It’s official: UGA vs. Central Florida in Liberty Bowl
It’s official. Georgia will play in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31.
What became apparent eight days ago became official late this afternoon, when the Liberty Bowl formally announced that Georgia will play in the New Year’s Eve game in Memphis. The opponent will be Central Florida, coached by former Georgia Tech coach George O’Leary.
The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and be televised by ESPN.
Georgia’s invitation to the Liberty had been expected since the Bulldogs clinched bowl eligibility by beating Georgia Tech on Nov. 27. In an interview about an hour after that game, Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart made it pretty clear his bowl intended to invite the Bulldogs (6-6).
The only thing that could have derailed the Dogs’ invitation might have been if the SEC had not put two teams in BCS bowls.
Central Florida clinched its berth in the Liberty Bowl on Saturday by beating SMU 17-7 in the Conference USA championship game. The Knights are 10-3 and ranked No. 24 in this week’s coaches poll.
The Liberty Bowl will feature two dynamic young quarterbacks: Central Florida freshman Jeff Godfrey and Georgia redshirt freshman Aaron Murray. They rank Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the nation in passing efficiency among freshmen this season — Godfrey at 165.28 and Murray at 162.72. Murray has passed for 2,851 yards and 24 touchdowns, Godfrey for 2,042 and 13 touchdowns. Godfrey also has 546 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
Georgia is in a bowl game for the 14th consecutive season.
This will be the Bulldogs’ third trip to the Liberty Bowl and their first in 23 years. The Dogs lost to N.C. State 14-7 in the 1967 game and defeated Arkansas 20-17 in the 1987 game on John Kasay’s 39-yard final-play-of-the-game field goal.
While head coach at Georgia Tech from 1995-2001, O’Leary faced Georgia seven times, posting a 3-4 record vs. the Bulldogs. His Tech teams won three in a row against Georgia from 1998-2000. In the only meeting of an O’Leary-coached Tech team vs. a Mark Richt-coached Georgia team, the Bulldogs won 31-17 in 2001.
Check back to AJC.com for a full report on the local and national bowl picture later tonight.
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
401 comments Add your comment
UCF Dawg
December 6th, 2010
10:15 am
I love how these nay sayers are talking trash about how it’s Murray’s fault UGA went 6-6. UGA has never and I mean NEVER been an all pass offense. Why don’t you guys take a look at how many rushing TDs we got in that 4 game losing streak!!!! 2… Yep just 2. 1 rushing TD by Washaun Ealey against Arkansas. The only other rushing TD was by…you guessed it…. Aaron Murray!
You can’t expect to have an all world passing offense with a freshman QB and not have a true rushing threat to mix up the defense. Oh and shall we get a reply or two of some of the missed blocking assignements for Ealey that lead to some of those sacks??? It’s called football basics. Go the the library and read about it.
Keep taking stuff out of context guys and we will just keep putting you in your place with the whole picture. GO DAWGS!
RealDawg
December 6th, 2010
10:19 am
Hope santa brings some of you sad souls a positive outlook for Christmas. Wait, you will probably just tell us how santa isn’t performing up to expectations and the Easter bunny would be a better fit at Christmas.
Georgia didn’t make it happen this year. It happens and has happened more than we like. If venting on a blog helps you cope, then go for it. I would say that personally attaching coaches is fine but players, well that is just rude. CMR knows it has to get better, but I am sure he appreciates you reminding him. He also knows that if he doesn’t his time will be limited at Georgia.
UCF Dawg
December 6th, 2010
10:20 am
woops…not “reply”….”replay”
Manic Monday
December 6th, 2010
10:23 am
You Dawg fans who keep repeating Tech-Georgia scores like a mantra enjoy yourselves all you want. The thing is… Tech alumni and fans have lives that don’t depend entirely on what a bunch of kids does on Saturday afternoons. College sports are fun to follow, but the biggest reason for going to college is to get an education.
