Dogs eager to 'T' off

ATHENS, Ga. -- Whether Georgia football players are donning shoulder pads, pumping iron or rewinding footage this week, Urban Meyer is watching.

And he's forming a "T."

Florida's coach called two timeouts in the final 45 seconds of last season's 49-10 massacre of Georgia in Jacksonville, and pictures of him signaling for a stoppage are abundant in Georgia's locker room, weight room and film room.

"Every time we see his hands in the timeout position, it kind of reminds us of what happened last year," Bulldogs safety Bryan Evans said Tuesday. "It's something that motivates us as a team -- to never forget that image. It's something we don't want to experience again."

The 39-point defeat was the worst in Mark Richt's nine seasons as Bulldogs coach and was harsh payback for Georgia's 42-30 upset the year before. Georgia caused a stir in the first quarter of the 2007 encounter when most of its team ran to the end zone to celebrate a 1-yard touchdown run by Knowshon Moreno.

So what's in store Saturday as the top-ranked Gators (7-0, 5-0 SEC) face the Bulldogs (4-3, 3-2)? Isn't it Georgia's turn to do something?

"I think every season has its own issues," Richt said. "We certainly have ours. They don't have many, and any issues they have they've been able to solve with victories. I think what we're most concerned about is what it's going to take to win the ballgame.

"I don't think this game needs anything extra from the past to get everybody excited to play."

Georgia players are forced to view pictures of Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and of last year's scoreboard in addition to those of Meyer. Florida players talked last year of having to watch Georgia's celebration dance on the video board while running stadium steps and having to do 188 sit-ups and push-ups in workouts.

Moreno rushed for 188 yards in the '07 game.

"We danced on the field and won, and they probably felt pretty bad about that," quarterback Joe Cox said. "Then they won and called timeouts, and we felt pretty bad about that. I don't know who felt worse. Nobody likes to be embarrassed like that, but it's not like we've been planning an elaborate scheme to get them back and do something better.

"We know they had the right to do that after what we did the year before, and now it's just another football game."

Linebacker Rennie Curran agreed with Cox that the Gators had good reason to retaliate. Tight end Aron White thought the media and Georgia fans made too much of the timeouts.

Receiver A.J. Green remains bothered more by the outcome.

"The way they physically beat us, I feel like we have a statement to make," Green said.

Defensive end Justin Houston made a statement Tuesday when asked about Tebow: "He's like every other quarterback. I don't see anything special about him. He's a quarterback and he's a good quarterback, but nothing special."

Florida has won 16 of the last 19 meetings in the series and is a 16-point favorite to make it 17 of 20. A Georgia win would allow the Bulldogs to split the past six, which would show substantial improvement from when Steve Spurrier had his robust run.

"I know we could give a No. 1 team their first loss in 18 games, and I'm comfortable with that," Evans said. "Hopefully, we'll ruin their national championship run."

Said Curran: "There is no way you can't get pumped for the Florida game. If you're not pumped for this one, then you don't have a heart."