Georgia to face Central Florida in Liberty Bowl

The Georgia Bulldogs will face Central Florida for the second time in program history when the two teams collide New Year's Eve afternoon in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

As for UCF coach George O'Leary? Well, the Bulldogs have seen him a few more times.

O'Leary coached Georgia Tech to a 52-33 record from the end of the 1994 season, when he took over for Bill Lewis, through 2001. He guided the Yellow Jackets to bowl games his last five seasons, and his 3-5 record against the Bulldogs was highlighted by three straight wins in 1998-2000.

Tech's 27-15 triumph at Sanford Stadium in 2000 resulted in the firing of Bulldogs coach Jim Donnan two days later.

"I've always respected the program at Georgia," O'Leary said Sunday. "I think they get terrific athletes and are well-coached, and they play a full 60 minutes. I know what to expect, and I'm going to make sure my players do, too. It's an SEC team that's traditionally a powerhouse in that league, and we'll have our work cut out for us."

Georgia's first meeting with UCF was nearly a disaster, as the Bulldogs escaped the Golden Knights 24-23 in 1999. The second pairing was set up Saturday when the Knights defeated SMU 17-7 to win the Conference USA title.

UCF will enter with a 10-3 record, while the Bulldogs are 6-6, their worst mark since 1996.

"George is a hard-nosed football coach," Georgia counterpart Mark Richt said. "Every team he's ever put out there can play a physical brand of ball. To go along with that physical nature this year is a dynamic quarterback who can throw and run. It creates all kinds of problems for you, so I have all kinds of respect for George."

Richt replaced Donnan after the 2000 season and led the Bulldogs to a 31-17 win over O'Leary's Jackets in 2001. O'Leary left after that season for the Notre Dame vacancy but resigned five days after being hired due to false information about his academic and athletic background in his biography.

After spending two seasons as defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, O'Leary was hired by UCF in 2004.

O'Leary's receivers coach is David Kelly, who was Georgia's running backs coach in 1994-96. His running backs coach is George Godsey, his former quarterback at Tech whose 33-yard touchdown run ignited the 2000 win in Athens.

"I kid George all the time that the same guy missed the tackle four times because he's so slow," O'Leary said.

The Liberty Bowl will pit the two highest-rated freshman quarterbacks nationally in pass efficiency. UCF true freshman Jeffrey Godfrey has completed 143 of 209 passes for 2,042 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions, while Georgia redshirt freshman Aaron Murray is 188-of-304 for 2,851 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Both have shown the ability to run as well, with Godfrey amassing 546 yards and 10 touchdowns.

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"I thought we handled him the right way," O'Leary said. "We didn't over fill his plate with a lot of stuff he couldn't do. We really sort of spoon fed him each and every week."

UCF played in the Liberty Bowl after the 2007 season, losing 10-3 to Mississippi State. This is the fifth consecutive year in which the bowl has pitted an SEC team against the Conference USA champ, with the SEC winning the previous four.

Arkansas defeated East Carolina in last season's game, 20-17, in overtime.

"I know this game is very important to Central Florida," Richt said. "I know that they've taken their game to a new level and want to make an even greater statement by beating a Southeastern Conference team. We know what we're up against in George's team and their motivation, too."

Georgia will hold its first bowl workout Saturday. The Bulldogs will practice in Athens until Dec. 21 before breaking for Christmas and will reconvene in Memphis on Dec. 26.

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