UGA fans don’t seem to care about anything but football, and they don’t care if their players are enrolled in silly majors that no parents who are paying the bills would send their kids to UGA for. The very few football and basketball players who graduate have no job opportunities and end up unemployed or working in menial jobs that hardly require a college degree.
Georgia Tech is a real school with serious academic standards, and that includes scholarshipped athletes. UGA has a long history of being a party school, where parents send their kids for an easy degree, even if the degree itself is practically worthless.
Jan Kemp exposed the crap going on at UGA with athletes being enrolled in courses a ten-year-old kid could pass. That was almost three decades ago, and nothing has changed. If anything, the abuses are more blatant today. Way too many illiterate morons are being recruited, and the very high arrest rate shows clearly that Richt does not care if his players have any morals or self-discipline.
The bottom line is that most Tech fans have very good jobs and productive lives that don’t depend on Tech’s football record for their happiness in life. It would be great to beat UGA more often, but when you put scholar-athletes up against dummy-athletes, it’s usually no contest.
It’s pretty pathetic to see UGA fans who typically have never been within miles of a college classroom and who live or die with UGA’s weekly results on the football field.
So keep on posting your Tech-Georgia scores all you want, especially since you’re home with plenty of time on your hands. I wish you well, maybe you’ll get lucky and get your old job back at the Waffle House before your unemployment checks stop coming.
DawgNation
December 6th, 2010
10:24 am
Manic,
Just another clip board poster with NOTHING new.
Rude is not the right word
December 6th, 2010
10:28 am
“I would say that personally attaching coaches is fine but players, well that is just rude.”
Rude, you say. Most of UGA’s thugs would beat the crap out of you in a dark alley with no remore or even a second thought.
Rude?
Dawgs win easy
December 6th, 2010
10:28 am
The dawgs will be flat and overconfident in this terrible bowl game, but they should win easy anyway against a cupcake like UCF. Ga 33 UCF 20
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
10:42 am
Aaron Murray’s 2 fans have a lot of excuses–
1) blame his inexperience
Nope. The UCF QB is a true Freshman and blows Murray away, Murray’s a REDSHIRT Freshman, 2 Springs in the system, and still 6-6.
2) blame the defense
Nope. Defense threw a shutout, held 2 other teams to 7 points, and forced 12 to’s against Tenn, Kent & Ga Tech to get Georgia 6 wins. Defense also held SC to under 20 points. Offense had to win 3 games: outscore Auburn, Arkansas and Florida, just couldn’t get it done.
3) blame the rushing attack
Nope. Had Ealey & King & #1 most experienced O-Line in NCAA back, who had finished in the top 5 in the nation over last 3 games under Joe Cox.
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
10:48 am
What’s Murray’s excuses for the Florida game?
3 interceptions, 1 into triple coverage in overtime?
1 fumble?
1 interception on the first offensive play of the game?
1 pass completion in the first quarter.
Choke, Choke, Choke.
DawgFaninFL
December 6th, 2010
11:04 am
James (Marcus, etc.), you crack me up! I guarantee you’ve NEVER seen UCF’s QB play a down, so please don’t talk about him like you know. Anyone that knows anything about football will tell you that if you score 30 or more points in a game, you should win. The offense scored more than 30 points 9 out of 12 games…and you’re gonna say the D didn’t have anything to do with the losses. You keep talking about the great O-line and it’s experience…why did they make personnel changes? Is it your point that the coaching staff wants to put the best players on the field at all positions with the exception of QB? Please go home and play with your LEGO set (feel free to choke on one).
UGAalum
December 6th, 2010
11:05 am
I HATE fair weather fans…if you’re a UGA fan, you’re a UGA fan. Point Blank Period; win or lose. I’m actually pretty positive that the all the people complaining about our football team couldn’t play the way they play in a game on their BEST DAY. So leave our boys alone and be glad that we’re going to a bowl at all. Let them rebuild. That being said. GOOOOOOOOOOO DAWGS!
