2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team The 2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team competed on behalf of the University of Georgia in American football against teams from other colleges and universities . The Bulldogs tied for first place in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) but lost a tie - breaker with the University of Tennessee . The team finished its season by defeating the Hawaii Warriors in the 2008 Sugar Bowl . This was the Georgia Bulldogs ' seventh season under the guidance of head coach Mark Richt . Preseason . Two key players from the 2006 season , defensive end Charles Johnson and running back Danny Ware , decided to leave school early to enter the NFL draft . Another junior , defensive back Paul Oliver , considered a move to the NFL , but decided to return to the Bulldogs for his senior year . Despite coming back for his senior year , Paul Oliver became academically ineligible and decided to enter the supplemental draft . Schedule . Before the season , CNNSI . com ranked the 2007 UGA schedule the 14th hardest in the country . Game notes . Oklahoma State . Sophomore quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs cruised past the Cowboys from the Big 12 in a much - hyped season opener . Georgia won its first game of the season for an 11th consecutive season . South Carolina . The Gamecocks took a 7 - 0 lead on their first drive of the game and used stifling defense to hold off the Bulldogs the rest of the way . It was Georgia ' s first loss in the series since 2001 , and the team ' s fifth consecutive loss to SEC East opponents , dating back to the 2006 season . Western Carolina . After a slow start , the Dawgs exploded for 42 points in the final three quarters to bounce back with a win over the 1 - AA Catamounts . Freshman running back Knowshon Moreno rushed for 94 yards on 13 carries . Alabama . In a virtual must - win situation , the Dawgs avoided an 0 - 2 start in SEC play by escaping Bryant - Denny Stadium with an overtime win . Matthew Stafford connected with senior wide receiver Mikey Henderson on the Bulldogs ' first play from scrimmage in OT for the winning score . Ole Miss . Running back Thomas Brown rushed for a career - high 180 yds and three touchdowns in the fifth straight win against Western Division opponents . Tennessee . Georgia suffered its worst loss since the 2003 Southeastern Conference championship , a 34 - 13 loss to LSU , and coach Mark Richt ' s first loss at Tennessee . The Bulldogs had won their last three games at Neyland , Tennessee ' s home stadium . Vanderbilt . Senior kicker Brandon Coutu drilled a 37 - yard field goal as time expired to give Georgia its second road win of the season , both coming on the game ' s final play . The Dawgs outscored Vanderbilt 13 - 0 in the second half to rally from a 17 - 7 halftime deficit . Florida . Behind Knowshon Moreno ' s 188 yards ( 3 touchdowns ) and Stafford ' s 223 yards passing ( 3 touchdowns ) , the Dawgs ended their hex against the rival Gators , who had won 15 of the last 17 games in the series . The game was notable for an all team end - zone celebration following Georgia ' s first touchdown scored on their opening drive . The team celebration was penalized twice and set the tone for a hard fought game . Troy . Knowshon Moreno had another huge game , rushing for 196 yards and three touchdowns , as the Bulldogs avoided a post - Florida hangover with a 10 - point win over the pesky Trojans from the Sun Belt . Auburn . Georgia had their way in The Deep South ' s Oldest Rivalry for the second consecutive year behind a balanced offensive attack , with 237 yards passing from Matthew Stafford and 180 combined yards on the ground . The Tigers allowed their most points in a game for the entire season to Georgia for the third straight year . It was also the first game in which the Bulldogs wore their black jerseys . Kentucky . The Dawgs had to shake off the rust after falling behind 10 - 0 early and did just that by scoring 24 of the game ' s final 27 points to complete the SEC schedule at 6 - 2 . Georgia ran their winning streak over the Wildcats in Athens to 15 games . Georgia Tech . Georgia tied a school - record with its seventh - consecutive win in the series of their rivals from Atlanta . Thomas Brown ran for 139 yards , unlike Moreno , who struggled and left the game with an ankle injury . The Georgia defense allowed just 12 completions on 32 pass attempts by the Yellow Jackets . Sugar Bowl . Georgia controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage and completely outmanned the undefeated Western Athletic Conference champs from the beginning of the game to the end . The Bulldogs ' previously unheralded defensive end Marcus Howard dominated the Warrior offensive line and was named the game ' s Most Valuable Player . This is only the second time a defensive player has been named MVP in the Sugar Bowl ' s history . The last defensive player to be named MVP was Walt Yowarsky , who played tackle for Kentucky , in 1951 . Postseason . Final ranking . The Associated Press final poll lists the Bulldogs ranked 2 - the highest ranking since December 6 , 1982 and the highest final season ranking since the National Championship year of 1980 . Buoyed by three first place votes , the Bulldogs barely outpaced the third ranked USC program . 2007 marks the eleventh consecutive final AP poll which the Bulldogs ranked in the top 25 , the current longest active streak . The Bulldogs have been ranked 30 times in the final poll including 14 Top - 10 and 9 Top - 5 rankings . The final USA Today poll listed the Bulldogs ranked 3rd - which ties the highest ranking ever in that poll ( set in the final 2002 poll ) . Coaching staff . The 2007 Season is Coach Richt ' s seventh season at Georgia . Neil Callaway , Georgia ' s offensive coordinator from 2001 to 2006 , left at the end of 2006 to become the head coach at University of Alabama at Birmingham . Richt named former UGA quarterback Mike Bobo as the new offensive coordinator . Bobo took over play calling responsibilities during the Georgia Tech game as well as in the 2006 Chick - fil - A Bowl . Callaway also served as the offensive line coach . Stacy Searels , offensive line coach at LSU from 2003 to 2006 , was named to the same position at Georgia to replace Callaway .