The 2008 Georgia Bulldogs football team competed in American football on behalf of the University of Georgia in 2008. The Bulldogs competed in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the Georgia Bulldogs' eighth season under the guidance of head coach Mark Richt. During the pre-game ceremonies on August 30, UGA VII was introduced at Sanford Stadium, replacing UGA VI, who died in June.
Georgia was ranked #1 in both the preseason coaches poll and AP poll, marking the first time Georgia has ever been #1 in the preseason version of either poll. However, they finished the season ranked below the top 10 in the AP poll.
Georgia entered the 2008 season with the longest active winning streak among the 66 BCS conference teams having won their last 7 games of the 2007 season. Among the 120 NCAA FBS teams, only BYU had a longer active winning streak (10 games). Georgia's winning streak ended at 11 games with its loss to Alabama in the 5th game of the 2008 season.
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries Georgia Southern
Georgia won its season opener over Georgia Southern, 45–21. Georgia led 38–0 in the 3rd quarter before replacing many of its starting players. Knowshon Moreno scored 3 touchdowns on eight rushing attempts. Georgia lost its #1 ranking after the game and would never regain it, losing it after this game in part to USC's 52–7 win over Virginia and the perception that Georgia's defense was questionable for allowing three touchdowns to a lesser opponent.
A. J. Green recorded his first career touchdown on a 3-yard pass from back-up quarterback, Joe Cox.
Central Michigan
Georgia coasted to a second straight victory to start the season, beating Central Michigan, 56–17. Knowshon Moreno had 3 touchdowns and 168 yards on 18 carries. Moreno had a 52-yard touchdown run and added a highlight reel leap over Central Michigan defender Vince Agnew on a 29-yard run. Matthew Stafford added two touchdown passes, including a 54-yard bomb to Mohammed Massaquoi. Demarcus Dobbs picked off a Central Michigan pass late in the second quarter and ran 79 yards for a defensive touchdown.CNNSI.com: Georgia vs. Central Michigan Box Score
South Carolina
Georgia beat the South Carolina Gamecocks in a low-scoring game that was closer than many expected, finally prevailing 14–7. The young offensive line struggled with the South Carolina defense. Matthew Stafford completed 15 of 25 passes for 146 yards, but his biggest play came on a 30-yard 3rd quarter run to the South Carolina 4, setting up a Knowshon Moreno touchdown run on the next play. Moreno had 79 yards on 20 carries. A. J. Green led the Georgia receivers with 3 catches for 61 yards.Bulldogs, Moreno rally past South Carolina
Arizona State
Georgia scored three 2nd-quarter touchdowns to take a 21–3 lead at halftime against Arizona State. The 2nd half was rather uneventful, and Georgia rolled to an easy 27–10 win. Stafford had the most passing yards of his career (285), and A. J. Green had a breakout game with 159 yards on 8 catches. Moreno also added 2 touchdowns and 149 yards rushing on 23 carries.Moreno scores 2 TDs, runs for 149 as Georgia takes care of Sun Devils A. J. Green was named SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance.2008 Week 4 SEC Players of the Week
Alabama
ESPN's College Gameday broadcast their show live from Athens before the Alabama game. The visit was the show's first broadcast from Athens since the Tennessee game in 1998. A. J. Green led all Georgia receivers with 6 catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. This game was notable in that it was only the third ever "blackout" game where the team donned black jerseys and the majority of the fans wore black. However, unlike earlier two contests which were both big Georgia wins, the Crimson Tide dominated early in the game and built an insurmountable 31–0 halftime lead from which Georgia was unable to recover. After the disappointment of this game, the bulldogs would never have another blackout game until 2016 where they faced against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Tennessee
Georgia ended a 2-game losing streak to Tennessee with a 26–14 win in Athens. Stafford had 310 yards passing in his first career 300-yard passing game. A 28-yard field goal by Blair Walsh capped off a 17 play, fourth quarter drive that ran 10 minutes and 55 seconds off the clock. The drive was the longest by an SEC team since LSU had an 11-minute, 2 second drive against Arizona State in 2005.
Vanderbilt
Georgia beat the #23-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores, 24–14, on homecoming weekend. Knowshon Moreno had a season high 172 yards and 1 touchdown on 23 carries, and A. J. Green had 7 catches for 132 yards and 1 touchdown.
