from where the Rozmajzl sisters were sitting—then walked over toward Coach Monken, who was studying the Play Book.
"How's the body feeling?"
"Perfect, Coach."
"Good. Go get loose."
"Yes, Sir."
I moved up right along with one of the assistant coaches.
Loosened my shoulder up by throwing the ball.
"Heard your family made it in?"
"Yes, Sir."
"All the way from Hawaii, huh?"
"Yes, Sir. The school sent a charter plane for them."
"Wow. Now that's classy."
"Right? I thought so too."
Thwack.
(Chris Fowler)
"You are watching an SEC matchup right here on ESPN: Auburn and Georgia. In the entire history of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, both teams have entered the game ranked in the Top 10 only five times. It began with Auburn's 35-20 victory in 1971, followed by four straight Auburn wins—until 2017, when Georgia finally broke through with a 28-7 victory."
(Kirk Herbstreit)
"Some people say cross-state rivalries like this one aren't as fun, Chris. Their argument is that the storylines only really get produced when two schools share a state—the childhood friend you grew up with, who played on your high school team, suddenly becomes your enemy. That's what fires people up, they say. But this matchup has never once been boring. The seasoning is rich, and something interesting always seems to happen."
(Chris Fowler)
"And true to form—yesterday, a video posted by Auburn players went viral on social media, declaring they were going to come break Georgia apart. Let's take a look at that first."
"They can't touch us!!"
"..."
"They want to BREAK us?! Tell 'em to go to hell!! Tonight we're turning Sanford into their GRAVE!!"
"Yeah-!"
"LET'S GO-!! Tear 'em apart!!"
"COME ON-!!!"
"YEAH-!!!"
I was roaring in front of the special teams guys right now.
Shoving my fired-up teammates forward by the backs of their jerseys.
Watching me do this with obvious interest were Coach and Glenn Schumann, the man in charge of our defense and inside linebackers.
I flashed a huge, toothy grin.
Coach shook his head.
And Coach Schumann laughed.
Huh?
Was something stuck in my teeth?
Nope, nothing there.
"Tsk."
Today, we opened on offense.
(Chris Fowler)
"The kickoff looks returnable. Kenny McIntosh takes the ball—and he's off like a shot! Look at that speed! He's working up the sideline! Auburn brings him down with the tackle, but what a start for Georgia! A tremendous return! Kenny McIntosh hands his team excellent field position! Allison Williams is down on the Georgia sideline tonight."
(Allison Williams) — ESPN Reporter
"Thanks, Chris. From what we're hearing, Georgia has placed enormous trust in its freshman quarterback. He'd already won his teammates over before August camp even started, and now the entire roster believes in him..."
That return had been straight-up lethal.
Which meant.
"Special teams just did THAT!!"
"..."
"..."
"So we'd better do even better!! Let's go!!"
Special teams were mostly the non-starters.
Returners aside, that is.
Think of them as the bench squad.
But nothing in football lasts forever.
Any starter could drop down to special teams at any moment.
Which is why I'd always treated them as a measuring stick for competition.
Every time special teams performed well.
I used it to light a fire under the offense.
Losing to the enemy? I hated it.
But losing to my own competing teammates?
I guarantee you.
I'd hate it more than dying.
Sometimes it honestly felt like losing the game itself would be preferable.
Of course, winning was the best outcome—but this psychology was real all the same.
"Rea-dy!! Hut!!"
First drive of the game.
And our first try.
Naturally, we opened with a run through the running back.
Zamir ground out three yards for us.
Glancing back at the bench.
I checked the play call.
Shotgun.
"Shotgun, Hot Sauce, Brad Stick."
"No slide protection direction?"
"None. Just hold your blocks. Second call."
Clap!
After winning the Arkansas game in Week 1.
The coaches' trust in me had clearly climbed a level.
Starting in shotgun right out of the gate.
Aggressive. I loved it.
Standing here, I wasn't under center, so I couldn't pick up much from watching the D-line the way you can otherwise—but on the flip side, I didn't have to drop back, which let me secure a slightly wider field of vision.
Plus, being farther away from the D-line meant less pressure coming from the defenders.
It wasn't my preferred position, exactly.
But I was milking its advantages just fine.
Play call: Hot Sauce.
A variant of the spread offense.
Utilizing five receivers.
The X-receiver farthest left and the slot receiver in the middle were decoys—the real play was the Z-receiver on the right.
The tight end also had a job: fake as though he was joining the tackle, slip off, and loop behind the D-line as the second pass option. Think of the switch-jam concept I used back in high school.
My job was to call the route.
"Re-d 32!! Re-d 32!!"
Clap!
