Bulldogs to the Liberty Bowl?
ATHENS — Georgia became bowl-eligible for the 14th consecutive season Saturday night, and in the wee hours of Sunday morning, it looked and sounded like the Bulldogs probably are headed to the Liberty Bowl.
“We’ve got a lot of folks in Memphis that would love to see the Dogs,” Steve Ehrhart, the Liberty Bowl’s executive director, said in an interview on his way out of Sanford Stadium.
Minutes earlier, Ehrhart was seen chatting with Georgia coach Mark Richt.
“We know we can’t do anything formally [because], as Mark said, we’re sort of under an embargo,” Ehrhart said. “But I think the fact that here I am talking to him at, what time is it, 12:30 in the morning [tells you] we’re pretty darn serious.”
Georgia’s 42-34 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday night evened the Bulldogs’ record at 6-6, the threshold required for bowl eligibility.
The Liberty Bowl, which matches an SEC team vs. the Conference USA champion, will be played at 3:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 31.
The Conference USA representative in the Liberty Bowl will be the winner of next Saturday’s league championship game between Central Florida and SMU. Central Florida is coached by former Georgia Tech coach George O’Leary and SMU by former Atlanta Falcons coach June Jones.
While SEC bowl scenarios might remain somewhat in flux until after next Saturday’s SEC Championship Game — and until it is certain whether two SEC teams will reach BCS games – it seems likely that Georgia will be available for the Liberty.
Nashville’s Music City Bowl, which picks just ahead of the Liberty, is generally expected to take Tennessee. The Vols became bowl eligible with a victory over Kentucky on Saturday.
Georgia last played in the Liberty Bowl in 1987. The Bulldogs also played in the game in 1967.
“We’ve been talking about Georgia for basically all season,” Ehrhart said. “We’ve got a lot of tradition and pride with the Liberty Bowl. We’re the seventh oldest bowl game, and we haven’t had Georgia in 23 years.”
Ehrhart said he even mentioned to Richt last spring, when the Georgia coach was in Memphis to speak to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event, that it’d be nice to have him back in town on Dec. 31.
Other postgame posts:
So was that Green and Houston’s way of saying goodbye?
Murray is closing in on Stafford’s record for TD passes in a season.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
180 comments Add your comment
Hire Mark Richt
November 28th, 2010
10:54 am
According to the ESPN talking heads in the booth last night Grantham spent practice time way back in summer camp just to stop the Tech running game. How did that work out? It is painfully clear that Coach G is blind to the fact the three four scheme can’t stop the option.Tech with a backup QB runs the wild on the Dawgs defense ,without the threat of any passing attack, Are the players just terrible or is the coaching schemes just wrong.750,000 dollars for this is just unacceptable.Send Coach back to the NFL where he can put his three four scheme to good use against predictable NFL offenses.
Mr. Red
November 28th, 2010
10:58 am
10 years no National Championships. 5 years nothing!
Tell me again why MR is the greatest thing to UGA football since sliced bread!
Fire MR now!
question
November 28th, 2010
10:58 am
Does the x man know anything about football?
Mr. Red
November 28th, 2010
11:00 am
MR has been rebuilding for 2 years and will be rebuilding again in 2011. What a joke!
PTC DAWG
November 28th, 2010
11:03 am
AJC, I’m begging you, give your boards some credibility by requiring a registration and then moderate the boards.
The same drivel post after post is below even your publication.
Mr. Red
November 28th, 2010
11:08 am
The AJC has as much credibility as Dan Rather, CBS News and HuffPo. That is to say none!
To USN Vol - Hehe
November 28th, 2010
11:12 am
Got only one word in response: Kiffen
To USN Vol - Hehe
November 28th, 2010
11:15 am
No maybe two, USC and I don’t mean South Carolina LOL
To USN Vol - Hehe
November 28th, 2010
11:15 am
Let’s go for three, Trojan – and not the medical kind LOL
Supes
November 28th, 2010
11:23 am
Any bowl is good at this point b/c it’ll give this team the extra much needed practices between now and the bowl game.
I’m not gonna say Tenn doesn’t deserve to go to the Music City Bowl…it’s a good match for that bowl game, they wanna have local interests involved, they chose or want Tenn…good for them. Glad to see Tenn make a bowl…the way the season started it looked like a 2-3 win season for them.
As far as UGA going to the Liberty Bowl…give how we got there (at 6-6) I’ll take it and hope to see improvement…especially on defense.
