ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia coach Mark Richt shouldn't have to bring up Appalachian State when warning his No. 1 team about the danger of opening against Georgia Southern today.
The Mountaineers, who compete with Georgia Southern in the Southern Conference, rocked college football by beating No. 5 Michigan in an opener last year.
Later in the season, Georgia Southern won at Appalachian State.
"That gets my attention," Richt said.
And if that doesn't get the Bulldogs' attention, he can just remind them what happened four years ago.
Georgia was No. 3 in the preseason poll and coming off an 11-win season when it opened against in-state little brother Georgia Southern in what might have looked like an easy win.
The reality was different. Georgia won 48-28, but Richt had to rush his starters back in the game after Georgia Southern, which rushed for 294 yards, scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to come within 13 points.
"We have a high level of respect for Georgia Southern," Richt said. "Most of their kids are from in-state, just as ours are. We think it will be a pretty heated rivalry. A great majority of our Georgia guys have high school teammates on their team."
Georgia Southern ranks first in the Football Championship Subdivision with 38 playoff appearances and six national championships, but this is expected to be a rebuilding year for coach Chris Hatcher. The Eagles lost quarterback Jayson Foster, the Walter Payton Award winner, and will break in five new offensive linemen against Georgia.
Hatcher said 17 of his 22 players on his two-deep depth chart on offense will be playing their first games for Georgia Southern.
"I don't know how they're going to react, if we were playing in front of 92,000 or in front of 4,000," Hatcher said. "I just don't know. I wish I did. I sure would sleep better at night."
Hatcher said he might have a pregame coin toss to pick a starting quarterback between Ohio State transfer Antonio Henton and Lee Chapple, a redshirt freshman. The center is Georgia Tech transfer Trey Dunmon.
THE NUMBERS GAME
1 - Georgia's preseason ranking, the program's first: "Is it a good thing?" coach Mark Richt said. "It's good if we stay there, if we're there at the end."
Georgia's lucky number today? Third-year starting QB Matthew Stafford and new mascot Uga VII both will be sporting No. 7 jerseys.
30-2 - Georgia's record against nonconference opponents under Richt, including 20-0 at Sanford Stadium
4 - Years since Georgia and Georgia Southern last met; the state schools played for the first time in 1992, and the Bulldogs are 3-0 in the series
294 - Rushing yards the Eagles piled up against the Bulldogs in the 2004 meeting, a 48-28 Georgia victory
5 - Eagles offensive players (out of 22) who have played a game for Georgia Southern
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