LSU
Source:
Georgia beat the #11-ranked LSU Tigers, 52–38, in Tiger Stadium. Stafford was 17 of 26 passing for 249 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added 1 rushing touchdown. Knowshon Moreno rushed 21 times for 163 yards and 1 touchdown on a 68-yard 3rd quarter run. Linebacker Darryl Gamble, starting at middle linebacker position for the injured Dannell Ellerbe, twice intercepted LSU quarterback, Jarrett Lee, for touchdown returns of 40 and 53 yards. A. J. Green had 3 receptions for 89 yards, including a 49-yard 3rd-quarter touchdown.
Florida
Florida routed Georgia, 49–10, in one of the most heavily hyped Florida–Georgia football rivalry games ever. Stafford struggled, going 18 of 33 for 265 yards passing with 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. The loss was the largest margin of defeat in Mark Richt's 8-year head coaching career.
Kentucky
Georgia beat Kentucky, 42–38, after Matthew Stafford threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to A. J. Green with 1:54 left in the 4th quarter. Demarcus Dobbs then intercepted a last minute pass from Kentucky quarterback Randall Cobb to preserve the win for Georgia. Stafford had a career-high 376 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. Mohammed Massaquoi also had a career-high 191 receiving yards with 8 receptions and 1 touchdown.Georgia holds off Kentucky with late TD pass from Stafford
Auburn
Matthew Stafford threw a 17-yard, 4th-quarter touchdown pass to A. J. Green, and the Bulldogs stopped a late Auburn drive to win 17–13. The win marked Georgia's 3rd straight win against Auburn for the first time since winning 3 straight against Auburn from 1980 to 1982.Georgia makes it 3 in a row against Auburn
Georgia Tech
A disappointing regular season for Georgia ended with an upset loss to bitter rival Georgia Tech, snapping Georgia's 7-game winning streak in the series. Georgia had a 28–12 halftime lead but Georgia Tech outscored Georgia 23–0 in the third quarter. Matthew Stafford led the Dawgs with a career-high of 407 yds passing and 5 tds. 3 of those went to Mohamed Massaquoi.
Capital One Bowl
The final game of the season would prove to be the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida against Michigan State. It would be Matthew Stafford's and Knowshon Moreno's last game at UGA. Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the 2nd half of game. The final touchdown of the game was caught by Knowshon Moreno cementing the win for Georgia in this bowl game.
Statistics
Team Team Opp Scoring Points per game First downs Rushing Passing Penalty Total offense Avg per play Avg per game Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Avg per game Team Opp Punts-Yards Avg per punt Time of possession/Game 3rd down conversions 4th down conversions Touchdowns scored Field goals-Attempts-Long PAT-Attempts Attendance Games/Avg per Game
Scores by quarter
Offense
Rushing Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Knowshon Moreno 13 250 1463 63 1400 5.6 16 68 107.7 Caleb King 11 61 278 31 247 4.0 1 27 22.5 Richard Samuel 11 26 137 4 133 5.1 1 27 12.1 Total 11.7 337 1878 98 1780 5.3 18 40.6 47.4 Opponents
Passing Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G Matthew Stafford 13 383-235-10 61.4 3459 25 78 Joe Cox 15-11-0 73.3 151 2 21 Total Opponents
Receiving Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/GA.J. Green 13 8 963 17.2 8 54 74 Mohammed Massaquoi 13 1 920 15.9 8 78 70.8 Michael Moore 13 82 451 15.6 2 46 34.7 Knowshon Moreno 13 24 392 11.8 2 37 30.2 Kris Durham 5 16 199 15.3 1 61 39.8 Demiko Goodman 13 85 133 12.1 1 21 10.3 Kenneth Harris 13 88 116 10.5 1 31 8.9 Aron White 13 81 88 29.3 2 48 6.8 Total Opponents
Defense Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass defense Interceptions Fumbles BlkdKick Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF Total
Special teams Name Punting Kickoffs No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB Total
Name Punt returns Kick returns No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long Total
Players Head Coach Mark Richt dismissed two players on October 8, 2008. Donavan Baldwin, a safety, and Walter Hill, a wide receiver were removed from the team.