One of the 2 things is happening…either Grantham was the wrong hire…or simply UGA doesn’t have the players HERE now to run the schemes that Grantham wants to run. Maybe a combination of both…which is why the Defense has looked so bad for most games this season.
We did improve our plus/minus turnover margin…so that’s good (as far as the defense goes)…but most of the time we can’t stop anyone, not even a high school offense with 3 plays and a backup QB who can’t throw the ball to save his life.
Vick=Dog killing Thug
November 28th, 2010
11:28 am
It’s sad to realize how low the dawgs have sunk. Consider Tennessee with a first year coach. Dawgs beat them pretty good earlier in the year but what would happen if we played them now?
We’re going backwards and every team in the league except maybe Vandy is getting better.
Shoney's "two for one shrimp" on Friday nights
November 28th, 2010
11:29 am
Hey, um Techers. We UGA fans belive every word that y’all say, especially about Shreveport. It will be so hillarious seeing y’all in the Independence Bowl. That Shoney’s shrimp is decent when priced two plates for one. AAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHA
Is this not what y’ll said last year???? ” it is the wosts bowl” or it is ” the loser’s bowl” or the “downward spiral bowl”. I prefer this last one because it is on track with GT coaching history. History? what do you mean?? How dare you speak to me about GT history.
At GT, since 1967 and counting Bobby Dodd ( Vince ran him out of town ) GT has had a new football coach every 3.5 years. By next October, GT will be right at that HISTORICAL thresh hold ……3.5 years and with CPJ’s dismal record, that IS IN a downward spiral, especially in recruiting ……………..he will be soon fired OR he quits.
Be careful …………..be very careful ……………Colorada WON the NC in 90 with a wishbone squad. They just might be the place fofr his joke by coke offense ……………it does generate the stats, just not the Ws. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHA
IS CPJ headed for Boulder??? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm? 3.5 years and theya re gone around The Flats.
RMikel58
November 28th, 2010
11:33 am
Whiners huh? People on here that vent their views are just as loyal to their team as you are. What venting means your anti-georgia fan? Maybe some things said are crazy and unrealistic but some are actually good talking points as well.
Alot of you here that dont point out things that Georgia can improve on to better their team is the same fans that go to the game and fall sleep in the stands. Or spend your time texting or getting drunk and are only there for social reasons or just tail gating.
Have you sat in the bleachers when it was 24% and/or remained seating while Florida trounces Georgia?
I sat there while Tebow ran up n down the sidelines acting like a clown but then remembering he was a fan too.
Gator fans laughing and joking about Georgia during the game but i told my wife i was gonna sit here until the last play no matter what. Did you so called GEORGIA FANS LEAVE EARLY TO PARTY?
I stayed and watched and listened and i allowed the Gator fans to have their moment in the sun because they deserved it and it wasnt being directed at me personally.
When you come on here and attack georgia fans because their point of view might be different than yours you have no right to call them whiners or fair weathered fans. Their venting…………. they love Georgia as much or maybe more than you and this what makes America so great.
To RMike158
November 28th, 2010
11:41 am
I fly from Arizona EVERY Halloween to see Georgia get trounced and you don’t hear me bemoaning the loss. I get so aggrivated at hearing UGA fans call for beheadings of CMR (punning my friend, just punning) when they as you do should stay till the end! I agree, they’ll run out when the opposing team get’s a 3 pt lead and open their tequila bottle (which ain’t so bad with lime). All I was saying is: Support CMR, everyone goes thru a down time, I do even! CMR is the best thing to happen to UGA in quite a while and remember this, Murray is a freshman!! Healthy, and UGA is looking at the NC!!!!!
RealDawg
November 28th, 2010
11:41 am
Its not about deserving a bowl or accepting a bowl. It is about bowl politics. My point is that we continually lose the bowl politics game. Bowls aren’t about anything other than money and politics.
We have the largest tv market in the Southeast and have continually traveled very well. Just look at the bowl selection process last year. Somebody in our front office isn’t playing the game very well.
To RMike158
November 28th, 2010
11:42 am
PS The boy has an arm!!!
RMikel58
November 28th, 2010
11:44 am
I still want to congradulate Ga. Tech though, they kept up with Georgia and alot of Ga. Tech fans thought Georgia was gonna blow them out. Georgia has had that kind of season, getting way ahead then letting teams catch up.
Maybe its conditioning, coaching, not being focused, or momentum. Tech made alot of fans sweat but those are the kinda games weve grown to expect no matter the record.
Tech won the ACC last year and just as Georgia its a rebuilding year. Paul Johnson ran the ball down our throats with big yards and we couldnt stop them.
