On this day in sports history

BY COLIN “BIG C” MACGUIRE

The Greenville Standard

 

Today I will cover Oct. 14, 1978. The game was Alabama vs. Florida at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tide won 23-12.

The coach for Florida was Doug Dickey. The main player for Florida was Wide Receiver Chris Collinsworth. Alabama was ranked number seven with a 4-1 record. Florida was unranked with a 1-3 record.

Gary DeNiro, defensive end from Youngstown, Ohio played a great game. Part of the reason he played so well, his dad came down to see him play. For his effort, Gary was named SEC Defensive Player of the week.

My memories of the game, the offense was inconsistent. One offensive play I remember was Billy Jackson scoring on an 87-yard run. The defense made some big plays.

Murray Legg intercepted a Florida pass in the red zone. The defense forced Florida to kick two long field goals. The kicker for Florida was Berj Yepremian. His Uncle Garo was the kicker for the Miami Dolphins Super Bowl Champions.

I was standing behind the goal posts when he kicked them. Both kicks hit me in the chest but did not hurt. Coach Bryant was glad we won. He was not happy about the performance of the team and coaching staff.

He let it be known thru the media. Despite not being happy about the play that day, three teams ranked ahead of Alabama lost, USC, Michigan and Texas A&M.

The following Monday, Alabama was ranked number four.

Next week I will cover Oct. 21, 1978.