2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team

The 2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team competed on behalf of the University of Georgia in American football against teams from other colleges and universities. The Bulldogs tied for first place in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) but lost a tie-breaker with the University of Tennessee. The team finished its season by defeating the Hawaii Warriors in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. This was the Georgia Bulldogs' seventh season under the guidance of head coach Mark Richt.

2007 Georgia Bulldogs football
SEC Eastern Division co-champion
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 41–10 vs. Hawaii
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 2
Record11–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Bobo (1st as Coordinator, 7th Overall season)
Defensive coordinatorWillie Martinez (3rd as Coordinator, 7th Overall season)
Home stadiumSanford Stadium (92,746)
Uniform
2007 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Eastern Division
No. 12 Tennessee xy  6 –2   10 –4  
No. 2 Georgia x%  6 –2   11 –2  
No. 13 Florida  5 –3   9 –4  
South Carolina  3 –5   6 –6  
Kentucky  3 –5   8 –5  
Vanderbilt  2 –6   5 –7  
Western Division
No. 1 LSU x$#  6 –2   12 –2  
No. 15 Auburn  5 –3   9 –4  
Arkansas  4 –4   8 –5  
Mississippi State  4 –4   8 –5  
Alabama  4 –4   7 –6  
Ole Miss  0 –8   3 –9  
Championship: LSU 21, Tennessee 14
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Alabama had 5 victories vacated by the NCAA in 2010. As such, the official record for Alabama is 2–6 (1–4).
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Two key players from the 2006 season, defensive end Charles Johnson and running back Danny Ware, decided to leave school early to enter the NFL draft.[1] Another junior, defensive back Paul Oliver, considered a move to the NFL, but decided to return to the Bulldogs for his senior year.[2] Despite coming back for his senior year, Paul Oliver became academically ineligible and decided to enter the supplemental draft. The Bulldogs were led on offense by rising Sophomore QB Matthew Stafford. Sean Bailey and Mohammed Massaquoi led the receivers and Thomas Brown at Tailback. The defense saw the emergence of Asher Allen and Kelin Johnson in the Secondary. In addition, Dannell Ellerbe was the leader of the Linebackers while Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens anchored the Defensive Line.[3]

Regular season

The Bulldogs started off strong with an impressive win at home against Oklahoma State. Though, the Bulldogs failed to score a touchdown the following week against South Carolina. The Dawgs rebounded against Western Carolina and enjoyed the thrill of an overtime victory on September 22 at Alabama. This was a legendary call for Scott Howard, the new play by play announcer replacing the legendary Larry Munson. Other high moments during the season were the upset win against Florida 42-30 and the win against Auburn 45-20 as Georgia wore Black jerseys for the first time. The season ended on a high note as the Bulldogs defeated Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana 41-10. The Bulldogs crushed the undefeated Warriors and their high-potent offense lead by NCAA record-setting quarterback Colt Brennan

Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
( ) = First place votes.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP13112322151224212010108644 (1)2 (3)
Coaches131225211611232120101086443
HarrisNot released151223201912119744 (1)Not released
BCSNot released201810109745Not released

Schedule

Before the season, CNNSI.com ranked the 2007 UGA schedule the 14th hardest in the country.[4]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:45 p.m.Oklahoma State*No. 13
ESPN2W 35–1492,746
September 85:45 p.m.South CarolinaNo. 11
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA (rivalry)
ESPN2L 12–1692,746
September 151:00 p.m.Western Carolina*No. 23
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA
CSSW 45–1692,746
September 227:45 p.m.at No. 16 AlabamaNo. 22
ESPNW 26–23 OT92,138
September 291:00 p.m.[5]Ole MissNo. 15
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA
LFSW 45–1792,746
October 63:30 p.m.at TennesseeNo. 12
CBSL 14–35107,052
October 136:00 p.m.at VanderbiltNo. 24
ESPN2[6]W 20–1739,773
October 273:30 p.m.[7]vs. No. 9 FloridaNo. 20
CBS[8]W 42–3084,481
November 31:00 p.m.Troy*daggerNo. 10
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA
LFSW 44–3492,746
November 103:30 p.m.No. 18 AuburnNo. 10
CBSW 45–2092,746
November 1712:30 p.m.No. 22 KentuckyNo. 8
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA
LFSW 24–1392,746
November 243:30 p.m.at Georgia Tech*No. 6
ABCW 31–1754,990
January 1, 20088:30 p.m.vs. No. 10 Hawaii*No. 4
FOXW 41–1074,383
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State at #13 Georgia
1 234Total
Oklahoma State 7 700 14
• Georgia 14 777 35

