Dec. 29, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF football team will play Mississippi State today in the 49th annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis. The match-up with the Bulldogs will be the second for the Knights in school history as it also serves as the second bowl game in the history of the program.
The Knights (10-3) and head coach George O'Leary bring a seven-game winning streak into the contest, while Mississippi State (7-5) defeated Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl on to secure its first bowl berth since 2000. The Bulldogs won three of their last four games as well after sitting at 4-4 through eight games of the campaign.
UCF has 10 wins on the season for the just the second time in school history and secured its first conference championship on Dec. 1 with a 44-25 victory over Tulsa in the Bright House Networks Conference USA Championship Game.
Both head coaches in today's match-up have previous work experience together as O'Leary and Mississippi State head man Sylvester Croom spent two seasons together with the San Diego Chargers in the early 1990s.
Kickoff for the contest is set for 4:30 p.m. ET with national television and radio broadcasts scheduled for ESPN. Terry Gannon and David Norrie will handle the television duties, while Eric Collins and Bill Curry will carry the game on the radio.
In the Sunshine State, the contest can be heard on the UCF-ISP Sports Network and its flagship station, WQTM 740-AM in Orlando. Network affiliates include WMMV 1350-AM (Cocoa), WDCF 1350-AM (Dade City), WORD 1340-AM (Daytona Beach), WMMB 1240-AM (Melbourne), WLVJ 1040-AM/WKAT 1360-AM (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, South Palm Beach County), WPSL 1590-AM (Treasure Coast, North Palm Beach County) and WZHR-1400-AM (Zephyrhills).
Marc Daniels will provide the play-by-play, Gary Parris will have the analysis and Jerry O'Neill will man the sidelines for the UCF broadcast. Scott Adams is the studio host.