If it wasnt for some big plays Georgia would have been in a pickle and the score might have been different.
You’ll be better by next season and so will Georgia and next years game will be as entertaining as this one im sure.
Best of luck in the Bowl Games Tech and look forward to seeing you guys next year.
wildbill
November 28th, 2010
11:46 am
Yes, we should go to a bowl. On one condition, that our opponent would be from one of the following colleges,
1. Converse College.
2. Brenau
3. Furman
4. North Georgia College
5. Agnes Scott
long-time dawg
November 28th, 2010
11:46 am
Forbes recently named Birmingham as one of America’s “top” ten(#7)dirtiest cities. Yes, that would be an appropriate place for UGA to go bowling.
Love Mark Richt-Hate Coach Richt
November 28th, 2010
11:57 am
Please Coach Richt call the “U” and tell them you wanna come.
South Florida newspapers see Richt as Miami candidate | UGA sports blog
November 28th, 2010
11:57 am
[...] Georgia to the Liberty Bowl? [...]
RMikel58
November 28th, 2010
12:00 pm
Some of you fans are lucky more than i, i cant afford season tickets i have 5 kids but Georgia gets alot of TV time where alot of other SEC schools dont. We’re really lucky and especially me to get to watch them play.
I have to DVR it cause my wife gives me a “honey-do-list” on saturdays and sometimes i get to watch it live so my friends dont call me during the game incase i DVR it.
Bowl games i agree are political and money oriented and most of the big schools get invites based on fan base and what it brings in.
This was season that had more downs than up’s. Richt has done an incredible job just look at his stats against any of the georgia coaches since he’s been there. To me that means alot. He had 17 players on injured reserve list and had a great year.
We didnt get any breaks this year, not one. The 1980 National team did. You know the 12-0 team with Herschel. Played 5 teams that were under .500 1 team just above .500 and the rest just above .500 with 3 going to bowl games.
Georgia won 2 games in the final minute that year Tennessee and Florida. That was luck! Everything went their way that year didnt it?
Isnt this fun and what makes us better fans in football? My neighbors are Tech fans, Bama fans, Tenn fans but i couldnt have better neighbors except on saturday but their the same fans that pull for Georgia when we’re not playing against them, the same neighbors that would lend me their lawn mower or tools and would help me if i asked for it.
I think for the most part fans that say detrimental things toward others need to remember this because their only fans and they get their turn sooner or later and i hope we dont say personl things about our fellow neighbors and americans that we cant take back.
Reality Check
November 28th, 2010
12:05 pm
Georgia played awful and was easily predictable on offense but that was still good enough to ship Tech.
And where were the Tech fans? The Tech football team and band outnumbered Tech fans in attendance?
Why would a high school recruit want to play for Tech, whose fans will not support their team?
RMikel58
November 28th, 2010
12:05 pm
Gotta go and get ready for the Falcons game but thanks for letting me talk on here and venting, best of luck to our GEORGIA BULLDOGS hopefully saviouring our season but if they dont ,we’ll be there next year pulling for them.
God Bless you and your families!
What Georgia Tech fans?
November 28th, 2010
12:09 pm
Georgia Tech did not sell out one single home game in Atlanta. And the only visiting team in Athens that brought fewer fans to the game than Georgia Tech was Idaho State.
Georgia Tech fans are not only few and hard to find but they are the most ‘fair weather’ fans in all of college football.
Dogfaddle
November 28th, 2010
12:17 pm
Georgia didn’t beat a single decent team all season. The final game was clumsy, ugly affair. Our players have underperformed for years. We stink because of Richt and next year will be the same. The new UGA bulldog perfectly represents the current state of Georgia football, half asleep and content to stay that way.
DawgVoiceofReason
November 28th, 2010
1:13 pm
XMan,
I think there is a key point that you are missing. The ONLY way Tech could win the game was to get the ball back somehow, whether by fumble recovery or even a UGA touchdown. The question is could UGA have run out the clock without scoring. The answer is YES, and probably without getting a first down. All we had to do was take a knee. Tech had no timeouts and the clock would have gone to zero, probably after two more plays (it was second down) and definitely after a fourth down. Unless there is some factor that I’m not aware of, we GAVE them the one chance they had to win the game. Fortunately, because their coach attempted to pass with a team that is essentially incapable of it, we won anyway.
We
November 28th, 2010
1:23 pm
The Tool Box Bowl – GT vs Agnus Scott
USN Volunteer
November 28th, 2010
1:35 pm
Hey I’ll be the first one to point a tomahawk at Kiffin’s house. I’m happy to have the class act from a Bulldog Legend. Good luck in your bowl game.