Sophomore quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs cruised past the Cowboys from the Big 12 in a much-hyped season opener. Georgia won its first game of the season for an 11th consecutive season.

[9]

South Carolina
South Carolina at #12 Georgia
1 234Total
• South Carolina 7 333 16
Georgia 0 336 12

The Gamecocks took a 7-0 lead on their first drive of the game and used stifling defense to hold off the Bulldogs the rest of the way. It was Georgia's first loss in the series since 2001, and the team's fifth consecutive loss to SEC East opponents, dating back to the 2006 season.

[10]

Western Carolina
Western Carolina at #25 Georgia
1 234Total
Western Carolina 3 607 16
• Georgia 3 21147 45

After a slow start, the Dawgs exploded for 42 points in the final three quarters to bounce back with a win over the 1-AA Catamounts. Freshman running back Knowshon Moreno rushed for 94 yards on 13 carries.

[11]

Alabama
#21 Georgia at #20 Alabama
1 234OTTotal
• Georgia 7 3736 26
Alabama 0 37103 23

In a virtual must-win situation, the Dawgs avoided an 0-2 start in SEC play by escaping Bryant–Denny Stadium with an overtime win. Matthew Stafford connected with senior wide receiver Mikey Henderson on the Bulldogs' first play from scrimmage in OT for the winning score.

(As a footnote, this would be the last game Mark Richt won as head coach of Georgia against the Alabama Crimson Tide, as well as the last time until the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship that UGA would defeat Alabama.)

[12]

Ole Miss
Ole Miss at #16 Georgia
1 234Total
Ole Miss 7 370 17
• Georgia 0 17721 45

Running back Thomas Brown rushed for a career-high 180 yds and three touchdowns in the fifth straight win against Western Division opponents.

[13]

Tennessee
#11 Georgia at Tennessee
1 234Total
Georgia 0 077 14
• Tennessee 7 2170 35

Georgia suffered its worst loss since the 2003 Southeastern Conference championship, a 34-13 loss to LSU, and coach Mark Richt's first loss at Tennessee. The Bulldogs had won their last three games at Neyland, Tennessee's home stadium.[14]

[15]

Vanderbilt
#23 Georgia at Vanderbilt
1 234Total
• Georgia 7 076 20
Vanderbilt 3 1400 17

Senior kicker Brandon Coutu drilled a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give Georgia its second road win of the season, both coming on the game's final play. The Dawgs outscored Vanderbilt 13-0 in the second half to rally from a 17-7 halftime deficit.

[16]

Florida
#19 Georgia vs. #11 Florida
1 234Total
• Georgia 14 7714 42
Florida 7 1076 30

Behind Knowshon Moreno's 188 yards (3 touchdowns) and Stafford's 223 yards passing (3 touchdowns), the Dawgs ended their hex against the rival Gators, who had won 15 of the last 17 games in the series. The game was notable for an all team end-zone celebration following Georgia's first touchdown scored on their opening drive. The team celebration was penalized twice and set the tone for a hard fought game.

[17]

Troy
Troy at #10 Georgia
1 234Total
Troy 10 01014 34
• Georgia 7 171010 44

Knowshon Moreno had another huge game, rushing for 196 yards and three touchdowns, as the Bulldogs avoided a post-Florida hangover with a 10-point win over the pesky Trojans from the Sun Belt.

