AU FOOTBALL 2009 OPPONENT PREVIEWS: Georgia replacing big stars

Editor’s Note: This is the 11th in a series previewing Auburn’s 2009 football opponents. This week: Georgia (Nov. 13). The series will run weekly.

Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno didn’t beat Auburn in 2008.

Auburn beat Auburn.

So will it make that much of a difference when the two teams square off in the 113th installment of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry that the dynamic tandem is gone?

Well, probably. Stafford and Moreno weren’t limited to 17 points — combined — very often, and the Bulldogs have plenty more holes to fill before the Nov. 13 matchup at Sanford Stadium.

But at least the expectations have been lowered.

“They were great players and they garnered that attention through the production they had and the style of play,” Georgia coach Mark Richt told USA Today. “I think now that those guys are gone and the media doesn’t have names to hang onto and talk about, it’s much more of a team situation here. I think that is very, very important.”

It wouldn’t be the 2009 version of the SEC if there weren’t an uncertain quarterback situation to discuss, right?

In all fairness, Georgia’s ranks as one of the least sticky. Senior Joe Cox, who has compiled just 432 passing yards over the course of 13 games — one start — is Richt’s man.

He’s even representing the Georgia offense at this week’s SEC Media Days. That’s either a testament of how much Richt believes in Cox or a glaring sign that the Bulldogs lack experienced playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.

Nevertheless, Richt has been singing Cox’s praises ever since Stafford went first overall to the Detroit Lions in April’s NFL Draft.

“He did take command of the offense because he has command of it. He understands it. He was a fantastic No. 2 quarterback in that he was prepared as if he was No. 1. So he’s used to preparing like he’s the No. 1 guy,” Richt said recently. “Now that he’s at the top of the depth chart, it’s not an uncomfortable thing for him or the team. Our guys have confidence in him, and the staff does, too.”

The rest, though, will have to figure itself out as the Bulldogs run through an arduous September stretch, which pits them against Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Arkansas and Arizona State.

Replacing Moreno isn’t as concrete. He didn’t exactly allow the players behind him to learn by experience much.

Sophomore Caleb King, who finished second on the Bulldogs last season with 247 rushing yards, is the logical pick to replace Moreno, but redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas could also be a factor.

True freshmen Richard Samuel and Dontavius Jackson will have a realistic crack at the job when fall practice begins.

Last season’s much-maligned offensive line, perhaps what held back the Bulldogs from achieving their bloated preseason expectations, remains in tact, a hearty year’s worth of lumps under their jock.

While many expected Stafford and Moreno to go pro, few thought cornerback Asher Allen would, too. (Surprisingly, even though he was projected as a fifth-seventh rounder at best, Allen went in the third to the Vikings.)

Allen and graduating senior C.J. Byrd’s departures leave gaping holes in the secondary, but Georgia didn’t lose its biggest playmakers on both sides of the ball.

Linebacker Rennie Curran, a Butkus award finalist, finished the 2008 season with 115 tackles and three sacks. The only problem with those three sacks was that they were good for the team lead.

Georgia finished 2008 with just 24 sacks, which ranked eighth in the SEC.

The unit, which returns a total of six starters, didn’t seem to have any trouble stuffing the Tigers in the red zone twice in the waning moments of last November’s meeting.

Just like last year, Stafford and Moreno will be watching from afar when the game is on the line.

| 737-2561