2007 Georgia Football: Surging Down The Stretch
Georgia football was on a strong run of success under head coach Mark Richt coming into the 2007 season. Richt came to Athens in 2001 and had since won two SEC titles and finished in the national top 10 four times. The ’07 Bulldogs, after an uneven start, built on that success.
THE FUTRE PROS WHO LED THE WAY
Matthew Stafford, one day to be an #1 overall draft pick, a Super Bowl champion and an NFL MVP, was in his sophomore year at quarterback. Stafford’s numbers were pedestrian, but respectable for young QB. He completed 56 percent of his passes at 7.4 yards-per-attempt and a 19-10 TD/INT ratio. His key strength was a big arm, and Georgia’s top two receivers, Sean Bailey and Mohamed Massaquoi, each averaged over 15 yards per catch.
But the real strength of Georgia’s attack in 2007 lie in running the football. Knowshon Moreno had a good NFL career ahead of him, and the All-SEC performer rang up over 1,300 yards at 5.4 per attempt. Thomas Brown provided real spark as a change of pace, with 779 yards at better than five a pop. Brannan Southerland excelled as a blocking fullback.
The offensive line wasn’t dominant, and the Bulldogs ranked 36th nationally in points scored. Not great, but enough to control tempo and certainly good enough to win with.
Meanwhile, the defense was 18th nationally in points allowed. The focal point was defensive tackle Geno Atkins. An eventual 1st-round draft pick, Atkins would have an outstanding career in the pros, and he was All-Conference for the Dawgs in 2007.
Expectations weren’t sky-high in Athens when the season started, but nor where they absent. Georgia was ranked #13 in the preseason polls.
UP AND DOWN EARLY
The Bulldogs opened the season at home with games against two mediocre teams who were each headed for 6-6 regular seasons. Georgia beat Oklahoma State 35-14. But they lost the more important of the two, to SEC East rival South Carolina by a 16-12 count.
After a perfunctory 45-16 win over Western Carolina, the Dawgs went to Alabama. In their first year under Nick Saban, the Tide was still retooling and were another team headed for a 6-6 regular season. Georgia was able to get out of Tuscaloosa with a 26-23 win.
They followed that up with a 45-17 win over lowly Ole Miss, but a road trip to Tennessee on the first weekend of October was a disaster. Facing another team they would have to battle with in the SEC East, Georgia came home on the wrong end of a 35-14 beating.
At 3-2, this season had a bit of a ho-hum feel to it. The Bulldogs were competitive, but there was nothing to suggest anything special in the works.
BREAKTHROUGH IN JACKSONVILLE
A road trip to face a subpar Vanderbilt squad produced an unimpressive 20-17 win. The good news is that no one was taking control of the SEC East and 2007 in general was a wild year for college football. So, the Bulldogs had an opportunity to find their footing. But it needed to be fast, as they took two weeks to prepare for ninth-ranked Florida in the annual neutral-site battle in Jacksonville.
The Gators were the defending national champions, and while this ’07 team wasn’t on that level, they had a sophomore quarterback named Tim Tebow who was headed for the Heisman Trophy and Urban Meyer was on the sidelines.
Georgia scored first, on a simple one-yard plunge by Moreno. The entire Bulldog bench came storming onto the field to celebrate. Known as “The Gator Stomp”, it was orchestrated by Richt, more than willing to take a penalty in order to fire his team up and make a statement.
Before the first quarter was out, Stafford threw an 84-yard touchdown strike to Massaquoi. In the second quarter, Stafford gave it back, throwing a Pick-6. The back-and-forth battle had the Bulldogs up 21-17 at halftime.
But the Georgia running game was asserting itself. Moreno had a huge day, with 188 yards on 33 carries. Stafford, despite the mistake, was an efficient 11/18 for 217 yards. And the defensive line settled in and got after Tebow. Five sacks, two by edge rusher Marcus Howard, keyed the pass rush.
Stafford threw two more touchdowns in the second half. The Bulldogs stayed in steady control and they won 42-30. As the season went into November, they were 4-2 in SEC play and tied in the loss column with 3-2 Tennessee. The tiebreaker situation meant Georgia still needed some help, but they were up to #10 in the national polls and had a lot to play for down the stretch.
NOVEMBER SURGE
The defense took a little breather a week later against Troy, but the Dawgs scored enough to compensate in a 44-34 win. They were 7-2 and headed into a decisive final stretch against Auburn, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech, all of whom posted winning records in 2007.
Stafford got the home game with Auburn started the same way he had against Florida—with a big strike to Massaquoi, this time from 58 yards. The Bulldogs moved out to a 17-3 lead by the early second quarter. Then the momentum shifted, and they found themselves trailing 20-17 in the third quarter.
Once again, the tempo control provided by the running game was decisive in the second half of a big game. With Moreno and Brown both contributing, the Dawgs won rush yardage 180-83. And they completely took over, scoring four unanswered touchdowns and winning 45-20.
A similar formula worked at home against Kentucky. After spotting the Wildcats a 10-0 lead, Georgia won rush yardage 184-29. Even with a spotty game from Stafford, the Bulldogs chiseled out a 24-13 win. They almost got the help they needed when Vandy pushed Tennessee to the edge, but the Vols survived and maintained the inside track in the SEC East.
Georgia went on the road to face Georgia Tech. This time it was Brown’s turn to be in the spotlight and the running back ripped off 139 yards to key a 31-17 win.
The Bulldogs were #4 in the polls. The format of the time called for the 1-2 finishers to play in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game. Georgia had an outside shot, but what they really needed was to get a crack at SEC West champ LSU in the conference championship game, with the Tigers ranked ahead of them.
SETTLING FOR THE SUGAR BOWL
Georgia almost got what they needed. Tennessee was pushed into three overtimes by Kentucky. But the Vols survived 52-50. The Bulldogs would not get their crack at LSU. By this point in the season, more than a few observers thought Georgia was the best team in the country. As it was, LSU defeated Tennessee a week later and went on to win the national championship.
The Bulldogs still got a Sugar Bowl bid. While it was perhaps anticlimactic to face undefeated Hawaii, this was just one year after Boise State shocked the world by upsetting Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and showing that “mid-majors” could do damage if not taken seriously.
CLOSING STATEMENT IN NEW ORLEANS
Hawaii was coached by June Jones, a former NFL head coach renowned for his innovative ways of spreading the field in the passing game. Rainbow quarterback Colt Brennan had finished third in the Heisman race. The Georgia defense would be tested in New Orleans.
The Dawg D passed the test in spectacular fashion. They sacked Brennan eight times, three by Howard and two by linebacker Rennie Curran. Georgia intercepted four passes, two by defensive back Asher Allen. They held Hawaii to (-5) yards rushing. It was complete dominance.
In the meantime, Moreno ran for first quarter touchdowns from 14 and 11 yards out. Stafford hit Bailey with an 11-yard TD pass. It was 24-3 by halftime, escalated as high as 41-3 and finished at 41-10.
Georgia finished #2 in the nation, a testament to an emerging era of SEC dominance. Richt would coach in Athens through 2015. This 2007 squad was his best with the Bulldogs.