UCF Dawg
December 6th, 2010
11:06 am
And who is James favorite to start for UGA over Murray next year….drum roll…. Christian Lemay!!!! Thanks to Marcus for changing his name to James just to mix it up in the month of December. What an amazing holiday treat!
The ONLY thing I want next year for any players on the UGA football team, is that the BEST players (On and Off the field of play) are representing UGA no matter the age, school year or position.
GO DAWGS!
DawgFaninFL
December 6th, 2010
11:08 am
Correction 7 out of 12 games with over 30 points on offense. They did, however, score at least 21 points in 10 out of 12.
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
11:12 am
Dude, the stupid offense should have scored 60 against teams like La Lafayette, Vanderbilt, Idaho State, Tenn, Kentucky, Auburn, Ga Tech, Colorado, none of them play defense.
From Where I Sit
December 6th, 2010
11:12 am
Bottom line: UGA nor Tech deserved a bowl this year as they both SUCKED!
Enough Said!
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
11:15 am
The defense won 6 games, held 3 teams to 7 or less, the other 3 got 3 or 4 to’s. Defense also held SC ot it’s season low. Offense should have won at least 1-3 games against the bad defenses: Auburn, Arkansas, Colorado, 0-3???
WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!
December 6th, 2010
11:16 am
the bulldogs got into a bowl?! well, congratulations. I hope it is touch football, so you won’t have to worry about your quarterback getting hit.
did you haters enjoy the SEC championship? all that talk about how Spurrier was going to get your revenge? It wasn’t even close.
enjoy Memphis and good luck against whichever directional state team you’re playing. and yes i know….next year you’ll be national champs. we all know the routine.
WDE!!!
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
11:17 am
To win the SEC, you got to average 43 offensive points a game like Auburn, not 33 like Georgia.
The defense held teams to less points than Auburn’s defense did, they played National Championship calibre defense.
offense dropped the ball.
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
11:18 am
Oregon & Auburn are both in the top 5 in offensive SCORING.
Georgia’s not.
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
11:24 am
UGA Offense didn’t play 1 team that finished in the top 30 in def scoring, but couldn’t put up more than 33 a game average?
UGA defense went up against 3 of the nation’s top 30 offenses….
San Francisco Dawg
December 6th, 2010
11:30 am
That will make it five teams that we have played who were in the top 25 when we played…maybe we can beat the last one…
coach
December 6th, 2010
11:35 am
Congrats to Brian Watters at Central Florida from Rome High School! Good luck vs the Dogs!!
coach
December 6th, 2010
11:36 am
If Central Fla hits Murray, will THUGA fans cry again???LOL
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
11:36 am
Auburn, Colorado, and South Carolina are all ranked in the bottom 20 in the nation in pass defense.
Murray should have torched them each with 5 passing td’s per game.
aw
December 6th, 2010
11:41 am
Enter your comments here
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
11:41 am
Murray only scored 12 td’s out of 51 against teams with a winning record.
75% of Murray’s td’s came against teams wihtout a winning record.
azdawg
December 6th, 2010
11:43 am
Doesn’t appear CMR will fire Grantham or replace him. That means another embarrassing season and a porous defense. I’d bet most head coaches in the SEC would have replaced Grantham as DC. Not CMR. He’ll be writing his own obit after next season or mid way through it and the result will be dismal rebuilding years for the next HC and UGA fans..
dawgfacedboy
December 6th, 2010
11:47 am
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…other than getting to see AJ one last time and a couple extra weeks of practice who cares. Am I supposed to get excited about this?
dawgfacedboy
December 6th, 2010
11:48 am
azdawg- you expected Ricth to fire Grantham after one season?!?!?! Look at the numbers, that D improved greatly in every category. Give him at least 3 years. Geez, you probably are surprised UT is going to keep Dooley on too!!!
aw
December 6th, 2010
11:49 am
PATHETIC! That’s all I can say about the majority of UGA fans on here. You haven’t been to the Liberty Bowl in almost 20 years. Memphis is a very fun town especially on New Years. Yes, it’s not a NYD bowl, but it still is a fun trip. Just think, you can be like Ole Miss and Mississippi State and go 7-4 (4-4 in the SEC 2001, 1997) and not go to a bowl game. There was talk that UGA might get a bowl at 5-7?
