There's that special disdain that we all have, I suppose, for that one guy who always found a way to beat you. That guy that no matter what you did would always win. And the more he beat you, the cockier he seemed and the more you grew to hate him and to play him. He owned you. For me, that guy was former Mississippi QB John Bond. :angryfire John Bond was the best option QB I've ever seen play (in person). I know there were/are other great ones (Watts-Oklahoma, Holloway-Tennessee, Street-Texas, Mildren-Oklahoma, etc.) but I only saw them on TV. I saw Bond in Tiger Stadium. He ran. And he ran. And he ran some more. And when he didn't run, he passed pretty well too. I believe he still holds the SEC record for career rushing yards by a QB although the kid from Arkansas will probably break the record this year if he doesn't get hurt. I think Bond is still the only SEC QB to rush for 2,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards in a career. During his time at State, Bond beat us 55-31 (Jackson '80), 19-7 (Tiger Stadium '81), 27-24 (Starkville '82), and 45-26 (Tiger Stadium '83). The '83 game remains one of my all-time worst memories in Tiger Stadium. On that night, he was simply unstoppable. And as I remember it, the game was worse than the score would indicate. He was everywhere. From my vantage point in the South End Zone, watching each option play develop made me nervous and it was clear that the LSU defense was no match for that guy on that night. While the '81 and '83 Tigers were not great (3-7-1 and 4-7 respectively), the '80 (7-4) and '82 (8-3-1) teams were not too bad. And we still couldn't beat him. In '82, close, so close, but no cigar. :dis: I'm glad he only had 4 years of eligibility. I understand he's coaching somewhere now. Anyway, who's that #1 guy on your list ?
Florida 2nd baseman David Eckstein (now with the Angels). I couldn't stand that guy. He must have hit like .750 lifetime against LSU.
Bond is a damn good choice, he is stuck in my craw I know that. Archie would be the other one and the most important as he kept us from playing for the national championship in 69. Daneyune(?) Craig for Auburn would be another along with about 20 Bama players over the years. They had a WR named Wheeler I think that ate up our DB's for a couple of years even though they only threw about 5 passes a game.
I think the biggest coaching thorn in our side would have to be, undeniably... .. Gerry Dinardo when he was coaching for us. Please don't take me too seriously.
The Bear. EVERY year in the late 60's early 70's, we would get to the Bama game with 0 or 1 losses... ...and the Bear almost always sent us packin'... #2 Spurrier, as a coach AND a player. He owned us BOTH ways. That's one of the reasons '97 was SO SWEET... #3 Archie. At least we got revenge on him the last time we saw him..
My dad still argues that the only reason Cholly Mac got fired was because he couldn't beat the bear. My dad thought this a silly reason as he puts it "Hell, nobody else could either." :lol:
