NEW ORLEANS — Georgia defensive end Marcus Howard entered last night's Sugar Bowl locked and loaded.

Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan couldn't have known how little it would take to set off Howard, who stomped away with MVP honors after the Bulldogs' 41-10 victory over the Warriors before a crowd of 74,383 at the Louisiana Superdome.

"I had a good pressure on him (Brennan) early, and he threw incomplete,'' Howard said of a third-and-5 situation with 5:45 left in the first quarter. "But there was an interference call, and he jumped in my face and said, 'yeah, yeah,' and that triggered me.''

Like a time bomb: Howard had four tackles, three sacks, two tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a deflected pass that wound up intercepted by a teammate.

Howard, a senior, entered the game with a nasty chip on his shoulder and wanted to cap his first year as a full-time starter at defensive end with a bang for the No. 4 Bulldogs (11-2).

Somewhat undersized at 6 feet 2 and 235 pounds, Howard said he learned last week he had a standing invite to the NFL Combine, and that provided further motivation against No. 10 Hawai'i (12-1).

Not that any fuel needed to be added to the fire by the time Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez was done with his pep talks leading up to the game.

"Coach Martinez said 'hit Colt Brennan,' and made that a big priority,'' Howard said. "Even with the game in the bag, we wanted to make a statement: Don't try to come to SEC Country and go 13-0 against the Georgia Bulldogs.''

Howard found a way to turn almost everything into a personal affront, from the way the Georgia coaching staff prepared the team, to Brennan's seemingly innocent mannerisms.

"The coaching staff ran us a whole lot, and we thought that was unfair, but it worked out,'' Howard said.

As for the MVP award, Howard said it "shows it's not always about the offense, that defense wins games and that's what happened tonight.''

A pre-game press gathering and a chance meeting between Brennan and Georgia players in New Orleans gave Howard an opportunity to create more ammunition for himself.

"He (Brennan) had a press conference and he had a smirk on his face, like he was so confident he was going to go off,'' Howard said.

"And then some of the guys met him on Bourbon Street, and he was kind of nonchalant, like he was going to have a great game against us," he continued.

With that manifested anger, Howard took aim on Brennan in the third quarter and delivered the signature defensive play in the Bulldogs' win.

With Georgia up 24-3 five minutes into the second half, the Warriors started a drive at their 4-yard line intent on changing the momentum after intercepting a pass.

Instead, on third-and-10 at the Hawai'i 14 roughly one minute later, it was Howard who set and settled the mood.

Howard faked an outside rush and cut inside Warriors' right tackle Keoni Steinhoff, who could only turn and watch his unsuspecting quarterback fall victim.

Howard came through clean as Brennan scanned the left side of the field, unaware of the impending danger as he backpedal-ed to the goal line.

"I saw I had a clear shot,'' Howard said. "I was full speed, and I wanted to hit him under the chin, and I did.''

The hit jarred the ball loose and Howard covered it quickly in the end zone for a touchdown that made it 31-3, ending virtually any hope Hawai'i had for a comeback.

"Everyone was doubting me,'' Howard said, "and I took that to heart.''

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