Just think y’all could get rid of Richt and get Ray Goff or Jim Donnan?
No Defense
December 6th, 2010
11:51 am
Grantham makes $750,000 but he can’t coach a lick. If Richt doesn’t change d-coordinators, the UGA D will be bad again.
JAMES
December 6th, 2010
11:57 am
If defense was the answer, AUburn wouldn’t be 13-0.
It’s all about the Offense in the SEC.
Gratefuldawghead
December 6th, 2010
12:11 pm
Defense wins the game…. offense sells the ticket
GO DAWGS!
Gay Blade 5
December 6th, 2010
12:13 pm
It appears to me that both UGA and GT are playing teams with must better potential.
UGA is even playing a ranked team with 10 wins.
Big Dog 98
December 6th, 2010
12:16 pm
Congratulations Auburn…apparently you got the best QB money can buy.
Why did AJ Green get suspended for 4 games for selling his own jersey; meanwhile over at Auburn your daddy can selling your services to the highest bidder with total immunity?
Big Dog 98
December 6th, 2010
12:17 pm
Enter your comments here
Yellow Jacket 89
December 6th, 2010
12:19 pm
Central Florida will destroy UGA and GT will probably continue their losing streak in bowl games.
HBTD
December 6th, 2010
12:22 pm
Yellow Jacket 89
December 6th, 2010
12:19 pm
You sound like another miserable tech fan. What a soured group.
Bruce
December 6th, 2010
12:25 pm
Is this blog still reserved for unemployed gay men that live in their parent’s basement?
Typical UGA Whiner
December 6th, 2010
12:31 pm
Attention Bruce at 12:25pm,
Yes.
MountainDawg
December 6th, 2010
12:37 pm
It’s not about Godfrey vs. Murray…it’s about Dawgs vs. Knights. UGA needs to control the football (via the run/rush) & thus the ToP. Defense needs to blitz & pressure Godfrey. Go Dawgs!!!
bulldawgbill
December 6th, 2010
12:40 pm
IS THE UCG QB, GODFREY, ANY RELATION TO THE GTECH QB OF THE SAME LAST NAME WHEN O’LEARY WAS COACHING THERE?
Band Kid
December 6th, 2010
12:42 pm
Man… y’all are ruthless today.
I’m just gonna party in Memphis, so that’s a win for me.
Go Dawgs!!!
bulldawgbill
December 6th, 2010
12:43 pm
WAR DAMN EAGLE–YOU PROVE THE POINT THAT AUBURN IS A RED NECK HICK SCHOOL IN THE MOST BACKWARD SATE IN THE UNTION.
FLA DAWG
December 6th, 2010
12:54 pm
CAN IT GET WORSE!?
The Dawgs are 6 – 6 and by any measure except greed do not deserve to be in a bowl.
Central Florida! This is a lose – lose scenario. For The Dawgs a win means absolutely nothing and a loss would be complete embarrassement.
Time for a Change
December 6th, 2010
1:03 pm
UGA Alumnus — Is an IDIOT!! Its fun watching your team play like crap all season! Get a clue losing is in now way shape or form fun!
George O'Leary
December 6th, 2010
1:08 pm
Hey Dawgs…ready to go 6-7? I own you!!
Les
December 6th, 2010
1:13 pm
If Richt had gone with
Les
December 6th, 2010
1:13 pm
Mett what a year 2010 could have been?
sneakuponum
December 6th, 2010
1:24 pm
War Eagle!!!!!!!Baby!!!!!!!!