UCF trailed 17-10 and took over at its own 20-yard line with 7:28 remaining in the game. The Knights drove 80 yards in 15 plays and scored to tie the game at 17-17 with 2:05 remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, freshman William Stanback crushed Memphis kick returner Marquis Warford, causing a fumble. The Knights’ Drico Johnson scooped it up at the Tigers’ 12-yard line and scored to put the Knights on top 24-17 with 1:56 left.

But the drama wasn’t over. Memphis then moved all the way down the UCF 6-yard line with less one minute left. But on third-and-goal, the Tigers attempted a halfback pass and Brandon Hayes’ toss into the end zone was intercepted by Terrance Plummer to seal the Knights’ victory.

“The other team out-played us and we were very fortunate to come out with a win,” UCF head coach George O’Leary said. “Things like that don’t usually happen. As I told the team in the locker room, when you keep making the effort and keep playing with effort, good things are going to happen. They happened late for us. I thought that was a great hit by Stanback and obviously a good interception in the end zone.”

Plummer, who made two interceptions in the end zone to save possible touchdowns, gave all the credit to defensive teammate Clayton Geathers for both the huge turnovers.

“All the credit goes to Clayton again,” Plummer said. “Tip drill. I caught the ball and we got the W. I got the turnover to end the game. I’m just thankful we got that W.”

Even the Knights’ game-tying score was interesting. On first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, running back Storm Johnson struggled to reach the end zone and fumbled. The ball squirted into the end zone into the waiting arms of Knight left tackle Chris Martin.

Memphis running back Sam Craft put Memphis up 17-10 on a 13-yard run with 12:59 remaining in the contest. The drive was kept alive by a fake punt where Tiger punter Tom Hornsey ran for 14 yards. The Craft score put Memphis on top 17-10.

After trailing 7-3 at halftime, UCF took the lead 10-7 with 5:48 remaining in the third quarter. The Knights went 91 yards in 12 plays. The drive was keyed by a 32-yard pass from Blake Bortles to Breshad Perriman, which got the Knights out of the shadow of their own goalposts. Freshman running back William Stanback capped the drive with a 1-yard burst to paydirt.

Memphis’ Jake Elliott hit a 49-yard field goal with 2:19 remaining in the third quarter to tie the game up at 10-10. The third quarter ended with the score still knotted at 10-all.

Brandon Hayes put Memphis on top 7-0 early in the first quarter. The Tigers drove 67 yards in seven plays, capped by Hayes’ 16-yard touchdown run. UCF cut its defict to 7-3 on a 26-yard Shawn Moffitt field goal late in the first period. The Knights’ opening score was set up by Jacoby Glenn’s first career interception.

The high-powered UCF offense, which came into the game averaging 450 yards per game, managed just 95 yards in the first half. A Plummer interception in the final minute of the half kept the Knights’ deficit at four points, 7-3, headed into intermission.

“I give all the credit to Clayton (Geathers),” Plummer said of his first pick. “He and (Sean) Maag tipped the ball … I just saw the ball in the air and tried to make a play on the tip drill. I was glad I made the play and got us out of the half.”

“We are very pleased with the opportunity to go to the Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl and the chance to play Ball State who has a 9-3 record,” head coach George O’Leary said. “We’re looking forward to the competition as well as the festivities in St. Petersburg.”

To order tickets, call the UCF Ticket Office at (407) UCF-1000 or visit UCFAthletics.com for all of the details.

Ball State stands at 9-3 with its only losses coming to then-No. 12 Clemson, BCS-bound Northern Illinois and Kent State, which is currently ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll. The Cardinals have non-conference wins over Indiana, Army and South Florida, as well as a MAC victory at then-No. 25 Toledo. They have seven previous bowl appearances (last was the 2008 GMAC Bowl), and are 0-6-1 all-time.

BSU is riding a six-game winning streak while being led by quarterback Keith Wenning. The junior is completing 65.5 percent of his passes, averaging 261.6 yards per game and has tossed 22 touchdowns passes compared to 10 interceptions. On the ground, the Cardinals average 214.2 yards per game with sophomore Jahwan Edwards racking up 14 touchdowns, 1,321 yards and a 6.1 yards-per-rush average. Classmate Willie Snead, meanwhile, has amassed 1,070 receiving yards with seven touchdowns. And over on defense, junior defensive end Jonathan Newsome owns 8.5 sacks with 12.0 tackles for loss.

UCF holds a 9-4 record on the season and claimed its fourth Conference USA East Division title since joining the league in 2005. This will be the Knights’ second trip to the Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl, as they lost to Rutgers in 2009, 45-24.

Overall, the Black and Gold is embarking on its fifth trip to a bowl game in the last eight seasons. Along with the 2009 journey to St. Petersburg, it made appearances in the 2005 Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl and the 2007 and 2010 AutoZone Liberty Bowls. That 2010 game marked UCF’s first bowl victory as it topped Georgia, 10-6.

Ball State is 2-1 overall vs. UCF, as BSU defeated the Knights on its home turf in 1996 and 2004, with the 2004 meeting occurring when both schools were in the MAC. UCF took down the Cardinals in 1998 in Orlando.

In a moment that was emblematic of the season when it came to the kicking, the point-after was a wobbly, knuckling liner that cleared the crossbar by just inches. It was a success, but it made more than a few hearts skip a beat inside of Memphis’ Liberty Bowl Stadium that afternoon.

After enduring a rocky junior season, Cattoi is hoping to rid himself of such cliffhanger moments and shore up UCF’s kicking responsibilities. And if he can’t, there’s backup this time around to come to the rescue.

Heading into Saturday’s scrimmage and FanFest activities for UCF, the 6-foot-5, 224-pound Cattoi holds down the first-string kicking job. He’s had a solid training camp so far, even while being pushed by preferred walk-on Shawn Moffitt in training camp. Both kickers have been put in pressure situations at the end of practices and have been impressive with their accuracy so far, giving head coach George O’Leary some confidence in the position that was lacking last season.

“I wish it was game day because they are kicking it well right now,” O’Leary said following a practice earlier in the week. “They are making such good contact with the ball. You don’t have to see a good kick; you can hear it. I try to put them in situations where they have to make long field goals and short field goals. They’re both (Cattoi and Moffitt) hitting it pretty good.”

Cattoi worked hard this offseason to strengthen his leg and improve his accuracy following a 2010 season in which he made 11 of 19 field goals and 47 of 50 extra points. He split time with Jamie Boyle, who made all nine of his extra points, but missed on two field goal tries.

“Over the summer I really worked on field goals because I really want to have a great senior season. I’ve been working so hard on my mental state and not allowing anything to get to me,” said Cattoi, a Tampa native. “I feel like I’m hitting the ball really well right now. I’m very confident with my field goals and kickoffs and I was to take it into the start of the season.”

Cattoi’s confidence was tested last season as he was wildly inconsistent most of the season. He missed four field goals shorter than 40 yards, including one that was blocked. He also missed on four kicks from 40-plus yards. Distance was rarely an issue, but accuracy was a problem.

Cattoi did have a 29-yard field goal in the Conference USA title game against SMU and a 22-yard kick against Georgia in the Liberty Bowl to tie the game at 3-all. Latavius Murray scored on a 10-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter against Georgia and Cattoi’s unsightly extra point proved to be a big one because it put UCF up 10-6. Needing a touchdown instead of a tying field goal, Georgia came up short on two drives late in the game and UCF escaped with its first bowl victory in school history.

Cattoi admitted that last year’s struggles pushed him to work harder this past offseason so that he can become a weapon for the Knights this season.

“I wanted to help the team and respond from those lows,” Cattoi said. “You can’t be negative because that will just make things worse and hurt your season even more. I wanted to finish up the season right and help the team the best that I can.”

With its kicking spot up in the air, UCF recruited Moffitt, a standout kicker at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando last season. He made 11 of 16 field goals and 97 of 98 extra points last season at Dr. Phillips. He made a 52-yard field goal last season and set the Florida state record for consecutive extra points with 130 in a row.

Both kickers have been especially impressive so far, hitting pressure kicks with a lot on the line. O’Leary likes to have his kickers end practice with 47-yard field goal attempts, and there’s plenty of peer pressure involved. If they make the kick, practice is over; if they miss, the team either continues to practice or runs sprints. So far, both kickers have been accurate in those situations.

Cattoi said the experience that he’s gained over the last two seasons – he was 14 of 20 on field goals in 2009 – has helped him learn to deal with the highs and lows that come with kicking. He said UCF’s fellow kickers, punters and snappers are always there for support as are his parents, Terry and Jean Cattoi.

“Once I’m back there kicking I have my same sequence and I just try to zone everything else out. In my head, I go through the tips and reminders of the things that I have been working on. I have to keep my eyes on the ball and nothing else,” he said. “The specialist group is always there for support and helping me with what’s going wrong when we’re watching film together. My parents have always been behind me since my freshman year and they’ve been to all of our games the past two years. It’s been great having their support there.”

Cattoi hopes that his struggles are a thing of the past and he feels that he’s primed for a solid senior season. His kicking leg is significantly stronger following an offseason of weight room work and it has been evidenced in his kickoffs and long field goals. In addition to being more accurate on his field goals, he wants to once again reach double digits in touchbacks as he did two seasons ago.

“It’s a tough experience sometimes, but you just have to get used to it. You have to learn how to block out all of the fans,” he said. “Since I’ve been kicking for three years at UCF now, it’s so nice having that experience. I’m used to what it takes to be successful and I think it’s going to be a great year.”

10. Jonathan Griffin launches grand slam to beat FSU: On a hot and humid night in Tallahassee on May 7, UCF broke a 6-6 tie with sixth-ranked FSU with a seven-run seventh inning. The inning’s highlight was a crushing grand slam homer by Jonathan Griffin. The blast came one pitch after FSU coach Mike Martin made a trip to the mound and opted to leave his relief pitcher in. One pitch later, Martin was back out to make a change. UCF won the game 14-10 and it took nearly four hours to get the victory.

9. UCF men’s basketball wins first game as ranked team at UMass: Just days before Christmas and with its top scorer wearing a walking boot nursing an ankle injury, UCF’s stay in the poll was expected to be a short one as they faced a hungry UMass team on the road. Marcus Jordan was not going to play and in the first half, Donnie Jones lost two more players with ankle injuries, but the Knights kept the game close. At halftime, Jordan told Jones he was playing the second half. While Jordan scored just one field goal, his presence was a big factor as UCF moved to 11-0 with a 64-59 win.

8. Weaver runs for 180 in shootout win against East Carolina: It was the biggest regular season conference home game at Bright House Network Stadium. The high-powered offense of ECU came rolling into Orlando putting up big numbers. In the end, the Knights put up a bit more. Ronnie Weaver ran over Pirate defenders all day en route to a 180-yard performance and two touchdowns as UCF took control of the Conference USA East Division race with a 49-35.

7. Knights win matinee game at UTEP: After having its first game in El Paso postponed because of a snow storm, UCF returned to play a President’s Day game against UTEP, who had become the hottest team in the league. The Knights were already road weary from flying back and forth across the country the previous two weeks. With a sparse crowd at tipoff, UCF hit shots early and often and built a big lead. By halftime, almost 10,000 fans made the Don Haskins Center an atmosphere to remember. Despite a big UTEP rally, UCF handed the home team its first loss in 15 games in El Paso with a 74-68 win.

6.UCF wins second conference title, topping SMU 17-7: The Knights’ defense got to shine before the nationally televised audience. Josh Robinson has a big day and the UCF defensive front kept pressure all day on SMU’s quarterback. Latavius Murray earned MVP honors and highlighted his day with a 36-yard touchdown run. After the game, the question about where UCF was going was no longer a question. The Knights had secured their second trip to the Liberty Bowl and would face Georgia.

5. UCF baseball rallies to beat fourth-ranked Florida in dramatic fashion: Shortstop Darnell Sweeney’s error in the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and put the Gators on top headed into the ninth in Gainesville. The sophomore made up for his mistake with a crushing two-run double to center that put the Knights up 4-3. Yet drama awaited the bottom of the ninth as centerfielder Ronnie Richardson came to the mound to pitch and proceeded to strikeout two of the three batters he faced to hand Florida their only loss of the season when leading after eight innings.

4. UCF hoops moves to 10-0 with win over Miami: The game was played in south Florida at the BankAtlantic Center as part of the Orange Bowl Classic and was the first contest before nationally ranked teams Florida and Kansas State squared off. But UCF, by far, had the best performance of all four teams. The Knights, with a large contingent of black and gold supporters executed late en route to a 84-78 win. Marcus Jordan scored 23 before injuring his ankle with 90 seconds left and by the time UCF was back on the bus to Orlando, the team had a legitimate claim at being the best in the state.

3. Key drive at Houston sparks big road win: After seeing Houston’s football team score two quick third quarter touchdowns, UCF trailed 24-23. Freshman Jeff Godfrey huddled his team as a key series was about to begin and had a message for them: “We are going to score.” And the kid delivered. He converted a third down and then a fourth down and then a huge pass to Jamar Newsome and ended the drive with his own touchdown run. The nationally televised college football world saw Godfrey dazzle, going 15-of-19 for 294 yards and he ran for another 105 yards.

