Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Tuesday, December 19, 2000
Slighted coach Even with those closest by his side, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Jim Donnan felt ill at ease during last night's welcoming party at Honolulu International Airport.
making most out
of Oahu Bowl
Bowling in Hawaii
over the holidaysBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinWhile the guy who hired and fired him stayed behind to interview candidates for the recent vacancy, Donnan was sent to Hawaii to prepare for this Sunday's Oahu Bowl with Virginia in what will be his final act of a solid career.
Some would say 39 victories since 1996, three consecutive bowl wins and four straight seasons of top-25 rankings would certainly qualify for a week in Hawaii. You'd meet with the athletic director, shake hands on a new five-year deal, announce it the day before the game and go out and win a fourth consecutive postseason matchup for the first time in school history.
But it didn't turn out that way.
Instead, this trip has more of a Godfather feel to it when the family sent Freido ahead to Las Vegas. He got to enjoy himself, but the real power rested in someone else's hands. For Donnan, it's an emotional question best answered with a practiced response.
OAHU BOWL
When: Sunday, Dec. 24, 3:30 p.m.
"It was an emotional time for us, but I really do think we've put it behind us and will be able to focus on the game,'' Donnan said. "The players made it pretty clear that they wanted me to coach them in the game.
"That speaks highly of our relationship. There's no question that we started the season together and we need to finish it together. Winning four consecutive bowl games is what we'd rather concentrate on. Not what has happened the past couple of weeks. That's something we want to do for Georgia and our record as a team.''
Counting his days at Marshall University that includes a Division I-AA national championship in 1992, Donnan's postseason record is a stellar 18-4.
He has won three straight bowl games by defeating Wisconsin, 33-6, in the 1998 Outback Bowl, Virginia, 35-33, in the 1999 Peach Bowl and Purdue, 28-25, in the 2000 Outback game.
This will be Georgia's first trip to Hawaii to play football against a team the Bulldogs know well enough. There are still plenty of players on both sides who took part in that 1999 game that best typifies what Donnan tried to bring to the program. Down 21-0, Georgia rallied for the two-point win.
The flair for the dramatic returned in the 2000 Outback game. The Bulldogs rallied from 25-0 down to beat the Boilermakers in overtime by three. You get the feeling Donnan would soon dispense with these come-from-behind affairs.
"This is a very good football team that will be playing with a lot of emotion, just like us,'' Donnan said of the Cavaliers. "Their coach (George Welsh) is retiring and they want to send him off with a win just like our team wants to do for their coaching staff.
"Right now, all I'm doing is concentrating on winning this football game. I want to take care of my coaches and then see what develops. I want to stay in coaching. Right now, I'm not sure what my options are. I want to spend some time looking at it, but not until after Sunday's game.''
Were this a Hollywood film, injured Georgia quarterback Quincy Carter would recover from the strained ligaments in his right thumb in time to play the hero once more. He had the cast removed last week, but his progress has been slower than Donnan first hoped.
Carter not only missed the final three games of the regular season, but he sat out the conference matchup at Kentucky with a shoulder problem. He will try to take some snaps from center, but if he can't grip the football by tomorrow, Donnan said the team would have to go on without him.
"This won't be a game-time decision,'' Donnan said. "We'll have to get our second guy (sophomore Cory Phillips) ready. We'll make an announcement on Wednesday.''