Slapping my palms together.
Because the second call was the trigger for the snap.
You had to clap twice.
Clap!
Up front, Trey Hill fired a four-yard snap my way.
Taking it, I sold a deception move.
A handoff fake to Zamir on my left—arms wrapped around his chest as if cradling the ball, Zamir charged off to the left.
Meanwhile, the Z-receiver on the right, the man slated to actually catch the pass, took off on his assigned route. On this play, that was Fitzpatrick.
Tre' McKitty, our first tight end, cleared out the middle for us, and after confirming that both men had executed exactly as designed, I whipped my right arm forward.
Auburn's #20 clamped onto Fitz.
The pass fell incomplete.
But.
"I had him beat first!!"
The instant the ball hit the turf.
I was shouting and pointing at Auburn's #20.
Did the flag drop?
It dropped.
That was a penalty.
Defenders covering receivers aren't allowed to make excessive contact with the body before the ball arrives.
The moment the pass left my hand, Auburn's #20 had wrapped up Fitz's arm—and when that happens, it's Illegal Contact, a five-yard penalty.
Looking at the yardage alone, it wasn't a costly foul.
But it automatically refreshed the first down.
And in that respect.
It was a pretty ugly penalty to give up.
We crossed midfield with ridiculous ease.
(Kirk Herbstreit)
"If that hadn't been a foul, there's a strong chance the catch gets made. Which means the first down was getting refreshed either way—and Georgia gains even more yards. In a way, you'd almost say Auburn was lucky they got flagged at all."
(Chris Fowler)
"In the opener, Moi lined up under center quite a bit, but today he's been in shotgun from the start. He found his man, and his throws have been quick and precise. But he won't settle for just this, Chris. He wants to show more—and it'll be fascinating to see what this quarterback pulls out next."
Auburn's defense had a reputation for solid organization.
In their opener, they'd held Kentucky to thirteen points.
The man to watch was K.J. Britt.
A linebacker—strong tackler, highly regarded in run defense. His linear movement was excellent, but he struggled when shaken laterally.
During the film meetings, the coaches had initially said otherwise.
But watching the tape myself, I was a hundred percent certain.
Eventually I pushed my case hard enough that we designed a play around it, and Coach boldly proposed we actually run it.
I liked it.
It was second-and-four anyway.
As long as I didn't throw a pick, converting on third down was still on the table—so if we could rattle K.J. Britt early, it would send ripples through Auburn's entire defense.
"We're going Jiggy Wiggy."
"Damn-! You sure that's not too bold?"
"You like it or not?"
"Hell Yeah!"
Since the Arkansas game, the offense had been keeping up with my aggressive style better and better.
Jiggy Wiggy was likewise a passing concept run out of shotgun—designed to send Jermaine Burton crashing straight at the sam linebacker, K.J. Britt.
Jermaine was the fastest player on the team to reach top speed, with outstanding hand-eye coordination that let him haul in even difficult throws.
He obsessed over detail to the point of scripting his route design down to the inch—and that same trait showed in his release technique, letting him execute a handful of moves with remarkable consistency.
K.J. Britt was weak laterally.
Jermaine Burton was a master of lateral deception.
People rarely expected a slot receiver to run deep-threat routes, but on this play, after shaking loose from K.J. Britt, Jermaine would sprint straight for the end zone.
Someone had to clear the space for him to run.
So the other wideouts were used as bait.
"Re-d 40!! Rea-dy-!! Hut!!"
Clap!
The snap came with the clap of my hands.
I took it and waited a beat.
The O-linemen were protecting the pocket beautifully on the Hard-Boiled Egg call, and as planned, Jermaine Burton squared up against K.J. Britt, rocked his body left and right, then burst off to the left.
Just as I thought.
K.J. Britt's ankles were way too stiff.
That's why he was weak laterally.
The instant Jermaine Burton and K.J. Britt crossed paths.
I let the pass fly.
(Chris Fowler)
"From the pocket—and it's GONE!! Oh- My!! Jermaine Burton is running and K.J. Britt is behind him—but there is NOBODY left in Auburn's secondary!! Twenty!! Fifteen!! Ten!! And— TOUCHDOWN-!! TOUCHDOWN, GEORGIA!! Points on the very first drive! Less than three minutes have even come off the clock!"
(Kirk Herbstreit)
"Just like against Arkansas, Georgia scores on its opening drive. That throw was genuinely superb, Chris. Yes, Jermaine Burton did a great job separating from his defender—but the audacity to deliver the ball into that window, and to make it work? Remarkable."
(Chris Fowler)
"Already his fifth touchdown pass of the season—Georgia's freshman! Dwayne Moi Stone!"