After LSU defeated Georgia twice last season on the way to a share of the national championship, Georgia fans, players and coaches have looked forward to the rematch. The moment has arrived.

Georgia is 3-0 and ranked fourth in both polls. LSU is 3-1 and ranked 13th. Let's get it on.

"It's a big game," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "We can't deny that it's such a big game. Our fans are excited. I'm sure our players are excited. Everybody's going to be excited. LSU will be excited about it too.

"These are the kinds of games that guys come to Georgia for, come to LSU for. The national exposure, the big-game atmosphere with so much on the line in the league -- it's what it's all about."

For the Bulldogs to beat the Tigers, they'll have to play better on offense than they have in three previous games this season. They'll also have to protect quarterback David Greene a lot better than they did last year against LSU, when the Tigers sacked Greene 10 times, intercepted him five times and deflected 10 passes -- including several near the line of scrimmage -- in two games.

"He's smart. He's not going to make a lot of mistakes. In my mind, you've got to get pressure on him, because if you don't, he's going to pick you apart," defensive end Marcus Spears told the Athens Banner-Herald. "That's the thing about him. He's a NFL-type quarterback. You have to play smart and get in his face.

"We need to force him to move out of the pocket. We can't have him taking those five-step drops. That's the main thing with any quarterback, but with (Greene) it's especially true."

The presence of freshmen running backs Danny Ware and Thomas Brown offers more of a running threat than the Tigers faced from Georgia last year, but Richt is also convinced the pass protection has improved this season. Georgia hopes to be able to rely on their best backfield pass blocker with the expected return of junior RB Tony Milton from offseason surgery, but the key to success starts up front.

"We're better than a year ago up front," Richt said. "I don't know if we're good enough, but we're better."

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