2. Knights top Gators with stunning win: It was supposed to be a nice gesture. The first college basketball game played at the new Amway Center was going to give Donnie Jones a nice night to face his former boss in Billy Donovan and his Florida Gators. A crowd of almost 14,000 got more than a nice night out. UCF fans witnessed something special as the Knights smothered then 16th-ranked Florida defensively and got big shots from Marcus Jordan and Keith Clanton as UCF won 57-54. It set off a UCF celebration that many Knight followers had waited long enough for.

1. UCF beats Georgia in Liberty Bowl and earns first bowl win: No UCF fan could relax until that final pass hit the ground. The wait was over. The mission was accomplished. On a misty, cloudy and gray New Year’s Eve in Memphis, Jeff Godfrey battled through an ankle injury. Latavius Murray ran when needed and the UCF defense made one lasting impression. The 10-6 win over Georgia placed UCF in both major voting polls and the school also earned its first BCS ranking. The record setting season was, and still is today, celebrated by UCF fans young and old and those memories will last forever.

Final thought: While shopping for a card for a special occasion I came across selections with pictures of people on the card. Why would anyone buy a card to give to someone that has a picture of complete strangers on that card?

Source: Marc Daniels’ From the Press Box runs several times per month on UCFAthletics.com. Listen to Marc during UCF football, men’s basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the UCF Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports on ESPN Radio 1080 in Orlando.

And the Knights are also getting it done on the field. In 2010, UCF won 11 games and the Conference USA championship. It also upset the º£½ÇÖ±²¥ of Georgia in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Between the results of last year and the upgrades on campus, recruiting has greatly benefited. In fact, UCF has put together two very good recruiting classes and things are only going to get better for the Knights on that front.

“We have been in our championship game three out of six years and won it twice,” said UCF associate head coach David Kelly. “Then we beat Georgia, so that was two big hurdles for us last year. We beat a tradition-rich SEC school. That was a tremendous barometer of where we are. “I sincerely feel that the long term potential is there for us to compete and win a national championship. We are putting together outstanding recruiting classes and we are going after some of the best prospects across the country. Now we can attract those athletes. The facilities are there. NFL coaches and scouts can’t believe our place because all of the elements are there.”

NFL coaches aren’t the only ones impressed with the Knights, just ask UCF signee Leilon Willingham. The surprising thing is that Willingham is not from the Sunshine State or the state of Georgia. Willingham starred at Denver Mullen High School in Colorado.

“I saw that the Knights have been prospering as of late and that coach O’Leary has a very high graduation rate,” Willingham said. “I saw that the Knights are a very underrated team and they work for every bit of credibility they get. I loved the area surrounding the campus. Who wouldn’t want to go to college under sun and palm trees? The direction of the program has me very excited. After getting down there for my spring break to actually see the team work, I really feel anxious to get on the field and make plays with the fellas. It’s a great group of guys who are focused on putting UCF on the map as one of the top up-and-coming teams in the NCAA.”

Of course in today’s era of college football you have to have the facilities to really compete in the recruiting wars. Under O’Leary’s watch the Knights raised millions of dollars to pour into an indoor training field (Nicholson Field House), weight room, coach’s office, etc.

They used to play in the city of Orlando at the Citrus Bowl, but their latest achievement was their on-campus stadium, Bright House Stadium. That has been a huge boost to their recruiting efforts.

“Getting that campus stadium was huge for us,” Kelly said. “We played in the Citrus Bowl and recruits would come to see UCF but not see UCF. They were not getting exposed to campus. Now we get prospects on campus and this is a huge selling point for us in recruiting. Now the thrust is to continue to get recruits on campus to see what we have to offer. We can compete with everyone and that’s what’s important.”

With around 12 or so scholarships available in the Class of 2012 you likely won’t see UCF climb into the top national recruiting rankings on national signing day because the quantity won’t be there. But if things get better in recruiting as the UCF coaching staff anticipates, the quality certainly will.

“There is a newness about us,” Kelly said. “I think we are becoming somewhat of a fad. We have a beautiful resort-like campus, brand new facilities and we are in an international city like Orlando. There’s recognition there with young people with Orlando and Disney. We are looking for the special type of kid who is looking for something a little different.

“We want to get a little bit better each and every day. We are inching closer and closer every year. People are becoming aware of what we are bringing to the college football landscape. We are a sleeping giant.”

