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Hawaii-Georgia Sugar Bowl: Top Five Finish Within Reach For Bulldogs

by Josh Cagliani
12/31/2007

When the cameras turn on for the Allstate Sugar Bowl, it may seem the game is being shown in black and white, but that will just be the Georgia and Hawaii fans and players in their black and white attire.

The season will end for the Georgia Bulldogs and Hawaii Warriors when they travel to New Orleans on New Year’s Day for the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

The fourth-ranked Bulldogs will be making their third appearance in the Sugar Bowl since 2003. Georgia defeated No. 14 Florida State 26-13 in 2003 and lost to No. 11 West Virginia 38-35 in a game moved to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta due to Hurricane Katrina.

The Bulldogs are 3-5 in the Sugar Bowl and 1-1 under Mark Richt.

Hawaii will be making their first ever appearance in the Sugar Bowl. It will also mark the first time the Warriors have played in a BCS game.

Georgia (10-2, 6-2 SEC) is coming off six straight wins, three of which came against ranked teams. The Bulldogs turnaround, which started with the Vanderbilt game, began with the emergence of redshirt freshman tailback Knowshon Moreno.

Following the loss to Tennessee and an injury to Thomas Brown, Georgia head coach Mark Richt said the team needed to regain its confidence and swagger.

In order to regain the team’s confidence, Richt inserted Moreno into the starting lineup and he answered by rushing for 811 yards on 148 carries and nine touchdowns as a starter. Moreno rushed for at least 100 yards in each of his first five starts.

On the year, Moreno has rushed for 1,273 yards, which is the fourth best total for a SEC freshman in history, behind Herschel Walker, Jamal Lewis and Emmitt Smith. He also ranks second nationally among freshman in rushing yards per game at 106.

“They have a Barry Sanders type running back and he is only 18 years old,” Hawaii head coach June Jones said. “He isn't any longer a freshman; he is 13 games in and now a veteran. When you watch him block on passes and take the ball and try to physically hurt people or make a move to take it to the house he has it all."

A big reason why the Bulldogs have been successful is that they have only turned the ball over 16 times the entire season, compared to forcing 19 turnovers. Georgia converted the 19 turnovers into 65 points while the Georgia turnovers only resulted in 37 points for the opponents.

The No. 10 Warriors come into the game having won 13 straight games. They are only undefeated team left in college football.

Senior Quarterback Colt Brennan, who has thrown for 4,174 yards and 38 touchdowns while only being intercepted 14 times, leads them into the Big Easy.

Brennan finished third in the Heisman voting this year behind Tim Tebow and Darren McFadden.

“The receivers and him (Brennan) have a great chemistry together, and you can see it on the film of how well they work together,” Georgia sophomore cornerback Asher Allen said. “Again, it’s going to be the biggest challenge for us by far defensively, and we just have to make sure we get ready for it.”

Even though Brennan did not play in every game, the team was still able to put up 50 touchdown passes and average 450 yards a game through the air.

“I am very impressed with what they are doing offensively,” Richt said. “Coach (June) Jones is doing a great job in that regard.”

The meeting between the Bulldogs and the Warriors will mark the first time the two teams have faced off. Both teams are familiar with the opposing conference, however.

Georgia is 3-0 all-time against the WAC. The last game against a WAC opponent ended with the Bulldogs defeating Boise State 48-13 in Athens in 2005.

Last year Hawaii went into Alabama and almost left with a victory. The Warriors were defeated when a Brennan pass was intercepted in the end zone with 13 seconds left in the game that preserved a 25-17 win for Alabama.

The Warriors want to prove their undefeated season should have put them in the National Championship game. In order to do that Hawaii will have to face a Georgia team and fan base that will be out in force in black.

For the second time this season, Georgia has called for a “blackout” of the stadium. The last blackout resulted in a 45-20 beatdown of Auburn.

“Last time when we had this suggestion for the fans to get excited about it, they did and they made the difference in it being a good day and an unbelievable day,” Richt said.

In order to combat the Georgia blackout, Hawaii head coach June Jones has asked the Hawaii fans to wear white to the game.

"This is something that both the UH and Georgia fans can have some fun with and it will be unique to our game," Jones said.

When the game ends, Bulldog seniors hope they can become the fifth consecutive class to claim 40 victories during their stay at Georgia.

A win would most likely give the Bulldogs a top five finish in the final polls.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl will air on FOX and begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 1.