With a ranking of 15th in the final BCS standings, the Georgia Bulldogs will look to end their season on a positive note and get a win over No. 18 Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1 in Orlando, Fla. The Bulldogs defense is especially looking forward to playing another game after closing out the regular season by giving up 45 points to Georgia Tech and becoming the target of criticism by media and fans for its play down the stretch.“We obviously didn’t take care of business in the Tech game, when we should have been honoring our seniors,” said linebacker Rennie Curran. “We look at this game as another chance to finish up strong and build momentum for next year.”
After surrendering over 400 rushing yards to the Yellow Jackets, the game against the Spartans serves as another chance for Georgia to go up against a team that loves to run. Michigan State’s Javon Ringer is fourth in the nation in total rushing yards with 1,590, and his rushing touchdown total (21) is second in the country. Both Ringer and the Bulldogs’ Knowshon Moreno are among the three finalists for the Doak Walker Award, which is presented to the nation’s top running back. The winner will be announced Thursday night. “Of course he’s a great back,” Moreno said of Ringer. “He wouldn’t be up for this award if he wasn’t.”
Still, Moreno knows that he and Ringer will not be going one-on-one against each other come New Year’s Day. “We’re not the only two people on our team,” Moreno said. “Both teams have to get [contributions] from the other people to come out with the victory.”
Moreno rushed for 1,338 yards and 16 touchdowns on the year, and has been named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. He did all of this despite running behind a makeshift offensive line that was inexperienced and plagued by injuries. “Throughout the whole season, whoever was in there was really doing a great job for us,” Moreno said.
One of those offensive lineman, tackle Clint Boling, has been honored for his play by being named first team All-SEC by the AP. Moreno and receiver A.J. Green joined Boling on the first team. Curran, quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, safety Reshad Jones and punter Brian Mimbs were named to the second team. Moreno, Curran and Massaquoi were named first-team All-SEC by the coaches. Stafford, Green and Mimbs were named to the second team.
Ending the season with a good taste in their mouths is not the only goal for the Bulldogs in the Capital One Bowl. Georgia will look to end a four-game SEC losing steak to the Big Ten. The SEC’s last victory in the game occurred in 2003, when Georgia came from behind to beat Purdue 34-27 in overtime. “This game has not been won by the SEC in a while, so we also want to reestablish that,” Curran said. “We have a lot of things to prove, not only as a defense, but as a team.”
Kickoff for the Capital One Bowl is slated for 1 p.m on New Year’s Day.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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