Georgia faithful rooting to continue streak

Athens — All Georgia fans want to beat Georgia Tech, of course, but Mark Richt has noticed that the older the fan, the stronger the feeling.

“I’m always hearing from fans who want this game foremost, and usually it’s a different generation — a little bit older generation — that is more consumed with it,” said Richt, Georgia’s coach. “I can understand why.”

The reason: 1949-56.

That’s when Tech won eight consecutive games over Georgia, still the longest winning streak by either side in a series that dates to 1893.

If Georgia wins Saturday, the Bulldogs will match the Yellow Jackets’ eight-game streak.

And that would be more than a piece of statistical trivia to Bulldogs fans who suffered through the 1950s drought.

Vince Dooley recalls that the pain was fresh on the minds of Georgia fans when he arrived as the Bulldogs’ coach in 1964.

“Those people felt like not only were they getting beat by Tech, but they felt like they were having their face rubbed in the ground for some reason,” Dooley said. “They really had a real sour taste.

“For that generation — maybe that’s part of the greatest generation — it would be special to [match the eight-game streak].”

Georgia had lost three in a row to Tech immediately before Dooley’s arrival, but won the first five and 19 of 25 against the Yellow Jackets during his coaching tenure (1964-88). Similarly, the Bulldogs had lost three in a row to Tech before Richt’s arrival in 2001 but have won the first seven under him.

“It’s big — because everybody has to live with everybody all year long,” Richt said of the rivalry. “And fans do like to talk before, during and after [the games], it seems. There are some who kind of hold their tongue, but most of them like to jab with each other.”

That even applied, he said, when he and four other college football coaches visited U.S. troops in the Middle East in May.

“We had a Q&A with hundreds of troops there,” Richt recalled, “and they couldn’t wait to talk about who was going to do what and who did what last year.”

B-back Moreno?

Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense looks familiar to Knowshon Moreno. The Georgia tailback says his high school team in New Jersey ran the same system.

Moreno said he played the position that Jonathan Dwyer plays in Tech’s offense, although Middletown South High School didn’t call it B-back, as Tech does.

“We just called it fullback,” Moreno said. “But it was the same position.

“Quick bam-bam plays, and once you get through the line, you can get past those linebackers right away,” he said, smiling at the memory.

Middletown South has run the triple option for many years, Moreno said.

Etc.

Defensive tackle Jeff Owens, out since the season opener with a knee injury, will participate in Senior Day festivities before Saturday’s game, but he says that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t return for a fifth season of eligibility next year. He remains undecided whether to return or enter the NFL draft. … Georgia recruited Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt and B-back Dwyer, Richt said. … Richt said he has seen enough of Dwyer on film the past couple of weeks “to have visions of him in my sleep.” … Senior fullback Brannan Southerland on his Georgia career: “It goes by in the blink of an eye.”