100 Days of Georgia’s Greatest Plays—Day 48

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 48, we examine and relive one of Georgia’s greatest plays in its football history, relating to that specific number. On Day 48, we look back at Herschel Walker’s 48-yard touchdown vs. Vandy in 1980—the shortest of his three TD runs on a record-breaking day. The Game: No. 6 Georgia (5-0 record coming off a win over Ole Miss) vs. Vanderbilt (0-4 record coming off a loss to Tulane) at Sanford Stadium in Athens on October 18, 1980. Vanderbilt had lost 26 consecutive SEC games, having not defeated a conference foe since 1975. Georgia was considered a 27-point favorite—the most the Bulldogs had been favored in a game since the 1972 season opener. “Get the Picture”: As expected, Georgia jumped on Vanderbilt early, scoring on a 60-yard touchdown run by freshman phenom Herschel Walker and a field goal by Rex Robinson to take a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter. After forcing the Commodores to punt, the Bulldogs advanced from their own 28-yard line to the Vanderbilt 48 in just three plays. With first-and-10 and just under 10 minutes remaining in the half, Georgia appeared poised to add to its double-digit lead. The Play Junior quarterback Buck Belue pitched the ball to Walker, who started to his right. The trailblazing tailback burst toward the sideline before cutting back to his left around the 30-yard line. As Walker reversed the field and raced toward the Vanderbilt goal line, he accelerated into the open, leaving a host of Commodore defenders behind. His 48-yard touchdown with 5:31 gone in the second quarter gave Georgia a 17-0 lead. The Bulldogs added another touchdown before halftime and a field goal in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Walker was at it again, breaking free for a 53-yard touchdown to extend Georgia’s lead to 34-0. It was his third long scoring run of the game. In Georgia’s 41-0 victory, Walker rushed for a school-record 283 yards on 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 60, 48, and 53 yards. At the time, it was believed he had broken Charley Trippi’s 35-year-old school record of 239 yards against Florida in 1945. (Research conducted by UGASports approximately a decade ago later determined that Trippi’s total was actually all-purpose yardage; his rushing total was fewer than 200 yards.) “I’m happy for it (the record), but we’ve got to play again next week,” Walker said after the game. “I can’t look at it now.” During his remarkable freshman season in 1980, Walker had seven touchdown runs of at least 48 yards, including three against Vanderbilt.