It was absolute madness, Rennie Curran said.
When the 10th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs took the field before their night game against Auburn in 2007, the crowd at Stanford Stadium received a huge surprise.
For the first time, the Bulldogs wore black jerseys, a move that had been mostly kept secret and brought the sold-out crowd of 90,000-plus fans to a fever pitch.
“That was the most exciting game of my career,’’ said Curran, a freshman starting linebacker on that team. “I didn’t even know it was happening. We were wearing red jerseys in warmups, but the captains were wearing the black jerseys under their red ones. We didn’t notice.’’
After the team left the field after warm-ups, Curran said they went into the showers for their usual pregame ritual.
“We turned off the lights off and did our rituals, our chants and said a bible verse,’’ he said. “When the lights came back on, the captains were in their black jerseys and our black jerseys were laid out on our chairs in front of our lockers. It was nuts as I remember a big offensive lineman was so excited he jumped on me and took me to the ground.’’
The blackout was the idea of the team’s seniors, who had gone to coach Mark Richt for approval. A blackout for the fans was announced early in game week, and there were rumors the team would wear black jerseys.
Bulldog Nation responded, the crowd draped in black, and the Bulldogs pounded the 18th-ranked Tigers 45-20 after being down 20-17.
Said Richt after the game, “I knew it would give us a boost and at least get us a jump-start.’’
Tailback Knowshon Moreno had a big game, scoring twice with 101 yards on 22 carries. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was 11-for-19 passing for 237 yards, and Curran had six tackles and one for a loss. Georgia would go on to finish 11-2 (6-2 in SEC) that season and beat Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, also wearing black jerseys for that game.
“I remember at halftime (of the Auburn game) they put on the “Soulja Boy’’ song and everyone was dancing,’’ Curran said. “It was a really crazy night and a great way to celebrate my 19th birthday.’’
Meanwhile, new coach Kirby Smart is thinking about bringing back the black jerseys this year, but has said nothing has been decided. The last time the team wore black jerseys came in 2008, when the Bulldogs were beaten 41-30 by Alabama in Athens, the Crimson Tide jumping to a 30-0 lead.
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