[18]

Auburn
See also: 2007 Auburn Tigers football team and Auburn–Georgia football rivalry
#17 Auburn Tigers (7–3) at #10 Georgia Bulldogs (7–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Auburn 3 7 10020
Georgia 10 7 141445

at Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia

  • Date: November 10
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny • 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
  • Game attendance: 92,746
  • Referee: Penn Wagers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist & Gary Danielson
  • Box Score
Game information

Georgia had their way in The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry for the second consecutive year behind a balanced offensive attack, with 237 yards passing from Matthew Stafford and 180 combined yards on the ground. The Tigers allowed their most points in a game for the entire season to Georgia for the third straight year. It was also the first game in which the Bulldogs wore their black jerseys.

Kentucky
#20 Kentucky at #9 Georgia
1 234Total
Kentucky 10 030 13
• Georgia 0 7143 24

The Dawgs had to shake off the rust after falling behind 10-0 early and did just that by scoring 24 of the game's final 27 points to complete the SEC schedule at 6-2. Georgia ran their winning streak over the Wildcats in Athens to 15 games.

[19]

Georgia Tech
#7 Georgia at Georgia Tech
1 234Total
• Georgia 3 1378 31
Georgia Tech 0 1403 17

Georgia tied a school-record with its seventh-consecutive win in the series of their rivals from Atlanta. Thomas Brown ran for 139 yards, unlike Moreno, who struggled and left the game with an ankle injury. The Georgia defense allowed just 12 completions on 32 pass attempts by the Yellow Jackets.

[20]

Sugar Bowl
Main article: 2008 Sugar Bowl
#10 Hawaii vs. #5 Georgia
1 234Total
Hawaii 3 007 10
• Georgia 14 10143 41

Georgia controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage and completely outmanned the undefeated Western Athletic Conference champs from the beginning of the game to the end. The Bulldogs' previously unheralded defensive end Marcus Howard dominated the Warrior offensive line and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. This is only the second time a defensive player has been named MVP in the Sugar Bowl's history. The last defensive player to be named MVP was Walt Yowarsky, who played tackle for Kentucky, in 1951.

Source:"Rivals.com Game Summary". Retrieved January 5, 2007.

[21]

Postseason

Final ranking

The Associated Press final poll lists the Bulldogs ranked 2nd (behind national champion LSU) - the highest ranking since December 6, 1982, and the highest final season ranking since the National Championship year of 1980.[22] Buoyed by three first place votes, the Bulldogs barely outpaced the third ranked USC program.[23] 2007 marks the eleventh consecutive final AP poll which the Bulldogs ranked in the top 25, the current longest active streak. The Bulldogs have been ranked 30 times in the final poll including 14 Top-10 and 9 Top-5 rankings.

The final USA Today poll listed the Bulldogs ranked 3rd (behind LSU and USC) – which ties the highest ranking ever in that poll (set in the final 2002 poll).

Players
2007 Georgia Bulldogs by Position[24]

Quarterbacks

  • 7 Matthew Stafford – Sophomore
  • 14 Joe Cox – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 15 Blake Barnes – Junior
  • 16 Charles Stanford II
  • 17 Jonathan deLaureal – Redshirt Freshman
  • 19 Logan Gray – Freshman

Running backs

  • 6 Kregg Lumpkin – Senior
  • 20 Thomas Brown – Senior
  • 22 Caleb King – Freshman
  • 23 Corry Parker – Redshirt Freshman
  • 24 Knowshon Moreno – Redshirt Freshman
  • 33 Kalvin Daniels – Freshman
  • 37 Cortney Newmans – Freshman
  • 29 Cedric Lang – "Redshirt Freshman"
  • 39 Jason Johnson – Senior

