Bulldogs Back Between The Hedges
Georgia hopes for a happy Homecoming Saturday after spending most of October playing on the road. It will be 35 days since Georgia played a game at Sanford Stadium. After playing host to #4 LSU on Oct. 3, the Bulldogs made two trips to Tennessee and one to Jacksonville. Georgia enters Saturday’s game with a 4-4 record and aims for a strong finish with three of its final four games of the regular season Between the Hedges.

Homecoming at Georgia
Since 1922, Georgia is 68-17-2 in Homecoming contests. This year, Tennessee Tech serves as the opponent, the first non-conference foe for Homecoming since 2007 when Troy visited Athens. The Bulldogs defeated the Trojans 44-34 that day and posted a 25-14 win over Vanderbilt in the 2008 Homecoming game. The Commodores were the last team to spoil Georgia’s Homecoming after a 24-22 upset in 2006. Saturday will mark only the second meeting with Tennessee Tech in Sanford Stadium. In 1943, Georgia blanked TTU 67-0.

Defense Leads Tennessee Tech
The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (5-3, 4-2 OVC) are riding high after claiming their first-ever York Trophy last week in Cookeville. The York Trophy is awarded to the Tennessee Ohio Valley Conference school with the best record against the other Tennessee schools. TTU went 3-0 in the series this season, beating Austin Peay, UT-Martin and most recently, Tennessee State 20-13 for a Homecoming win and the trophy. The Golden Eagles forced four turnovers in their latest victory and are plus four in turnover margin this year.

Redshirt freshman defensive back Caleb Mitchell led the Golden Eagles with a career performance against TSU. He tallied 13 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one interception. Offensively, sophomore Tim Benford had five receptions for 122 yards while quarterback Lee Sweeney finished with 188 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win over TSU. Benford leads the team with 25 receptions for 498 yards and two touchdowns.

Non-Conference Success
Under the direction of Mark Richt, Georgia owns a 35-4 record against teams from outside the Southeastern Conference, including a 24-1 mark in Sanford Stadium. The only losses came in bowl games to Boston College (20-16, 2001 Music City) and West Virginia (38-35, 2006 Nokia Sugar) and during the regular season to Georgia Tech (45-42, 2008) and Oklahoma State (24-10, 2009). In 2008, the Bulldogs beat Georgia Southern (45-21) Central Michigan (56-17), Arizona State (27-10) and Michigan State (24-12 in the Capital One Bowl) and lost to Ga. Tech (45-42) to finish with a 4-1 non-conference record.

In 2009, Georgia opened up with Oklahoma State in Stillwater and topped Arizona State 20-17 on Sept. 26. Following Saturday’s matchup with Tennessee Tech, the Bulldogs wrap up the regular season by traveling to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Nov. 28.

Green Leading The League In Receiving - Again
Georgia sophomore A.J. Green is building on a successful freshman season and is currently leading the SEC in total receiving yards (732), receiving yards per game (91.5) and rec. per game (5.5). His 732 yards ranks 19th in the nation. Green snagged eight catches for 153 yards and a touchdown versus ASU, giving him four career 100-yard games, and was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. He also blocked his first career field goal late in the fourth quarter against the Sun Devils to help secure the win. Against the Razorbacks, he registered 137 yards on seven catches and a career-high two touchdowns. In 2008, Green led the SEC in receiving yardage, yards per game and tied for first in TDs by receivers. He became the first Bulldog to lead the SEC in receiving since Brice Hunter (59 rec.,799 yds.,7 TDs) in 1994.