The results of the first Dawg Sports poll are in and the 100 votes cast have produced a decisive victory. There will be no hand recounts, hanging chads, or judicial rulings this time.
The question I asked was this: "Which Georgia great was most totally jobbed out of the Heisman Trophy he rightfully deserved to win?"
The premise of the poll question, of course, was that each of the choices---Charley Trippi in 1946, George Patton in 1966, Herschel Walker in 1980, Herschel Walker in 1981, Terry Hoage in 1983, and Garrison Hearst in 1992---deserved the award more than those years' actual winners; it was merely a matter of which of them was most thoroughly hosed when the voters missed the call.
Gratuitous Herschel Walker photo.
In a crowded field, Herschel Walker clearly distinguished himself with his national championship-winning freshman season in 1980. The Goal Line Stalker's debut campaign garnered a majority of the ballots cast (51 of 100), with Garrison Heart's junior year coming in a distant second (20 of 100).
Herschel's sophomore season finished third with 17 votes, Charley Trippi's Maxwell Award-winning year finished fourth (8 votes), and George Patton in 1966 and Terry Hoage in 1983 finished tied for last place (2 votes apiece).
Personally, I think Hoage didn't get his due, but that's just my humble opinion.
Anybody who thinks this guy didn't deserve a Heisman Trophy ought to be slapped.
This brings us to the new poll question, which may be found on the right side of your screen. Once again, the question carries with it an unspoken premise.
The question is this: "Which current active college football head coach is the best never to have won a national championship?"
I am operating from the understanding---which I am sure would be shared by the fine fellows at Burnt Orange Nation---that the result of this year's Rose Bowl altered the accurate answer to that inquiry.
Prior to January 4, the Longhorns' Mack Brown almost assuredly had the best claim to that title, but, when Coach Brown got a ring, his post was vacated and a new occupant had to be found to fill it.
The choices, it seems to me, are Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, Oregon's Mike Bellotti, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Florida's Urban Meyer, Louisville's Bobby Petrino, Georgia's Mark Richt, California's Jeff Tedford, Auburn's Tommy Tuberville, and Notre Dame's Charlie Weis.
Those are the options I placed in the poll, but I didn't want to limit the argument just to my preferences, so I am inviting you to suggest other alternatives in the comments below.
The discovery of a parcel of 58 additional votes from Telfair County touched off the famous "three sports blog poll question winners controversy."
As we say in Georgia, vote early and vote often! At the very least, we need something to hold us over until the preseason BlogPoll is released. . . .
Go 'Dawgs!