Source: ESPN,ESPN Recruiting, , by Jamie Newberg, originally published April 14, 2011

One thing that struck me throughout the week in Los Angeles is how small most of the TCU players looked up close. They may have Texas athletes, but their guys would have seemed undersized lined up against a lot of current Big East squads (except 6-6, 350-pound left tackle Marcus Cannon, who’s a mountain). Yet they have an awful lot of speed and are impressively well-schooled in the fundamentals. I knew the defense would be sound; I wasn’t aware that the offensive side of the ball would be similarly precise, full of all kinds of different formations and a boatload of playmakers.

Don’t bother learning the names of too many current TCU stars, because they will all be gone by the time the team enters the Big East in 2012. This is a senior-laden squad. But Patterson has also built an enduring program, and as long as he sticks around in Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs will have staying power.

“Idon’t know if we’ll be different as a football team whether we’re AQ or not,” Patterson said on Thursday. “Recruiting, I think, will change a little bit, but we’ll still recruit the same kind of kids. Our game plan will still be the same.

“We’ve got one more year in the Mountain West Conference, and we’re going to try to make sure that we keep them happy by playing at a high level and going from there. Then we’ll move forward and see what that plan has to be to be successful.”

TCU is already on board. Another team perhaps should be.

Central Florida beat Georgia in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl to wrap up an 11-3 season. While no one would confuse this Georgia team as a vintage Bulldogs edition or even a good one, the Knights still registered a victory over an SEC team in a bowl. They showed they have arrived.

The Big East surely took notice, and UCF is becoming a more attractive option all the time. Even the school’s basketball team is on fire, starting this season 13-0 and ranked in the Top 20. It’s a university with brand new facilities in an attractive market. There are few reasons right now why Villanova would be a better choice, except that the Wildcats are a safer sell among league presidents who don’t want an 18th member.

The Big East shouldn’t add Central Florida just because of one good season, but there is something to be said about striking while the iron is hot. And both TCU and UCF are hot commodities.

³§´Ç³Ü°ù³¦±ð:Ìý·¡³§±Ê±·.²µ´Ç.³¦´Ç³¾,Ìý, by Brian Bennett, writer for ESPN’s College Football Nation Blog, Jan. 3, 2011.

The Knights (11-3) had never won more than 10 games in a season and had lost their first three bowl games, including their last visit here in 2007. The Conference USA champs made this win even sweeter by knocking off a Southeastern Conference team in the process.

Georgia (6-7) snapped a four-game bowl winning streak with its first loss since the 2006 Sugar Bowl. Worse for the Bulldogs is notching their first losing season since going 5-6 in 1996.

The Bulldogs had the ball last and converted two fourth downs before Kemal Ishmael knocked down Aaron Murray’s final long throw into the end zone as time expired.

And in an ending reminiscent of Thursday night’s Music City Bowl finish to regulation, the game seemed to be over before it actually was. Murray’s first deep throw into the end zone landed incomplete and the clock appeared to run out. But replay officials reviewed the play and ruled the clock should have stopped with 2 seconds left.

Players from both teams went back to their sideline.

The Bulldogs had one more shot to pull out the win. Murray rolled to his left and heaved the ball into the end zone, but Ishmael knocked it to the ground with one hand to start the Knights’ celebration.

They had to move under cover quickly because a storm front that caused tornadoes in Arkansas hit minutes after the game ended, prompting security to order everyone off the field and out of the stands due to lightning.

Latavius Murray finished with 104 yards on 18 carries, but it was the Knights’ defense that pulled out this victory.

UCF came in with C-USA’s stingiest defense and 18th best in the nation. The Knights held Georgia to 280 yards total offense, well below the Bulldogs’ average of 393.8. Senior captain and two-time C-USA defensive player of the year Bruce Miller had 1 1/2 sacks in the fourth quarter, including one on the final drive.

The Bulldogs got the ball back three times after Murray’s TD. They went three-and-out on the first two, and Georgia got the ball back for the final time with 2:20 left.

The Bulldogs also started both halves driving down field easily before bogging down and settling for field goals of 20 and 41 yards by Blair Walsh. These teams went to halftime tied at 3-3 after a first half in which both Georgia and UCF wasted chances at the end zone.

UCF had its struggles moving the ball. The Knights finished with 241 yards on offense and Georgia picked off freshman Jeff Godfrey twice, including once in the end zone.

Source: ESPN,

Georgia coach Mark Richt is looking to redshirt freshman QB Aaron Murray to help the Bulldogs avoid their first losing season in 14 years.

The Knights make their second Liberty Bowl appearance in four seasons when they take on the Bulldogs in Memphis on Friday.