2008 Georgia Bulldogs by Position Quarterbacks 6 Logan Gray – Freshman 11 Edward Dent – Freshman 7 Matthew Stafford – Junior 14 Joe Cox – Junior 15 Jonathan Batson – Sophomore 17 Jonathan deLaureal – Sophomore
Running Backs 4 Caleb King – Freshman 22 Richard Samuel – Freshman 24 Knowshon Moreno – Sophomore 27 Dontavius Jackson – Freshman 30 Carlton Thomas – Freshman 25 Josh Cox – Freshman 37 Cortney Newmans – Freshman 45 Josh Bagby – Junior
Fullbacks 15 Benjamin Boyd – Senior 36 Brannan Southerland – Senior 43 Kevin Lanier – Freshman 44 Josh Sailors – Freshman 46 Justin Fields – Sophomore 48 Fred Munzenmaier – Sophomore 49 Shaun Chapas – Sophomore 42 Cedric Lang – Freshman
Wide Receivers 1 Mohamed Massaquoi – Senior 3 Taylor Bradberry – Freshman 5 Craig Sager – Sophomore 8 A. J. Green – Freshman 10 Zach Renner – Freshman 12 Tavarres King – Freshman 16 Kris Durham – Junior 20 Marquise Brown – Sophomore 23 Twoey Hosch – Freshman 26 Tony Wilson – Sophomore 28 Israel Troupe – Freshman 80 Walter Hill – Freshman 82 Michael Moore – Junior 83 Cornelius Washington – Freshman 85 Demiko Goodman – Senior 87 Veron Spellman – Junior 88 Kenneth Harris – SeniorTight Ends 39 Dustin Banks – Freshman 47 Trenton Turner – Freshman 58 Casey Nickels – Sophomore 75 Kiante Tripp – Sophomore 81 Aron White – Freshman 83 Richard Lowe – Freshman 84 Bryce Ros – Freshman 86 Tripp Chandler – Senior''' 89 Bruce Figgins – SophomoreOffensive Line 18 Derek Rich – Sophomore 54 Tanner Strickland – Freshman 60 Clint Boling – Sophomore 61 Ben Jones – Freshman 63 Chris Davis – Sophomore 67 Jonathan Owens – Junior 68 Ben Harbin – Freshman 71 Cordy Glenn – Freshman 72 Vince Vance – Junior 73 Chris Little – Freshman 74 Kevin Perez – Sophomore 76 Ben Harden – Freshman 77 Trinton Sturdivant – Sophomore 78 Josh Davis – Sophomore 79 Justin Anderson – Freshman|width="25"| |valign="top"|
Defensive Line 41 Roderick Battle – Junior 42 Justin Houston – Freshman 53 Jeremy Longo – Freshman 55 Jeremy Lomax – Senior 56 Geno Atkins – Junior 58 Demarcus Dobbs – Sophomore 64 Matthew DeGenova – Freshman 66 Brandon Wheeling – Junior 68 Wes Jacobs – Senior 69 Andrew Gully – Senior 90 Corvey Irvin – Senior 91 Kade Weston – Junior 92 Neland Ball – Freshman 93 A.J. Harmon – Freshman 94 DeAngelo Tyson – Freshman 95 Jeff Owens – Senior 97 Brandon Wood – Sophomore 98 Ricardo Crawford – Sophomore 99 Jarius Wynn – SeniorLinebackers 33 Dannell Ellerbe – Senior 35 Rennie Curran – Sophomore 37 Akeem Hebron – Sophomore 38 Marcus Dowtin – Freshman 43 Charles White – Freshman 44 Marcus Washington – Senior 45 Christian Robinson – Freshman 50 Darryl Gamble – Sophomore 51 Akeem Dent – Sophomore 52 Darius Dewberry – Junior 65 Devin Hollander – JuniorDefensive Backs 18 Bacarri Rambo – Freshman 19 Sanders Commings – Freshman 25 Vance Cuff – Sophomore 29 Makiri Pugh – Freshman 30 Eric Elliot – Freshman 39 Nick Williams – Freshman 43 Stephen Braue – Junior|width="25"| |valign="top"|