Vince Dooley's most memorable wins as Georgia's head football coach

Longtime Georgia Bulldogs football coach and longtime University of Georgia athletics director Vince Dooley died at his home Friday surrounded by family at 90 years old, according to a spokesperson for the University of Georgia Athletics Department. 

Dooley’s 201-77-10 record as Georgia’s head coach makes him the winningest football coach in the school’s history. 

Dooley was inducted in the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1994. 

With 201 career wins, narrowing the list down to a top-5 is difficult. Here are five of Vince Dooley’s greatest wins as head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Jan. 1, 1981: Georgia 17, Notre Dame 10

It goes without saying the Georgia Bulldogs’ second recognized National Championship was the signature moment of Dooley’s coaching career.

Georgia won the 1981 Sugar Bowl over Notre Dame and Dooley was a unanimous NCAA National Coach of the Year that season.

Nov. 5, 1966: Georgia 27, Florida 10

In two previous matchups with the SEC rival Florida Gators, Dooley was 1-1. The Bulldogs held a team led by quarterback Steve Spurrier and running back Larry Smith to 10 points, the fewest the Gators scored in a single game that season.

The win gave Georgia the edge in the race for the Southeastern Conference title, which the Bulldogs shared with Alabama that season.

In his third season at the helm, Dooley led the Bulldogs to a 10-1 season after starting unranked. The Bulldogs finished No. 4 in the AP Poll. 

Georgia went on to beat Southern Methodist University in the Cotton Bowl, 24-9.

Dec. 26, 1964: Georgia 7, Texas Tech 6

The 1964 Sun Bowl was Vince Dooley’s first bowl victory as head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs football team.

The bowl win came in the first season of the legendary coach’s career. It was the first bowl appearance and win for Georgia since Wally Butts led the Bulldogs to the 1960 Orange Bowl over Missouri. 

The 1964 Sun Bowl was the first of 20 bowl appearances for Dooley-coached teams.

Jan. 1, 1989: Georgia 34, Michigan State 27

If Dooley’s first bowl win was one of his greatest, it’s only fair to rank his last-ever game and victory as a head coach as one of the finest moments.

The 1989 Gator Bowl was Dooley’s 201st career win, which cemented him as the ninth football coach in NCAA Division I history to win more than 200 games. 

Dooley went on to focus on his duties as the university’s athletics director until retiring in 2004. 

Dec. 31, 1971: Georgia 7, North Carolina 3

Georgia didn’t win a national title or even a conference championship in the 1971 season, but the Gator Bowl between the Bulldogs and North Carolina Tar Heels featured a matchup of sibling rivalry.

Bill Dooley, Vince Dooley’s younger brother, was a coach on the Georgia Bulldogs football staff, starting in 1964, before he became head coach of the Tar Heels in 1967. The brothers faced each other in the 1971 Gator Bowl.

The elder Dooley got the best of his younger brother in the matchup in Jacksonville, Florida.

Georgia finished the season ranked No. 7. The Bulldogs’ record was 11-1.