100 Days of Georgia’s Greatest Plays—Day 93
UGASports continues its 100-day countdown to the Bulldogs’ 2026 season opener with the “100 Days of Georgia’s Greatest Plays” series. Today, on Day 93, we examine and relive one of Georgia’s greatest plays in its football history, relating to that specific number.
The Game: No. 2 Georgia (8-0 record) vs. No. 20 Florida (6-1) in Jacksonville on November 1, 1980. The Bulldogs were considered 7-point favorites.
“Get the Picture”: Surprisingly leading Georgia, 21-20, Florida punted to the Bulldogs’ 8-yard line with 1:35 to play. Two plays netted Georgia a loss of a yard. With only 1:20 remaining, the Bulldogs faced 3rd-and-11 at their own 7-yard line—and in need of a miracle to avoid their first loss of the season.
The Play
As many Georgia fans had either left or were in the process of departing the Gator Bowl, quarterback Buck Belue dropped straight back into his own end zone.
Belue avoided pressure, with the help of senior offensive tackle Nat Hudson, and ran to his right, nearing the 5-yard line. Split end Lindsay Scott, who had been lined up to Belue’s right, had run a simple curl pattern over the middle. Florida linebacker David Little positioned himself between Belue and Scott. Once Belue began to run away from the pressure, he motioned for Scott to slide a little from behind the linebacker.
On the run, Belue threw a strike to a leaping Scott, who came down with the reception around the 25-yard line. The junior receiver stumbled a bit upon his catch, regained his balance, turned around, and began heading up field.
As Scott ran towards and then down his left sideline, it appeared several Gator defenders had angles on him to make a play. However, he simply outraced every one of them, and 93 yards later he was in the end zone for a touchdown.
Following the miraculous “Belue-to-Scott” touchdown and a missed two-point try, Florida gained possession with one more shot to score. However, Georgia’s Mike Fisher intercepted quarterback Wayne Peace to secure a 26-21 miraculous victory.
Later, it was revealed top-ranked Notre Dame had been tied. Georgia would be the new number one team in college football the following Monday. The Bulldogs would remain in the top spot for the rest of the season en route to the program’s first undisputed national championship.