2007 Blackout: The Inside Story of Georgia's "Blackout" Against Auburn
DON’T MISS OUT: Get our insider newsletter today!
ATHENS - It’s Auburn week in Athens, Georgia.
One of the longest-tenured rivalries in college football and the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivaly”. It doesn’t get much bigger than Georgia/Auburn.
A series that used to be as close as it gets, Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs have taken control of the series, taking a 62–56–8 series lead, including a five-game winning streak.
In fact, the last time Auburn won Between the Hedges was back in 2005, and that was a game the Bulldogs should’ve won. Two years later, Georgia hosted Auburn in one of the biggest games in Sanford Stadium history.
Of course, I’m talking about the 2007 “Blackout” game.
At the time, Mark Richt’s Bulldogs were 7-2 with early losses to South Carolina and Tennessee. Still, they were ranked No. 10 in the country heading into the Auburn game and were playing like one of the hottest teams in the country. The Tigers were 7-3 heading into Athens and ranked No. 18.
The culture was changing in Athens, and after a massive win over the Gators two weeks prior, you could feel the excitement in the air. They were playing great football, and there was speculation all week that the Bulldogs could do something special for the Auburn game.
The speculation? Black jerseys.
Everyone was talking about black jerseys leading up to the game, and Dawg Post caught up with two former players on the 2007 team to get the inside story on how the black jerseys and “blackout” came to be.
“2007 was just a different year”, former Bulldog defender Marcus Howard told Dawg Post. “They (black jerseys) weren’t a surprise to the seniors. We were cool that year. That was a really different year. Coach Richt opened up more that year and let the players do their thing all season. The seniors knew about it (black jerseys) and we had a meeting that week to wear the jerseys. We always knew they were nice.”
“I remember during warm-ups talking to my boy Dannell Ellerbe”, Howard added. “He’s a guy who really cared about his looks. He made sure to wear a black sleeve out there with a red one just during warm-ups. Of course, we went into the warm-ups with red jerseys on. Myself, Fernando (Velasco) and Kelin (Johnson) were captains that game. We went back into the locker room and we all said the Lord’s prayer, and we cut the lights off for it. When the lights came back on we saw black jerseys on the ground and the team went crazy. After that, you know it was time to beat Auburn’s you know what.”
“That was the loudest I’ve ever heard Sanford Stadium”, Howard said. “LSU came in there in 2004 and that was really loud, but the Auburn game was crazy because it was set up nicely. The crowd was wearing back. It was a night game. It was great.”
The Georgia Bulldogs WIN the 2021 NATIONAL TITLE!
Check out DAWGSTRUCTION NOW!
Former Bulldog defender Marcus Washington remembered the week a little different. Apparently, it really was just the seniors who knew what was going on behind the scenes. Washington said he had no clue what to expect when he got to the stadium.
“We had no idea”, Washington said. “There was speculation, but we literally had no idea. The team was talking about it and we tried to talk coach into letting us rock some black jerseys for the game. He kept telling us to ‘stick with tradition’. Over and over. ‘We’re sticking with tradition’”.
“So we did warm ups and saw the red jerseys in the locker room, and a few of us were bummed out”, Washington added. “So we go out, warm up, and come back into the locker room. They killed the lights, they did the prayer, and that’s when they put the jersey’s in the chairs. We turned the lights back on and the locker room exploded.”
“Going out onto the field with the black jerseys on, the crowd lost it”, Washington added. “It was electric. By far the loudest moment I’ve heard in Sanford Stadium. Getting goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Of course, the Bulldogs would go on to win that game, 45-20. Anyone who was in Sanford Stadium that night will never forget it. To this day, folks in Athens that night will say it’s one of the loudest and craziest environments in Sanford Stadium.
It was a “blackout” for the ages, and it meant even more because it was against Auburn. The Tigers have lost the last seven games in Athens dating back to that magical 2007 game, and the number could get to eight with another victory this weekend.
This is a special rivalry with plenty of special moments between the two programs. However, the 2007 game was as memorable as it gets.