UGA to Liberty Bowl; Tech to Independence Bowl

The Independence Bowl, held in Shreveport, La. will kick off at 5 p.m. on Dec. 27.  The game will be televised by ESPN2.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. It is one of three non-BCS bowl games to feature two ranked teams. The game will be televised by ESPN.

The Bulldogs  have made two previous trips to the Memphis bowl. They lost to N.C. State, 14-7, in 1967 and defeated Arkansas, 20-17, on John Kasay’s 39-yard field goal on the final play of the game in 1987. The Knights, champions of Conference USA, are led by former Yellow Jackets coach George O'Leary. The bowl will mark the second time Georgia and Central Florida have met, with the Bulldogs winning the 1999 meeting, 24-23. Georgia is 26-16-3 in bowls. It will be playing in its 46th bowl, the sixth-most of any team.

"When you go 6-6 and you’re in a bowl game, you’re thinking you might get an opponent you feel real comfortable with, but I’ll tell you what, when you play a champion, period, championship teams know how to win," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "That’s what gives me the greatest concern. They are a champion. They’re used to winning. When you get in the habit of winning, those guys believe in themselves for a lot of really good reasons. We’ll have all we can handle, I can tell you that. I hope they have respect for us with the record we have."

The Bulldogs are led by freshman quarterback Aaron Murray, who has passed for 2,851 yards and 24 touchdowns this season. Central Florida quarterback Jeff Godfrey has passed for 2,042 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Tech is 3-0 against Air Force, with the last meeting occurring in 1979. However, Tech coach Paul Johnson is very familiar with the Falcons. His Navy teams went 5-1 against Air Force when he was the coach of the Midshipmen. The Falcons run an option offense that averages 317.9 rushing yards per game. The Jackets' spread option averages an FBS-best 327 rushing yards per game.

"There might not be any TV breaks," Johnson said. "It might be a fast game."

Interestingly, this will also be a brother vs. brother matchup. Tech A-back Roddy Jones' younger brother, Darius, is a running back for the Falcons. He has rushed eight times for 73 yards this season.

Johnson said it was too early to tell if quarterback Joshua Nesbitt, who sustained a broken arm in the loss to Virginia Tech on Nov. 4, will be able to play in the bowl.

The Yellow Jackets have a five-game losing streak in bowls, but are 22-18 overall and will be playing in their 14th consecutive bowl. They have never appeared in the Independence Bowl. The school is offering tickets for $14 to the first 5,000 purchasers. The special price lasts until Dec. 12. Tech has an allotment of 10,000 tickets.

"We are excited to have chance to come play in the game," Johnson said. "I've heard nothing but good things about playing in the Independence Bowl. We finished with a tough loss and look forward to having a chance to play another game."

The Chick-fil-A Bowl will feature the two losers of the ACC and SEC championship games. The No. 19 Gamecocks were defeated by Auburn, 56-17, at the Georgia Dome on Saturday. The No. 23 Seminoles were defeated by Virginia Tech, 44-33, in Charlotte on Saturday.

Florida State (9-4) is 15-3 against South Carolina (9-4), but they haven't played since 1991.

It is the first time that the Chick-fil-A Bowl has been able to pair the conference runner-ups.

"Neither one of us played our best in our championship game and we are both desperately trying to finish the year with a victory," Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said.