GEORGIA: ‘07 TD celebration not forgotten

Athens —- Florida coach Urban Meyer said after last year’s game in Jacksonville that Georgia’s end zone celebration wasn’t that big of a deal. He reiterated that with reporters on Sunday.

“This game will be a big deal,” he said on a teleconference call. “Now let’s move on.”

Since last year’s game, however, he wrote in his book, “Urban’s Way”, that the Bulldogs’ whole-team dance in the end zone after going ahead 7-0 in the first quarter was indeed a big deal. Specifically, he wrote: “It wasn’t right. It was a bad deal. And it will forever be in the mind of Urban Meyer and in the mind of our football team. … So we’ll handle it. And it’s going to be a big deal.”

Exactly how or what that will be, we’ll all have to wait until the two top-10 teams collide in an SEC Eastern Division matchup Saturday. Both coaches have issued moratoriums on their players and, effectively, themselves from commenting on last year’s incident.

Meyer’s response to celebration questions Sunday was predictable: “The reason why this is such a big game is it’s the next one and it’s for the SEC East. The kids are charged up right now, but we have to focus on preparation. If someone said [beating Georgia was] the focus of the offseason, then they’re from a different planet than Gainesville, Florida.”

Georgia coach Mark Richt also refuses to answer inquiries directly about it. Instead, he is referring them to the convoluted explanation he gave about it at SEC Media Days in Birmingham in late July.

Claude Felton, UGA’s director of sports communications, will provide an e-mail attachment upon request.

Richt also muzzled his players from saying anything about it.

“I don’t need them commenting on it,” he said on Sunday. “They don’t need to comment on it. It’s really old news. I just told them to have y’all ask me.”

So there you go. The first verbal shots in this year’s annual rivalry, which has conference and BCS implications, were really only flares. Here are five other things we learned over the weekend about Georgia and the SEC:

1. Georgia and Florida rise

As if this white-hot rivalry needed any more fuel, both teams moved up in the latest rankings released on Sunday. The Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1 SEC) moved up to No. 6 from No. 7 in the BCS rankings, while Florida (6-1, 4-1) went to No. 8 from No. 10. Georgia also moved up to No. 8 from No. 9 in The Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls. Florida remained No. 5 in the AP and went from No. 7 to No. 6 in the coaches’ poll.

2. Bulldogs finally are healing

Chances are good that Georgia will get back two starters who have missed several games with injuries. Richt couldn’t say for sure, but all indications are that senior tight end Tripp Chandler (shoulder) and senior middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (knee) will return. The Bulldogs got back wide receiver Kris Durham (ankle) and tight end Aron White (shoulder) for the LSU game.

3. Wood will miss game

Richt initially was vague about whether sophomore defensive tackle Brandon Wood would be out for only the LSU game as punishment for his DUI arrest on Oct. 19. On Sunday, Richt said Wood will miss the Florida game as well.

“He will not play this week,” Richt said. “He’s going to miss one more game because of the situation he got into. He’ll be back for the next game after that.”

Wood is a regular member of the Bulldogs’ interior defensive line rotation. He has 10 tackles and is fifth on the team in quarterback pressures with nine.

4. Tebow, Harvin have help

Meyer admitted after last year’s 9-4 season that the Gators were overly dependent on quarterback Tim Tebow and slotback Percy Harvin. Part of Florida’s improvement this year has been getting more players involved offensively. Specifically, freshmen running backs Jeffrey Demps (51) and Chris Rainey (46) are combining for 97 rushing yards per game while Tebow’s (35) and Harvin’s (32) rushing numbers are down.

“It’s obvious those guys are becoming a big part of what they’re doing,” Richt said. “The wealth is getting spread to a lot more than just Tebow and Harvin. That’s creating problems for everybody. That’s why they’re leading our league in scoring right now by a great margin.”

5. All eyes on Jacksonville

You can bet all SEC eyes will be focused on Jacksonville this weekend —- very few conference games offer much intrigue. Tennessee (3-5, 1-4) visits South Carolina (5-3, 2-3), and it’s always interesting when Phillip Fulmer matches wits with Steve Spurrier. Meanwhile, Ole Miss (4-4, 2-3) hosts Auburn (4-4, 2-3), and Kentucky (5-3, 1-3) travels to Mississippi State (3-5, 1-3). Arkansas gets Tulsa, Alabama plays Arkansas State, and LSU faces Tulane.