Dawgs Preparing To Win The East

FOOTBALL

The Georgia football team began preparations for its Southeastern Conference finale with a 60-minute workout in perfect fall conditions on the Woodruff Practice Fields on Monday.

The Dawgs — who are fifth in the AP and coaches polls and the BCS standings — improved to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the SEC with their 37-10 victory over Ole Miss last week in Athens. On Saturday, Georgia will visit Auburn (2-3, 0-6 SEC) and the game will be televised by ESPN2 at 7 p.m. The Tigers are coming off a 42-7 victory over New Mexico State.

A win on Saturday would give the Dawgs their second straight SEC Eastern Division title and would clinch a berth in the SEC Championship Game on December 1st.

"It's imperative that we have a week of good practice, and that means staying focused on our fundamentals and keeping our minds right," coach Mark Richt said. "We know that we're going to have a real battle against Auburn. We know that they will give us their best, and we need to respond by doing the same thing. We got off to a good start tonight. The guys did all the little things right. We need to keep working hard and getting better as the week goes on."

"We've got to take it day by day, and it all starts with the way we practice," cornerback Branden Smith said. "We've got to have a good week of practice. We've got to keep working as a team and don't get the 'big head.' Our goal all year has been to get back to Atlanta. Getting there last year was a good experience for us, and we knew that we really wanted to make it back. We're definitely not taking anything for granted. We know it's going to be a tough game with Auburn. We've got to get ready by correcting our mistakes and be ready to come hard on Saturday."

Richt announced the captains for the Auburn game will be center David Andrews, nose John Jenkins, linebacker Jarvis Jones and safety Shawn Williams.

Monday's injury report included: receiver Marlon Brown (left ACL tear, surgery pending); guard Chris Burnette (left shoulder injury, out of practice); end Abry Jones (left ankle injury, out of practice); and linebacker Chase Vasser (left shoulder sprain, out of practice).