Dawgs win Sugar Bowl: News and Notes

NEW ORLEANS - Josh Kendall's news and notes from Georgia's blowout Sugar Bowl win.

COUTU’S RECORD: Georgia senior Brandon Coutu kicked the longest field goal in BCS bowl game history with 9:36 left in the second quarter when he hit a 52-yarder that would have been good from at least 60. The previous record was 51, held by two players.

Coutu’s kick gave the Bulldogs a 17-3 lead and made him 6-of-12 from beyond 50 yards in his career.

SCHOOL RECORD: With his first return of the game, sophomore Asher Allen set Georgia’s single-season record for kickoff return yardage. Allen returned the kick 31 yards to give himself 690 for the season (on 28 returns). He broke the record set by Gene Washington in 1974 (659).

SENIOR STARTER: Thomas Brown showed why head coach Mark Richt chose to start him on the first drive of the game. Brown cleared the way for wide receiver Kris Durham to pick up 14 yards on the second play of the game by motioning to the wide receiver position and putting a textbook block on a Hawaii cornerback.

Brown rushed the ball four times for 22 yards on the first drive before being replaced by Moreno, who had a 6-yard run and then a 17-yard touchdown run.

LINEBACKER ROTATION: When Hawaii snapped the ball for the first play of the game, Washington, redshirt freshman Akeem Dent and true freshman Rennie Curran were the starting linebackers. Junior Dannell Ellerbe, who was slowed during bowl practice by an Achilles sprain, ended up getting most of the work at middle linebacker during the first half.

EARLY ENROLLEES: Five players are expected to enroll at Georgia in the midyear and be able to participate in spring practice, including former linebacker Akeem Hebron, who was suspended from the team for the 2007 season after two alcohol-related arrests.

The other four are members of the 2008 recruiting class – offensive lineman Ben Jones, running backs Richard Samuel and Dontavious Jackson and wide receiver Tavarres King.

THIS AND THAT: Sophomore wide receiver Kris Durham had a career night in the first half, catching three passes for 48 yards. His previous highs were two catches and 27 yards. … Senior A.J. Bryant of Fort Valley got into the game in the first half and saw one pass thrown his way but it was overthrown. … Andy Bailey kicked off. Regular kickoff man Brandon Coutu injured his hamstring against Georgia Tech. Coutu handled extra points and field goals. … Several former Bulldogs attended the game, including Greg Blue, Derrick White, Matt Stinchcomb, Randy McMichael and Fran Tarkenton (who was an analyst for FOX). … Hawaii threw 10 passes before calling its first rush. … There were enough LSU fans in attendance that a chant of “Go” and “Tigers” could be heard during a break in the second quarter.