What a joke
November 28th, 2010
1:41 pm
So UGA pays a team half a million dollars to come out to Ga beat the crap out of them and then bragg about going to a bowl. They need a bid to the toilet.
Vols R
November 28th, 2010
3:00 pm
liberty bowl? are you serious? That’s the worst bowl of all for SEC teams. UT will be in a better bowl than that—-Music City in Nashville! Richt better get it together and start winning in 2011–or they’ll run him out of town. UT’s going to be dominating the SEC east soon–maybe richt should take the miami job and coach in the weak acc.
BobbyDawg
November 28th, 2010
3:07 pm
If the Dawgs had any kind of defense we’d probably see them win a national championship in the next year or two,but as it is we’ll be lucky to see them win 8 or 9 games. Can anybody imagine how many points Boise State would run up on us? MR is a great leader, but he is NOT a defensive coach and he needs to find someone who is. I guess Irk Russell just spoiled me.
Chase
November 28th, 2010
5:46 pm
Those 2 teams show no competition for UGA, too bad our season turned out like so. I see this as the same bowl game verse A&M last year, a blowout.
T-Dog $
November 28th, 2010
6:11 pm
Grantham makes $750,000—-after that first season, will he get a huge raise and bonus?
ScreaminDawg
November 28th, 2010
7:23 pm
Get rid of BOBO and please just anyone to teach someone how to tackle.
AFDawg
November 28th, 2010
9:30 pm
Jupiter and TampaGator, I hope you are right. If Colorado or Miami could lure Richt away — that would be a great thing for Georgia football. Does everyone realize that UGA and TN ended-up with the same overall and conference records this year — TN has first year coach Derek Dooley who inherited a program in complete turmoil. Did you see the way FSU figured out how to dismantle Florida this year — that was great coaching. It should have been the same way for UGA over FL this year too. Georgia deserves better coaching.
SEC sayer
November 28th, 2010
9:38 pm
And Ga will give Richt a raise next year. – amazing! Not it is NOT look at all the Dumb masses graduating out of GA now.,
6-6 and you guys are Ok with that?
The SEC is laughing at Ga football now
SEC sayer
November 28th, 2010
9:41 pm
At least most SEC teams can put GA down as a ” WIN ” for next year. I see this team hitting bottom with all its T H U G S
SEC sayer
November 28th, 2010
9:42 pm
UGA has T H U G fans too
Vols, B.
November 28th, 2010
10:18 pm
RealDawg
November 28th, 2010
9:54 am
“Why do we get screwed in the bowl politics every year? TN didn’ t even sell out all their home games and traveled like crap this year. We sold out every home AND every away game including Colorado and annual ass kicking in Jacksonville.”
RealDawg…UT averaged right at 100k in attendance this year, and traveled very well to LSU (sold allotment), Memphis (30k+ UT fans), and Vandy (30k+ UT fans). We didn’t sell our entire UGA allotment for first time that I can remember (probably b/c it was week following the trip to LSU). If you want to talk about UT and attendance… you might want to check out how your stadium looked for our game this year…
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/459864/Screen_shot_2010-10-09_at_12.29.28_PM.png
The other endzone was empty as well.
Buckeye Dan
November 28th, 2010
10:32 pm
Hehehe, I’d be nice to have him back in memphis on 12/31. That’s setting your sights high.
UGA Dawg 97
November 28th, 2010
10:33 pm
Miami, Please take CMR, PLEASE!
Mark Richt
November 28th, 2010
10:35 pm
I may even get a raise out of this. Shreavport last year, Memphis this year. I hit .500 and these dumb rednecks are ok with it. Why would I want to go any where else?
Todd Grantham
November 28th, 2010
10:38 pm
I can’t believe these fools are paying me this much. By the way, I was giving the choke sign to Aaron Murray in Jax. If it wasn’t for my D that little snot nosed frat boy woulda choked away another game.
Mobile Dawg
November 28th, 2010
10:40 pm
Well Coach, maybe you should look for another job. You must have a great agent to throw up this smoke screen. Jim Harbaugh, Dan Mullin, or Chris Peterson and we will compete in years to come with Alabama, Florida, LSU, and Auburn.
DD795
November 28th, 2010
11:47 pm
What a QB Ann Murry is.
flagboy?
November 29th, 2010
12:00 am
whoa. . . BoWeevil?? This isn’t the same BoWeevil from YEARS and YEARS ago is it??
flagboy?
