Auburn Week: Thursday News and Notes

ATHENS - News and notes from Georgia's practices.

BONE-JARRING: There’s no question who gives Georgia its most physical game each season, safety Greg Blue said.

“Oh yeah, Auburn,” Blue said. “They play just like us. It seems like we’re identical teams. There’s no finesse.”

The hard-hitting nature of the game has been highlighted twice in the last three years. Last year, safety Junior Rosegreen knocked out Georgia receiver Reggie Brown with a helmet-to-helmet hit over the middle. In 2003, Blue knocked two Tigers -- wide receivers Courtney Taylor and Anthony Mix -- out of the game with hard hits.

“When you have two strong defenses, things like that can happen at any given time,” Blue said.

WELCOME BACK: Georgia’s offense is just as happy to have quarterback D.J. Shockley back. Even Joe Tereshinski, who filled in for an injured Shockley against Florida, said he thinks the other offensive players have more confidence with Shockley under center.

Does that mean the Bulldogs feel they have a better chance for success behind Shockley?

“That’s a hard question to answer,” freshman wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi said. “Shockley is our leader, and he’s been through so much. He just puts us in a situation to be successful just doing the things he does.”

“To me, he’s the all-around leader of this team,” running back Thomas Brown said. “It’s not like we didn’t have any confidence in Joe, but we’ve been getting used to Shock all year.”

THIS AND THAT: Neither Georgia nor Auburn has beaten an opponent this season that is currently ranked. ... Safety Greg Blue has been named one of 12 national semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation’s best defensive back. ... In the 108 meetings between Georgia and Auburn, the Bulldogs have scored 1,618 total points to Auburn’s 1,619. ... Georgia and Auburn are tied for the best SEC records since 2000 with marks of 34-12. ... The Tigers have outscored opponents 168-47 in the first half this year and hasn’t lost in two seasons when it was leading at halftime. ... Georgia will host DawgTown, an alcohol-free fan interactive are at the team’s practice fields, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The entrance to the practice fields is on Smith Street.