We are less then an hour away from the annual Georgia vs. Georgia Tech football game. With their ACC title hopes to be decided nearly 400 miles away, the 18th-ranked Yellow Jackets will try to focus on gaining state bragging rights from No. 13 Georgia for the first time in eight years as the area rivals wrap up the regular season Saturday.

Last year, Georgia Tech was able to keep Knowshon Moreno in check. He was held to only 45 yards on 17 carries and couldn’t find the endzone. That gameplan didn’t work so well for the Yellow Jackets, maybe they’ll try something different today. Moreno has compiled back to back 100 yard rushing games and is averaging 5.9 ypc this season. With 91 yards rushing he’ll pass his stat total from last season.

The line has Georgia by 7 1/2 … I think they cover and Knowshon Moreno has a big day.

ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia redshirt sophomore tailback Knowshon Moreno has been named one of three finalists for the 2008 Doak Walker Award, according to an announcement by the award’s selection committee.

Moreno is the only finalist from the Southeastern Conference for the Doak Walker Award, which is given annually to the nation¹s top collegiate running back.

Moreno, a 5-11, 208-pound native of Belford, N.J., has rushed for 1,244 yards this season making him only the second player in Georgia history to record more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons (Herschel Walker, 1980-83). Moreno, who also has 23 catches for 255 yards and a score in 2008, has scored 16 touchdowns this season, which is the most touchdowns by a Bulldog since a record-breaking 21 by Garrison Hearst in 1992.

Through 11 games, Moreno has scored more points than anyone in the SEC (96) and leads the league in rushing (113.1 yards/game). He currently stands at the No. 7 spot in school history with 2,578 yards rushing in only two seasons.

Hearst won Georgia its only Doak Walker Award in 1992. Moreno joins Michigan State’s Javon Ringer and Iowa’s Shonn Greene as finalists for this year’s award.

Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs are on bye this weekend. They’re getting some much needed rest before the close the regular season with Georgia Tech next week. Tech looked very good last night against Miami. They must have rushed for 500 yards. There’s no doubt in a rivalry game like this, the Dawgs will have their work cut out for them.

It’s important that even though the SEC Title is out of reach, that Bulldog fans don’t start talking about next year. In fact, even Coach Richt talked about it: “I’ve been hearing a lot of talk lately, even on my call-in show, about next year, next year, next year,” Richt said. “I’m like, ‘Hold on, folks. We’ve got the most important game of the year right now. Let’s not forget.’”

Knowshon Moreno is still having a great year. I don’t think anyone can say they aren’t happy with his performance. he’s gone over 1,000 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns on the ground. He is draft eligible so next week’s game vs. Georgia Tech may be your last chance to see him play in Sanford Stadium.

This game shouldn’t have had to come down to the 4th quarter. The Georgia Bulldogs were supposed to HANDLE Auburn. I’m glad the Dawgs were able to hold on to the win, but where are the blowouts this team was supposed to deliver in 2008?

Knowshon Moreno played a good. Moreno ended the game with 22 carries for 131 yards rushing and 4 receptions for 58 yards plus a touchdown. He now has back to back 100-yard games, and has rushed for over 100 in 5 of his last 6 games (Florida being the exception).

“The thing I’ve liked about Knowshon in the last two weeks in particular is how he’s practiced,” Richt said. “Not that he doesn’t always practice well, but that he’s had a different attitude starting two Tuesdays ago and it hasn’t changed.”

Richt said Moreno’s change might have stemmed from criticism the running back received from taking himself out of games at given moments.

“I don’t know if people got under his skin about taking himself out of the game or what,” Richt said. “He just seemed to have a little edge. He looked like he was kind of mad.”

Running mad is a good thing for a back. They deliver more power and bring more speed when they’re angry or running with a chip on their shoulder.

Check back this afternoon or tomorrow for the highlights.

Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs are off the Auburn for an SEC showdown against the Tigers (or is it War Eagles?). Looking at this game on the schedule before the season starter you might have thought it would be two top ranked teams battling for a spot in the SEC Championship game. Alas, Auburn sucks this year and Georgia lost all hope when they lost to Florida a couple of weeks ago.

Last year against Auburn, Knowshon rushed for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Auburn team he’s facing this year is 10x worse the last year, so anything below 100 yards rushing and a couple of scores will be a bad day.

If you can’t remember what he did last year, check out the cutback on this 24 yard touchdown run.