Godfrey completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 2,042 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions this year, going 9-2 as a starter to earn Conference USA freshman of the year honors. Godfrey, the eighth-highest rated quarterback in the FBS at 165.3, also ran for 546 yards and nine TDs, helping the Knights (10-3) score 33.8 points per game – 24th in the FBS.

He didn’t even begin the season as the starter, backing up junior Rob Calabrese before taking over by the third game.

“I think he’s progressed each week,” said O’Leary, whose team fell to 0-3 in bowl games last season. “I think the offensive staff has done a great job of not overloading his plate. I think they’ve put enough on the plate to win the game and not overburdening him with a lot of mental capacity that he couldn’t handle at this stage.”

Murray has also made quite a mark in his first season under center with 24 touchdowns, six interceptions and 2,851 yards through the air. He is the second-highest rated freshman in the nation at 162.7 – trailing Godfrey – and tied with former Bulldogs QB D.J. Shockley with a school-record 28 total touchdowns in a season.

With three TD passes in a 42-34 victory over Georgia Tech in the regular-season finale Nov. 27, Murray moved within one of Matthew Stafford’s single-season record of 25. That win allowed Georgia (6-6) to at least temporarily avoid its first sub.-500 season since going 5-6 in 1996. The Bulldogs averaged 10.3 wins in the previous eight seasons.

Richt is hoping a matchup with the C-USA champs gives his team an opportunity to show it is still among the nation’s elite.

“When you’re 6-6 and you’re in a bowl, you’re kind of hoping you’re going to play another 6-6 team,” Richt said. “… But we got into the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and we get to play a conference champion. … And that’s exciting for our guys. We get a chance to prove to the country that we’re still a pretty darn good football team.”

The Bulldogs ranked 19th in the nation against the pass at 186.7 yards per game, but Georgia’s run defense was nearly non-existent in the final two weeks of the regular season, giving up 726 yards and 10 TDs against Auburn and the Yellow Jackets.

The Bulldogs face another tough test against the Knights, who average 192.5 yards on the ground, 25th in the FBS.

That attack is led by Ronnie Weaver, Latavius Murray and Godfrey, who ran for 2,178 yards and 30 TDs.

Washaun Ealey, who paced Georgia with 751 yards rushing and 11 scores, could have a difficult time picking up yards against UCF. The Knights are surrendering 110.4 yards per game, 10th in the nation.

O’Leary’s defense, 12th in the nation with 18.0 points allowed per game, is anchored by two-time conference defensive player of the year Bruce Miller. The end has seven sacks – four in the last two games – to rank second on the team to Darius Nall (eight).

Putting pressure on Murray could be key as he helped Georgia win five of its last seven games, with the Bulldogs scoring at least 31 points in each of those contests. UCF will also have to contain junior wide receiver A.J. Green, who leads Georgia with 771 yards and is tied for first in the SEC with nine TDs despite being suspended for the first four games.

This could be the final game for Green, who said this month that he is close to deciding if he will enter the NFL draft. The Bulldogs could also have junior linebacker Justin Houston on the field for the final time, as the All-SEC selection leads the conference with 10 sacks and is third with 18 1/2 tackles for loss.

However, they will be without junior running back Caleb King. The Bulldogs’ second-leading rusher with 430 yards, King will not play in the Liberty Bowl after missing his fifth academic-related meeting. He missed two games during the regular season with a high ankle sprain and two others for failing to appear in court to deal with a speeding ticket.

Georgia will try to shut down Quincy McDuffie, second in the nation with 32.7 yards per kick return.

While Georgia has won four consecutive postseason games, UCF will try again for its first bowl win in its third bowl appearance in four years — a stretch that began with a berth in the 2007 Liberty Bowl. The Knights fell 45-24 to Rutgers in last season’s St. Petersburg Bowl.

O’Leary went 3-4 versus Georgia as coach of Georgia Tech from 1994-2001.

Georgia defeated UCF 24-23 in the teams’ only meeting Sept. 25, 1999.

Source: ESPN,

“I’m looking to the game and I’ve always enjoyed Georgia football and the way its played. We know what we’re in for, especially I do from all of my years facing (the Bulldogs),” said UCF coach George O’Leary, who coached at rival Georgia Tech from 1994-2001. “I’ve always respected the program at Georgia. They get terrific athletes, they’re well-coached and they play a full 60 minutes. It’s an SEC team that’s traditionally a powerhouse in that league and we’ll have our work cut out for us no question.”