Fullbacks

  • 35 Nick Stiles – Freshman
  • 36 Brannan Southerland – Junior
  • 48 Fred Munzenmaier – Redshirt Freshman
  • 49 Shaun Chapas – Redshirt Freshman

Wide receivers

  • 1 Mohamed Massaquoi – Junior
  • 4 Sean Bailey – Senior
  • 8 Vernon Spellman – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 9 Marquise Brown – Redshirt Freshman
  • 12 Percy Croffie – Senior
  • 16 Kris Durham – Sophomore
  • 18 A.J. Bryant – Senior
  • 26 Tony Wilson – Redshirt Freshman
  • 27 Mikey Henderson – Senior
  • 28 Israel Troupe – Freshman
  • 80 Walter Hill – Freshman
  • 82 Michael Moore – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 83 T.J. Gartrell – Senior
  • 84 Zach Renner – Freshman
  • 85 Demiko Goodman – Junior
  • 87 Aron White – Freshman
  • 88 Kenneth Harris – Junior

Tight ends

  • 46 Jeff Potterbaum – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 81 NaDerris Ward – Redshirt Freshman
  • 84 Casey Nickels – Redshirt Freshman
  • 84 Coleman Watson – Senior
  • 86 Tripp Chandler – Junior
  • 89 Bruce Figgins – Freshman
  

Offensive line

  • 44 Josh Sailors – Freshman
  • 54 Tanner Strickland – Freshman
  • 60 Clint Boling – Freshman
  • 61 John Potts – Freshman
  • 63 Chris Davis – Redshirt Freshman
  • 66 Micky White – Redshirt Freshman
  • 67 Chester Adams – Senior
  • 70 Scott Haverkamp – Junior
  • 72 Vince Vance – Sophomore
  • 73 Chris Little – Freshman
  • 74 Kevin Perez – Redshirt Freshman
  • 75 Fernando Velasco – Senior
  • 76 Ben Harden – Freshman
  • 77 Trinton Sturdivant – Freshman
  • 78 Josh Davis – Redshirt Freshman

Defensive line

  • 38 Marcus Howard – Senior
  • 41 Roderick Battle – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 45 Tripp Taylor – Sophomore
  • 55 Jeremy Lomax – Junior
  • 56 Geno Atkins – Sophomore
  • 58 Demarcus Dobbs – Redshirt Freshman
  • 59 Michael Lemon – Redshirt Freshman
  • 64 Kiante Tripp – Redshirt Freshman
  • 67 Chester Adams – Senior
  • 68 Wes Jacobs – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 69 Andrew Gully – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 73 Shawn Biron - “Senior”
  • 71 Justin Lyles – Senior
  • 79 Justin Anderson – Freshman
  • 90 Corvey Irvin – Junior
  • 91 Kade Weston – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 92 Neland Ball – Freshman
  • 93 David White – Redshirt Freshman
  • 95 Jeff Owens – Junior
  • 97 Brandon Wood – Redshirt Freshman
  • 98 Ricardo Crawford – Redshirt Freshman
  • 99 Jarius Wynn – Junior
  

Linebackers

  • 12 Brandon Miller – Senior
  • 29 Ryan Rearden – Redshirt Freshman
  • 33 Dannell Ellerbe – Junior
  • 35 Rennie Curran – Freshman
  • 37 Mitchell Pittman – Senior
  • 42 Justin Houston – Freshman
  • 43 Charles White – Freshman
  • 44 Marcus Washington – Junior
  • 46 Ukoha Kalu – Freshman
  • 49 Patrick Williams – Senior
  • 50 Darryl Gamble – Redshirt Freshman
  • 51 Akeem Dent – Redshirt Freshman
  • 52 Darius Dewberry – Sophomore
  • 53 Chris Gaunder – Senior
  • 54 Justin Respress – Redshirt Freshman
  • 57 Benjamin Boyd – Junior
  • 61 Justin Fields – Redshirt Freshman
  • 65 Will Sullivan – Redshirt Freshman

