Bulldogs, Tigers meet in key league showdown

Three weeks of thrillers — all victories — have helped the No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs improve to 3-1 on the season and ease the pain of losing their season opener at Oklahoma State.

But the Cowboys were the only ranked team UGA has faced in four outings, leaving questions as to just how good the Dawgs actually are.

Mark Richt and company can provide some answers today when No. 4 LSU comes to Sanford Stadium for a key SEC clash.

A victory for Georgia would have the team sitting pretty in the SEC East with a 3-0 league record. It would also serve notice that the division might not be merely a one-horse race with Florida serving as the lone thoroughbred.

“Right now I feel very energized,” Richt said. “Right now I feel very excited about where we are and where we are going. I think a lot has to do with LSU coming to town and us having a chance to play well and hopefully get a victory that could put us in great position. We’re competing for the SEC on national TV against a very highly ranked and highly regarded program. It’s the challenge that most competitors get excited about.

“We’re 3-1 and playing LSU gives us a chance to see where we’re at and what we’re all about.”

The Bayou Bengals are off to a 4-0 start and have scooted up the polls thanks in large part to teams ahead of them faltering. While Georgia has played three consecutive contests that came down to the wire, Les Miles’ team barely avoided a monumental upset at Mississippi State last weekend.

A goal line stand as time ticked away preserved a 30-26 Tiger victory in Starkville, Miss.

However, Bulldog linebacker Rennie Curran isn’t lulled into any false sense of security by that outcome.

“When we play a team like LSU, we have to have a perfect game,” he said. “We can’t give them any room to breathe. We have to get ready to play our best game of football. We have to put all the mistakes we made behind us, get ready to have a great game and put it all together.”

UGA has been all over the map in 2009, with special teams paving the way to a win over South Carolina and offense getting the job done against Arkansas.

Last week the offense struggled but the defense stepped up against Arizona State.

“We got some turnovers that we needed at crucial times in the game, and we got pressure on the quarterback,” Curran said. “It all starts with our preparation: how much film we are watching, how we are attacking the scout team, and the attitude that we have during the week.”

Quarterback Joe Cox threw five touchdown passes against the Razorbacks but was victimized by a pair of interceptions last week — one returned for a touchdown.

The running game is still spotty, with Richard Samuel and Caleb King showing positive signs but not quite giving Georgia the big yardage ground game it’s seeking.

The most consistent performer on offense has been A.J. Green, whose acrobatic catch against ASU on the game’s final drive helped set up the winning field goal. He also blocked a Sun Devil field goal on the previous possession.

Job one for the Bulldogs’ defense is to hem in LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who has already thrown for seven touchdowns against just one interception and has a done a good job managing games.

He has several solid wideouts to choose from when he airs it out, and when the Tigers opt to run the ball, Keiland Williams leads the charge.

Defensively the Tigers are loaded, led by defensive end Rahim Alem, safety Harry Coleman and linebacker Perry Riley.

“We need to make sure we are executing in the run game, and we need to make sure we are executing in all our other aspects of the passing game with me throwing to running backs and tight ends,” Cox said. “Really, just being productive all the way across the board. I think that will free up A.J. even more the same way it kind of worked out with Arkansas.”

As for Miles, today is another step for his team in challenging Alabama for supremacy in the SEC West.

“At this point, the focus has to turn to the very next game,” Miles said. “We’re fortunate to be 4-0; we’d like to be 5-0, and only the next opponent stands between us and that goal. Everybody talks about rankings. Rankings have never made any difference to me and not to our football team. We understand we earn where we finish. The No. 4 ranking is certainly a spot, and that’s it.”