On Thursday January 1, Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs will play the Michigan State Spartans in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, FL. A lot of college and pro football fans will be watching this game because it features the best two running backs in the NCAA: Knowshon Moreno and Javon Ringer. Knowshon Moreno rushed the ball 227 times this year and become the only Georgia back to record consecutive 1,000-yard seasons since Herschel Walker.

“People are going to talk about it, but we’re not playing against each other,” Moreno said. Both players were finalists for the Doak Walker Award and both are eyeing the NFL Draft in 2009.

Georgia had high hopes heading into 2008. They’re going to play with a lot of passion and emotion to try to finish strong. “I think the biggest thing for us is to get to 10 wins, make sure we get to the double digit win category and end the season on a high note to go into the offseason with momentum,” Stafford said.

I predict Knowshon Moreno will outshine Ringer in the Capital One Bowl. I’m thinking 19 carries 147 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Knowshon Moreno is one step closer to declaring for the NFL Draft. He recently submitted his paperwork to the NFL’s Draft Advisory Board. The committee gives draft-eligible underclassmen, upon request, ballpark estimates about how they are likely to fare in the draft: first-round pick, second-round pick, third-round pick, later-round pick or unpicked. The panel does not estimate how high in a particular round a player might be drafted.

Once a player submits paperwork, the committee typically returns its projection within two or three weeks. The deadline for underclassmen to enter the 2009 draft is Jan. 15.

Knowshon Moreno is one of the most talented running backs coming out of this year (assuming he does). Every mock draft I’ve seen has him going in the first roung (usually in the 20-25 pick range). The 1st round brings guaranteed money, so I don’t see Moreno backing out of his decision now.

Knowshon Moreno may have missed out on the Doak Campbell Award, but the AP was still kind enough to recognize him with something. Knowshon Moreno was named second-team AP All-American on Tuesday, becoming the first Georgia football player in three seasons to make the prestigious team. Moreno, a sophomore, rushed for 1,395 yards and 16 touchdowns, with another 329 yards receiving.

He was one of 25 players from the ACC or SEC to be named to one of the three teams.

Knowshon Moreno was all over the news when he burst on to the scene as a freshman in 2007. By all accounts, Knowshon had an even better sophomore season… so why isn’t there as much love for him this season? Most likely because Georgia fell off the map with their 3 losses. Georgia was the preseason No. 1 team in the country. Knowshon Moreno had a chance to be the star of that team to everyone in the country. You can put up the best stats in the country, but if only a select few media types in the south are watching, it’s hard to get recognized for your achievements.

Well, congratulations Knowshon for making the second-team AP All-American.

Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs will be headed to Orlando for the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2009. Their opponent will be the No. 19 ranked Michigan State Spartans.

This game has some significance to it for the fans. They’ll get to witness two of the best running backs in all of college football: Knowshon Moreno and Javon Ringer. Ringer’s stats are just insane. He has almost 1600 yards and 21 rushing touchdowns… of course he did carry the ball 370 times (that’s 150 more the Knowshon).

I know the season didn’t end as well as we would have liked, but Dawgs fans still need to rally and make the trip to Orlando to support their team. This is probably the last year for both Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, so let’s send them off with a fan-filled win!

From AccessNorthGA.com:

Georgia sophomore tailback Knowshon Moreno has been selected to the AFCA Coaches’ All-America Team, the American Football Coaches Association announced Thursday.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and is the only one chosen exclusively by the coaches themselves.

Moreno, a 5-foot-11, 208 pound native of Belford, N.J, has averaged nearly six yards per carry en route to a 1,338-yard rushing season through 12 games making him just the second player in Georgia history to record more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons (Herschel Walker, 1980-83). Moreno, who also has 27 receptions for 329 yards, has scored 17 touchdowns his season, the most by a Bulldog since Garrison Hearst’s 21 in 1992.

Moreno leads the SEC in scoring with 102 points and rushing with an average of 111.5 yards per game. He is currently seventh in UGA history with 2,672 yards rushing in only two seasons.

The AFCA All-America team features 11 players on offense, 11 on defense and three specialists. The AFCA’s Football Bowl Subdivision All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s nine FBS districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts, that information, along with ballots submitted by FBS head coaches, are used to select the AFCA FBS Coaches All-America Team.

The Georgia Bulldogs closed out their regular season with another disappointing loss… this time to Georgia Tech. The Dawgs lost 45-42. Knowshon Moreno rushed the ball 17 times for 94 yards plus a touchdown, and he had 4 receptions for 74 yards.

Georgia was leading 28-12 going into the half, but Tech scored 26 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter. It was too much for the Dawgs to come back from in the 4th. Not a great way to possibly end your career at Georgia.

The attention now shits to the Bowl Game and ultimately if Knowshon Moreno will make the leap to the NFL in 2009. I would say with 95% certainty that he will be headed to the NFL. There’s nothing keeping him in Athens… the Dawgs won’t have a chance to complete for a title next year either.