Homecoming Adds Excitement To Georgia v. Troy Football Game

by Josh Cagliani
10/31/2007

It’s homecoming week in Athens and the No. 10-ranked Bulldogs will have to prove to their new king and queen they are worthy soldiers as they face off against the Troy Trojans for the first time ever on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (6-2, 4-2 SEC), coming off an emotional victory over the Florida Gators, showed a level of intensity that many fans have been waiting on for some time. In the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the entire Bulldog team stormed the field after scoring their first touchdown, which led to 35 more points.

The win over Florida put the Bulldogs atop the SEC East, a half-game ahead of Tennessee. The Vols own the head-to-head tiebreaker, but with a conference loss and a Georgia win against Auburn and Kentucky, the Bulldogs can win the SEC East. It’s vital that Georgia maintains the energy started at the Florida game to continue winning.

“It’s definitely a challenge,” redshirt freshman Shaun Chapas said when referring to the ability to carry emotions over from game to game. “We have to do all the right things during the week so that come Saturday we can be really comfortable with what we’re doing and really fired up for a victory.”

For the first time in over a month, the Bulldogs will be playing a game inside Sanford Stadium. During their absence from Athens, the Bulldogs kept their SEC East hopes alive by going 2-1.

When Georgia returns it will be for their homecoming game, which the Bulldogs are 66-17-2 in since 1922. Last year’s homecoming defeat against Vanderbilt ended an 11-year winning streak in those games. This weekend’s game will mark the first time since 2003 that Georgia has faced a non-conference opponent for homecoming, when they beat UAB 16-13.

With the Bulldogs still depleted at running back, redshirt freshman Knowshon Moreno will continue to carry the ball. Moreno rushed for 188 yards on 33 carries against Florida.

Since Moreno became the starter two games ago, he has rushed for 345 yards and four touchdowns, which has brought on comparisons to former Auburn running back Cadillac Williams.

“He has some Cadillac in him,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. “He may not be as fast as Cadillac.”

Georgia will not be facing Auburn and Williams, but they will be facing a Troy team that has only lost twice all year, once to Arkansas and then Florida. In those two games Troy scored 26 and 31 points, which shows how prolific their offense can be.

“Troy is a scoring machine and their defense had a shutout last week as well,” Richt said.

A key stat to watch for in the game will be turnovers. Troy ranks 95th in the country with 21 turnovers while Georgia leads the nation with only six. If Troy wants to come out of Athens with a win they must create turnovers.

This will be the 14th time that Troy has played a ranked opponent in the school’s history. They are 1-12 in those games with six of the losses being against top 10 teams.

Even though Georgia and Troy have never played, they do have one thing in common when it comes to the 2007 season. Both teams defeated Oklahoma State by almost the same margin.

“As far as Troy, we’ve obviously started looking at them. We already know about their quarterback and their offense,” Georgia cornerback Asher Allen said. “Looking at the Oklahoma State game you see what they can do.”

Troy has an uphill battle considering Georgia teams under Mark Richt are 27-2 against non-SEC teams. That record includes a 19-0 record at home where the game will be played.

The Troy game will begin a three-game stretch at home, along with games against Auburn and Kentucky. The Bulldogs will close out the season in Atlanta against Georgia Tech.

The game will begin at 1 p.m. and can be heard on the Bulldog Radio Network on AM 750 WSB and on 106.1 FM and 960 The Ref in Athens.