November 29th, 2010
12:04 am
Bowls are about selling tickets and hotel rooms.
If you really think it’s about much else, like picking the better team, you’re fooling yourself.
$750,000
November 29th, 2010
1:42 am
Todd needs a raise! His D against Tech was amazing!!!!!
Steve
November 29th, 2010
1:47 am
RomeDawg, I dont think you understood Don’s answer to your question.
You asked why the Music City bowl would pick UT and he repsonded because it’s in Tennessee .. and you said so was Memphis. Memphis doesn’t matter in this case as that bowl game picks AFTER the Nashville bowl. Trust me, Memphis would LOVE to get UT instead of UGA and if they had the first pick they would do the same .. but they don’t.
Here is one kicker though. UGA will likely be looked at for the Chick-Fil-A bowl. Yes, that bowl usually picks no worse than the 5th SEC team (or 6th of two SEC teams make the BCS), but .. that could come down to Mississippi State, Georgia or Florida. Though MSU travels well, it doesn’t travel anywhere near like UGA. The Gator bowl is a possibility also.
Pick order for SEC bowls (based on Auburn winning, which is definitely not a sure thing)
* – BCS Championship game – Auburn
1 – Sugar Bowl – Arkansas (SEC top non-NC game team, and Sugar Bowl will likely pick an SEC team)
2 – Capital One Bowl – LSU. The bowl must select the team with the next best overall record or a team within one win of the team with the next best overall record. Assuming a South Carolina loss, then LSU has to be this team
The Outback, Chick-fil-A and AT&T Cotton Bowls will work with the conference office to determine picks 3-5. The Cotton Bowl has the first preference of teams from the Western Division and the Outback Bowl has first preference of teams from the Eastern Division. The Cotton or Outback Bowl can select teams outside of its divisional preference, but must not select them before the opposite bowl selects from its divisional preference. The Chick-fil-A Bowl has the selection of preference following the Cotton and Outback Bowls.
Based on the above.
3 – Cotton Bowl – Alabama (prefers to choose from the West, though they can choose East)
4 – Outback – South Carolina (prefers to choose from the East, though they can choose West)
5 – Chick-Fil-A – Mississppi State. I know .. I know. UGA or Florida would bring in more revenue, but remember .. the SEC Conference office deteremines teams 3-5 and MSU would be positioned ahead of UF and UGA based on record and strength of the West this year. Sucks for UF and UGA fans, but unless the Conference office determines that they want to make sure tickets are sold before anything else, then MSU is the team despite what many other sources are saying. Then again, who knows how the SEC office thinks, but I beleive they would have some explaining to do if they don’t slot MSU here.
*Note – I have read in some spots that the CFA bowl can pick outside the 3-5 range if they want, and that changes EVERYTHING. If they can, then you can bet they will choose UF or UGA. If FSU loses to VaTech, then my guess is the CFA selection stays away from UF as they won’t want a rematch. If that happens, then they may go with MSU .. but it could turn out to be … UGA. The rest of these projections are based off CFA choosing, or being forced to choose .. Mississippi State.
6. Gator Bowl – Florida (just makes sense due to location and them being the next SEC team)
NEXT
In selections 7-8, the AutoZone Liberty and Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowls will make their selections, not in any specific order, but in consultation with the SEC Office. The Bowls will rank available qualified teams in order of preference. If there are no similarities in the order of selection, the bowls will be granted its selection. If the bowls rank the same teams in preference, the team involved in the process would get its preference of which bowl to participate. (teams in order would be UGA, UT, UK). I believe for tie-breakers on preference they alternate years .. this might be why Tim is saying Music City picks first, though I cannot find that written anywhere.
7 – Music City Bowl – Tennessee. UGA could be forced on them by the league office, but they rarely do that for these lower bowls. Since the ‘preference’ allowance is in place, this bowl would go with the in-state team and choose UT.
8 – Liberty – UGA. Though watch out here. Believe it or not, UK might be a fan favorite here because of the more familiar basketball tie-ins. UK travels very well believe it or not and it is entirely possible UGA gets shafted. I would bet on this being UGA, but just saying it should not be assumed.
8 – Compass Bowl – UK
At least thats my take. Scout and ESPN vary from this. Scout does have UGA going to the Chick-Fil-A bowl, but I am not sure if they took into account all the rules of selection. I think the CFA bowl would honor UGA by picking them. I also think UGA fans would take the selection as a serious upgrade to the other bowls and would show up in droves.