The Knights are ranked No. 25 in the BCS, No. 24 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 26 in the Associated Press poll after whipping SMU 17-7 in Saturday’s C-USA title game at Bright House Networks Stadium. UCF tied a school record with its 10th victory of the season and won a league championship for a second time in four seasons.

Now, the Knights are hoping to win their first bowl game in four tries. UCF lost in the Hawaii Bowl in 2005, fell in the Liberty Bowl in 2007 and lost to Rutgers last December in the St. Pete Bowl. O’Leary said he really wants a bowl victory for a senior class of 19 players who have helped to elevate the program to new heights.

“Winning is important. That’s what programs thrive on,” O’Leary said. “I don’t look at it as getting some kids ready (for next season). I look at the game at hand and how can we win the game. I want these kids who are leaving to leave with a great taste in their mouths. That’s what’s very important to me. Having to play a team like Georgia with a great tradition will be great for our kids.”

The 52nd Liberty Bowl is the seventh-oldest bowl in all of college football. Kickoff for the game will be at 3:30 p.m. (ET). Tickets for the game start at $50 and fans can acquire tickets through UCFAthletics.com or by calling the ticket office at 407-823-1000. The ticket office will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

O’Leary is quite familiar with the Georgia program, and Bulldogs coach Mark Richt knows O’Leary quite well too from his days at Florida State and then Georgia. Richt said he actually started breaking down UCF game film on Sunday after recording the UCF-SMU title game from Saturday. He said he’s already impressed with UCF’s salty defense and the dazzling playmaking skills of freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey.

“George is a hard-nosed football coach and every team that he puts on the field presents a big physical challenge for you,” Richt said on Sunday. “And their young quarterback is a dynamic guy who can throw and run and create problems all over the field.”

Richt said from what he’s seen so far on film, UCF is a team that rarely beats itself with mistakes and has athletic playmakers all over the field. He said that just because an SEC team has beaten Conference USA champion each of the past four seasons it doesn’t mean that Georgia will automatically have an upper hand against this rugged Knights squad.

East Carolina lost 20-17 in overtime to Arkansas last season and 25-19 against Kentucky in 2008. UCF fell to Mississippi State in 2007 and South Carolina whipped Houston 44-36 in 2006.

“When you go 6-6 you’d think you’d go into a bowl and get an opponent that you feel comfortable with, but championship teams like UCF just know how to win games,” Richt said. “They’re used to winning this season and they get in the habit of doing it. I hope that our guys understand that we’ll have all that we can handle against them. And I just hope that they respect us because of the record that we have.”

Georgia started the season 1-4 following a four-game losing streak against South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Colorado. With rumors flying about Richt’s coaching future with the Bulldogs, Georgia responded by winning five of its final seven games. The `Dogs lost 34-31 to Florida in overtime, but beat Georgia Tech 42-34 in the final week of the regular season to become bowl eligible.

O’Leary said that Georgia is far better than a .500 team and knows that the Knights will have a big challenge to beat a team that is loaded with elite athletes at many positions.

“The big thing against them is we’ll have to play 60 minutes. That’s the biggest difference in the competition levels, too,” O’Leary said. “The SEC is a great conference with great teams and (Georgia) has to play every play for whatever they can get. The big thing for us is playing the full 60 minutes and then when we have a chance to score we have to put points on the board.”

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu

Having already locked up a spot in next week’s Conference USA title game, UCF went out in the regular-season finale and took care of business against Memphis and continued to carry the belief that if it can keep winning it can be back in the Liberty Bowl again in a month.

UCF used another spectacular day from freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey and two-touchdown efforts from wide out Jamar Newsome and tailback Latavius Murray to pull away from Memphis 37-17 before a crowd of 14,992.

The victory ensured that the Knights (9-3 overall and 7-1 in Conference USA play) will head into Saturday’s Conference USA title game against SMU (7-5 and 6-2) with plenty of positive momentum. UCF has won seven of its last eight games with a home loss against Southern Miss being the only blip since Sept. 25.

Win next Saturday and the Knights could be back in Memphis for the Dec. 31 Liberty Bowl for the second time in school history. Several of UCF’s seniors admitted that nothing would be sweeter than ending the season in the same place many of them did in 2007.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve definitely thought about coming back here to the Liberty Bowl,” said UCF senior linebacker Derrick Hallman, who recorded his first interception of the season on Saturday. “But I’m extremely excited about going to play next week so we can have that opportunity to play (in another Liberty Bowl).”

