University of Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno suggered a contusion (substantial bruise) on one of his elbows in the second half of the game on Saturday. As if losing to Alabama 41-30 wasn’t bad enough, now Knowshon may miss the Dawgs next game against Tennessee. Luckily the Bulldogs are off this weekend, so that gives Moreno two full weeks to heal up.

“He has a pretty good contusion on the elbow,” coach Mark Richt said this afternoon. “He’s already getting some good movement back. He has a shot of playing in the next game but it’s not guaranteed though.”

Before Moreno left the game, he had only rushed the ball 9 times for 34 yards and a touchdown. He also added 3 receptions for 14 yards. Because the Bulldogs were down 31-0 at the half, they had to abandon the run. That’s a terrible strategy to employ when your best player is a running back, but it’s something that had to be done.

The loss on Saturday night dropped Goeriga to #11 in the country in the AP Poll.

I’ll keep you posted throughout the week on Knowshon’s status.

In 2007 against Alabama, Knowhon Moreno struggled. He was held to only 76 yards on the ground from 17 carries. Not like the Knowhon numbers we’ve seen thus far in 2008. Moreno is averaging 6.6 ypc and has 9 touchdowns through the first 4 games.Alabama won’t be an easy matchup. They’re ranked #8 in the country and have a strong defense. They’re entire defensive gameplan will be built around stopping the run, and specifically Knowhon Moreno. “I saw how high he can jump,” Alabama defensive end Bobby Greenwood said. “We all know he runs hard, so we’ve got to make sure to bring him down.” It’s clear the players have respect for Georgia’s running back. “He’s an amazing player, a spark plug,” defensive end Lorenzo Washington said. “He’s one of the toughest running backs I’ve ever seen. You can shut him down, shut him down, shut him down, keep hitting him, and then he’s going to bust out for a big run.”

But even the coach had something to say: “It’s not just that he’s a great athlete and a great running back,” UA coach Nick Saban said. “But you talk about a guy who has an unbelievable competitive spirit … He made a couple plays last year as far as extra effort that are just not to be compared to people we play against.”

I see weakness in the words of Nick Saban. I want Georgia to destroy Albama. A lot of experts are saying it’s a coin toss, but I see victory. I see 20 carries, 130 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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The hot pick of the week was going against the Dawgs. All the media darlings thought UGA would get beat in the desert. Well how do you like us now! Knowshon Moreno rushed 23 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the Bulldogs 27-10 victory over Arizona State. That’s what we call ’showing up when the lights are on.’ UGA played well enough to keep their #3 ranking in the AP Poll.

I’ve got a couple of videos I want to share in case some of you missed the game or just want to see Knowshon in action again. The first one is an in focus video, which shows just about every Knowshon Moreno play of the game (very cool). The second one is a highlight of Knowshon scoring his second touchdown (he goes airborne from the 4 yard line and lands in the endzone for the score).

Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs are flying across the country to Tempe, Arizona to play the Arizona State Sun Devils. It’s a cross-conference game, so there isn’t much history between these two teams. They’ll have to study a lot of film to pick up on things. The #3 ranked Dawgs are favored by 7 points over the unranked Sun Devils. But just because ASU isn’t ranked doesn’t mean they aren’t a good team. In fact, they’re just on the cusp of the Top 25.

So many people are predicting an upset. I don’t see it happening though. Despite the low scoring game against SC last week, the Georiga offense has all the fire power needed to put up big numbers on ASU. Stafford and Knowshon can score a lot points, proven by Moreno’s 7 touchdowns through the first 3 games.

If Georgia can go into the desert and win this game big, they’ll earn all the respect from the voters that may have been lost over the previous weeks. I’m not sure if it will propel them to #1, but it may.

I think Knowshon Moreno will have a superb game. Millions of people will be watching this primetime game and he shines brightest with the lights are on. Knowshon is capable of putting up 140 yards on 18 carries, another 30 yards from 3 receptions, and 3 touchdowns.

What are you predicting?

The Georgia Bulldogs were able to hold off the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday in a 14-7 victory. The average Bulldog showing caused them to drop in the AP rankings to #3. Remember, they started the season #1. South Carolina has a good defense, but there’s no excuse for the Bulldogs to not put up at least 30 points on them.

Knowshon Moreno had an OK day at best. He rushed the ball 20 times for 79 yards and 1 touchdown. He also added 2 receptions for 13 yards. Richt tried to get the running game going… they ran the ball 35 times as a team, but it just wasn’t working. Knowshon was able to slip in on a 4 yard run for his touchdown in the 3rd quarter.

Knowshon Moreno, who was the SEC Player of the Week last week, played like an Average Joe this week. Things won’t get any easier as the Dawgs have to travel across the country to play ASU for game 4.

