2008 Georgia Bulldogs football team 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 . Game notes . 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 " only " winning 45 – 21 . 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 2 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 . 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 . Arizona State . Georgia scored 3 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 . A . J . Green was named SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance . 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 lead from which Georgia was unable to recover . After the disappointment of this game , is unclear if there will be future " blackout " games . 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 . 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 . 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 - 1982 . 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 . Matt Stafford led the Dawgs with a career high of 407 yds passing and 5 tds . 3 of those went to Massaquoi in the 2nd quarter 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 . 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 .