With nothing really left to hope for, Dawg fans need to cling to big time blowouts and statistical explosions. I think Knowshon Moreno can provide just that.

There’s really no doubt in my mind that the Dawgs will win this game. They should win by 30 points. Auburn has a terrible defense and they can’t stop anyone.

Go Dawgs!

Georgia redshirt sophomore tailback Knowshon Moreno was named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2008 Doak Walker Award. Moreno (5-foot 11-inch, 208-pounds), has rushed for 1,113 yards this season making him only the second player in Georgia history to record more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons (Herschel Walker, 1980-83). Moreno, who also has 19 catches for 197 yards in 2008, has scored 15 touchdowns this season, which is the most scores by a Bulldog since 1992 (Garrison Hearst, 21).

I am so excited for Knowshon Moreno to e a semifinalist for this Award. Not only has he racked up tons of yards and touchdowns this season, but he has had several memorable plays (the leap). Those type of plays are what stand out in the voter’s minds when they’re making their decisions.

The 162 members of the Doak Walker Award selection committee will cast their votes to determine the 2008 finalists on Nov. 24. After the three finalists are named, a second vote by the selection committee will determine the recipient. The 2008 Doak Walker Award recipient is announced live on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards on Dec. 11.

This game shouldn’t have been so close. Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs held off the Kentucky Wildcats 42-38. What an exciting game though. Even though it was close, we all love watching high scoring games.

Knowshon Moreno led the way with 3 rushing touchdowns from 22 carries (123 yards rushing, 40 yards receiving). I was pretty darn close to my stat prediction. I pegged Knowshon at 156 yards, and he had 163.

On a sad note though, the Florida Gators clinched the SEC East with their win over Vandy.

Below is a video of Knowshon’s first touchdown of the day. It put Georgia up 14-0.

Knowshon Moreno is pissed. And the entire Georgia Bulldog nation is upset with their performance last week against Florida. It’s time for some revenge. It’s time for Knowshon to show us is/was a Heisman candidate. Richt needs to get back to giving him the rock 25 times if he wants success.

One concern some people have is why Knowshon seems to come out of the game so much, and why it seems like he is the one taking himself out. What college kid pulls himself from the game? Well, the AJC had a quote from Moreno trying to explain it.

“I don’t think just because I’m out that’s why we’re making mistakes,” Moreno said. “What we’re doing is just keeping everyone fresh. It doesn’t matter what part of the field we’re on. I guess some of the times we’re in the red zone. [But] if I’m not going to be 100 percent and can’t give my all 100, then why be in there when Caleb is in there and he can do the same job that I can do?”

Well, I don’t think Caleb can do the same job as Knowshon, but that’s beside the point.

The point is, the Dawgs need a win badly this weekend against Kentucky. They need one of those 56-3 type wins. The best way for the Dawgs to lay a beatdown is through Knowshon Moreno. How does 156 yards on 25 carries plus 3 touchdowns sound?

With the Bulldogs now having two SEC losses, their National Championship hopes are gone. So where does the team, and specifically Knowshon Moreno, go from here? Will they be motivated to finish the season strong? Will Coach Richt still run Knowshon like has has the past 4-6 weeks? Will Knowshon play with heart?

In their two losses, Knowshon only has 99 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. It’s not that Alabama and Florida were keying in on Knowshon, because all teams do that. It’s that Coach Richt abandoned the run too early, especially in the Florida game. The game was still close into the 3rd quarter.

I think these final few weeks will be a big test for Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs. They need to respond with anger and emotion this week against Kentucky. I want to see that the players still have heart and won’t give up.

 Well, the Georgia Bulldog season is all but lost thanks to the beatdown the Gators gave them on Saturday (49-10). The Dawgs were able to move up and down the field better then the Gators in the first half, they just couldn’t capitalize on it. Turnovers cost them the game.

“Every game you lose is disappointing,” Moreno said. “We’ve just got to move on. You just can’t win when you have these turnovers.”

Knowshon Moreno couldn’t get things going. I can recall only one play where Knowshon looked like Knowshon. He hurdled a Gator player on his way to an 18 yard gain. By the end of the game, Knowshon had rushed the ball 17 times for 65 yards. The Gators must have watched a lot of film, because they knew exactly how to stop him.

I would post a highlight video, but all the ones I found on Youtube are Gator-centric. Maybe that’s because the Dawgs didn’t really have many plays to celebrate from.