The #2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs are headed to Columbia, South Carolina to open up SEC play against the Gamecocks. Georgia is favored by 7 points in the 3:30 game tomorrow. For the first 2 games of the colleged football season, Knowshon Moreno has 26 carries for 227 yards (6 touchdowns) and 5 receptions for 83 yards. I fully expect Coach Richt to pound Knowshon Moreno during the South Carolina game, meaning his personal stats will continue to skyrocket.Last year against South Carolina, Richt abandoned the run. “I was wish we would’ve given it to him more,” Richt said. “I think I was partially responsible for that not happening, too, so I’m not throwing [offensive coordinator Mike] Bobo under the bus. I think we all can go back and say we should have handed him the ball more.” It’s no secret… if you want to win the game, give the ball to your best player.

Coach Richt said that his running backs will probably get about 30-35 carries a game, so if we assume Knowshon gets half of those… he’s looking at 15-18 carries a game. Combine that with a handful of receptions and that’s more then enough touches for him to light it up.

South Carolina is 1-1 with a loss to Vandy. There’s no reason why UGA shouldn’t kill them. I expect Knowshon Moreno to get 17 carries for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’ll also add in 3 receptions for 30 yards. Georgia wins the game 35-21.

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The Knowshon Moreno we saw on Saturday against Central Michigan is the Knowshon Moreno that will win the Heisman Trophy. Knowshon helped lead Georgia to a 56-17 victory by contributing 168 yards on the ground from 18 attempts, 30 yards in the air on 3 receptions, and 3 rushing touchdowns. Knowshon Moreno now has 6 touchdowns on the season after only 2 weeks!

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Georgia defensive tackle Corvey Irvin said (of Knowshon Moreno). “He might not even be human. Wow, how’d he do that, all in one motion?” Irvin is referring to a play where Knowshon straight up hurdled a defender on his way to a 29 yard gain. “I think all of that stuff is just instinct,” said Moreno, seemingly less impressed than others in the Georgia locker room. “Instinct just takes over. … I’m just having fun and playing the game.”

This kind of fun could lead Knowshon and the Bulldogs to a National Championship. Job well done Dawgs!

On a side note… Cory is the winner of the Georgia Bulldog disposable flask contest. His guess of 140 rushing yards came the closest to Knowshon’s actual yardage of 168. Congratulaitons!

I’m sure you’ve seen the latest AP Poll. Thanks to UGA Scheduling a cupcake last week, the voters dropped them down to #2 in the rankings, despite the fact that they kicked GSU’s ass. So what happens this week when Georgia plays the Central Michigan Chippewaws and wins by 40 points? Do we get dropped down to #3 or #4? Ugghhh.

“It’s not just that they’re the best team in the country, it’s going there to play in a tough environment,” Jones, Central Michigan’s coach, said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a team with that much speed and that complete in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams.”

But good news though. Knowshon Moreno wasn’t limited during practices this week (remember he had those leg cramps late in the GSU game). He’ll be ready to play and ready to run the ball.

I would like to see Knowshon have a few more attempts this week. I know we won’t see many until the Arizona State game, but I think 12-13 carries would be nice, instead of the 8 he had last week. Combine that with a couple of receptions and he’ll have a nice statistical outing. Maybe something like 140 total yards and 2 touchdowns.

Don’t forget that if you can predict Knowshon’s rushing yards for tomorrow’s game, you will win a Bulldog colored disposable flask!

The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs beat Georgia Southern 45-21 yesterday in Athens. There was a lot of excitement in the air after Uga VII was announced before the game. Knowshon Moreno kicked things off with a 2 yard touchdown run 3 minutes into the game and put UGA up 7-0 early. It was all Dawgs from that point on. Knowshon had only 8 carries for 59 yards, but 3 of those eight carries were for touchdowns. In addition to rushing, he also had 2 catches for 53 yards. So 112 total yards and 3 touchdowns is not a bad day at all!

Knowshon did not play the entire game. It was first thought that he he left the field with a possible injury, but I think that was debunked. Knowshon played strong into the 3 quarter and was able to kick off his 2008 Heisman campaign with 3 touchdowns.

Despite earlier talks of Knowshon Moreno being involved in the punt/kickoff return teams, we did not see him play on special teams yesterday.

We are less then 24 hours away from the Georgia Bulldogs first football game of the 2008 season. They come in ranked #1 in the nation and should destroy an unranked Georgia Southern team. I don’t even want to see GSU score 10 points, and if they do, the Dawgs better have already put 50 on the scoreboard.

Last year on opening day, Knowshon Moreno didn’t do much on the ground. He had 20 carries for 70 yards, but he also had 2 receptions for 51 yards. It’s a good day for any normal college player. This year, with all the hype, Georgia fans are expecting a lot more out of him. Anything short of 120 yards and a touchdown against a weak opponent like GSU will be a disappointment. Heisman contenders don’t lay eggs against bad team.

But I’m confident in Knowshon. Georgia has high expectations for this team and Coach Richt won’t let us down. I think he’ll pound the ball often and early, getting Knowshon plenty of carries in the first half. Once they put points on the board it could be a free reign for him. Don’t expect Knowshon Moreno to play the entire game though. Caleb King will get his share as a chance of pace back and later on in the game once the score is out of reach for GSU.

Should be a great game and beautiful weather. Oh and be sure to get to the stadium early… they’ll be introducing Uga VII during a pre-game ceremony.