Defensive backs

  • 8 Eric Elliot – Freshman
  • 25 Vance Cuff – Freshman
  • 27 Molloy VanGorder – Freshman

Cornerbacks

  • 2 Asher Allen – Sophomore
  • 3 Bryan Evans – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 10 Donavon Baldwin – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 11 Ramarcus Brown – Junior
  • 16 Chad Gloer – Redshirt Freshman
  • 23 Prince Miller – Sophomore
  • 26 Christian Norton – Redshirt Freshman
  • 29 Thomas Flowers – Senior
  

Safeties

  • 4 Andrew Johnson – Redshirt Freshman
  • 5 CJ Byrd – Junior
  • 9 Reshad Jones – Redshirt Freshman
  • 15 Rowdy Francis – Junior
  • 17 Antavious Coates – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 18 Brad Arsenault – Redshirt Junior
  • 24 Robby Bost – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 30 Kelin Johnson – Senior
  • 31 Quintin Banks – Redshirt Freshman
  • 32 John Knox – Freshman
  • 47 Andrew Williams – Senior

Punters

  • 13 Drew Butler – Freshman
  • 32 Brian Mimbs – Junior
  • 95 Chris Rogers – Freshman

Kickers

  • 22 Bo Stansell – Redshirt Freshman
  • 28 Ben Wilson – Senior
  • 93 Andy Bailey – Senior
  • 96 Brandon Coutu – Senior

Long snappers

  • 57 Andrew Davis – Freshman
  • 58 Matthew DeGenova – Freshman
  • 59 Bo Fowler – Junior
  • 65 Jeff Henson – Junior

Coaching staff

The 2007 Season is Coach Richt's seventh season at Georgia. Neil Callaway, Georgia's offensive coordinator from 2001 to 2006, left at the end of 2006 to become the head coach at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Richt named former UGA quarterback Mike Bobo as the new offensive coordinator.[25] Bobo took over play calling responsibilities during the Georgia Tech game as well as in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl. Callaway also served as the offensive line coach. Stacy Searels, offensive line coach at LSU from 2003 to 2006, was named to the same position at Georgia to replace Callaway.[26]


References
  4. Steve Megargee, Top 25 toughest schedules, SI.com/Rivals.com, June 21, 2007.
  5. "The Sept. 29 game against Mississippi at Sanford Stadium will kick off at 1 pm It is not being televised".
  6. ESPN2 To Televise Georgia-Vanderbilt Football Game Oct. 13 - GeorgiaDogs.com—Official Athletic Site of the University of Georgia
  7. Schedules - CBSSports.com Archived October 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ESPN - NCAA College Football Schedule, College Football Schedule, NCAA Football Schedule
  9. Box Score. ESPN.com.
  10. Box Score. ESPN.com
  11. Box Score. ESPN.com.
  12. Box Score. ESPN.com.
  13. Box Score. ESPN.com
  14. NCAA Football - Georgia Bulldogs/Tennessee Volunteers Recap Saturday October 6, 2007 - Yahoo! Sports
  15. Box Score. ESPN.com
  16. [espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=272860238 Box Score. ESPN.com]
  17. Box Score. ESPN.com.
  18. Box Score. ESPN.com
  19. Box Score. ESPN.com.
  20. Box Score. ESPN.com.
  21. Box Score. ESPN.com.
  22. Poll History - GeorgiaDogs.com—Official Athletic Site of the University of Georgia
  23. "AP Poll". USA Today. November 30, 2007. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  24. "Georgia Bulldog Roster". www.georgiadogs.com. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  25. "UGA QB Coach Mike Bobo Named Offensive Coordinator". UGA Sports Communications. December 19, 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
  26. "LSU's Stacy Searels Named Offensive Line Coach At UGA". UGA Sports Communications. January 6, 2006. Retrieved January 16, 2007.
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