The Knights actually secured a spot in next Saturday’s Conference USA title game and clinched the East Division crown for a third time in six years the day before when SMU beat East Carolina in overtime and Southern Miss lost to Tulsa. The Knights and Mustangs haven’t played since 2008, a UCF 31-17 win. The two teams are slated to meet again next season in Dallas.

“There were some guys running through the hallways (at the team hotel) when we found out we were in the title game, but we knew that we still had to come out and play hard (on Saturday),” said UCF standout senior defensive end Bruce Miller, who became the school’s all-time leader in sacks (32) with two QB drops on Saturday. “Our goal is the conference championship, but it’s also to go out and win every game. But there was a sigh of relief knowing we were going to get into that game. We’re expecting a full house and a great atmosphere and it’s going to be a great game.”

Tickets for the C-USA title game at Bright House Networks Stadium are on sale for $30 at TicketMaster.com, UCFAthletics.com or by calling (407) 823-1000. UCF also hosted the game in 2005 and 2007, losing to Tulsa in 2005 and defeating the Golden Hurricane in 2007.

UCF’s nine wins are tied for the second-most in school history, trailing only the 10 in 1990 and 2007. And on Saturday, UCF won its school-record fifth road game of the season. The Knights had never won more than four times away from Orlando before this season.

UCF coach George O’Leary said there was great satisfaction in his team closing out the regular season with a convincing victory even though there was little to play for. O’Leary is also proud that the Knights set a goal before the season of winning the conference title and now they are in position to do just that.

“We came away from here with a good win, a conference win and we secured the Eastern Division. Now, all that is left to do is go play SMU in the conference championship game,” O’Leary said. “I know our fan base will be excited about it and our players are very excited about it. … We’ll have our hands full and I’m looking forward to playing SMU.”

Godfrey, who breathed life into UCF’s offense with his dazzling play-making skills on the ground and through the air, closed his first regular season as a Knight by completing 14 of 17 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. With a 245.79 efficiency rating, it is his third game this season with a rating of 232 or better.

“I started off kind of slow where I wasn’t making the right reads, but in the second half I picked it up, the O-line did a good job protecting and we played better in the second half,” Godfrey said. “We set this goal at the beginning of the season all through camp. Now, we want to win it.”

Newsome, UCF’s blossoming wide receiver, had touchdown catches of 56 and 23 yards early in the fourth quarter to break open the game. Newsome had the third 100-yard game of the season with 118 yards on nine catches. And his first touchdown catch extended UCF’s streak of consecutive games with a 40-yard touchdown catch to six games.

“It’s a lovely feeling (being in the title game),” Newsome said. “Our coach has been saying that it’s not often you get a chance to reach your goals and we have that opportunity now. It’s a lovely, lovely feeling.’

UCF freshman Jordan Ozerities, who returned an interception 100 yards a week ago at Tulane on the game’s final play, opened the second half by forcing a fumble on the kickoff. Two minutes later, Murray was in the end zone for a touchdown that put the Knights up 23-7.

UCF muddled through a sloppy first half and led 16-7 at the break. The lead certainly could have been much more substantial had the Knights not had a touchdown wiped out by an illegal pick penalty, a fumble inside the 20-yard line and a hooked extra point.

The Knights scored first for the 11th time in 12 games when Godfrey scampered around left end for a nine-yard touchdown run. It was his 10th rushing touchdown of the season, extending his UCF record for rushing scores by a freshman quarterback.

But a Memphis team that had mustered very little offense all season immediately responded with a score of its own to tie the game at seven-all. Coming into the game, UCF had allowed just 20 points in the first quarter all season, while the Tigers had just scored 35 first-period points.

Miller secured his place in the UCF’s history books by becoming the Knights’ all-time leader in sacks with 32. Miller dropped Memphis’ quarterback Ryan Williams twice in the first half to unseat previous record-holder Darrell Rudd (1981-84).

Said O’Leary: “I’ve been around a lot of good football players and Bruce Miller is as good as any of them. He just does so many things well. He’s kind of playing out of position for us, but it’s because he’s so unselfish.”

Miller said he savored setting the record, but he was even prouder of the fact that the Knights are a win away from accomplishing their goal of a second league title in four years. And that, he knows, could put UCF back in the Liberty Bowl again.

“I’ve been to the title game before and I know what it takes to get there and these guys have done that and more,” Miller said. “Ending the season 7-1 with the best record in the conference, we deserve it because we’ve put in so much work. This year has been a grind and our guys have done a good job all season of playing how we know we’re supposed to play.”

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.