UCF Football Postgame Quotes
UCF 10, Georgia 6
Dec. 31, 2010, AutoZone Liberty Bowl
UCF Head Coach George O'Leary
Opening comments on the Liberty Bowl
"First of all I want to thank the Liberty Bowl for great hospitality and for a great week. I've been to a lot of bowls in my career, and I think you do it with class and you always have good competition.
"This game today could have gone either way. I think it showed two class programs that fought each other very hard out there. Again, a great Liberty Bowl, a great TV game and I'm very happy for you guys and obviously for our whole program."
On defending Georgia's last drive
"I thought they finished it off very well. I only thought there was one second on the clock not two at the end, but it really didn't make any difference. They had a couple opportunities where a couple of those turnovers really helped, and I thought Georgia was driving the ball when they occurred. I think it was a well-played college football game, and I think both teams deserve recognition and credit for a lot of good things done out there. I was happy to see that ball hit the end zone, and finally the fat lady sang at the end of the game, and it's a great win for our program. Since I got here, this is the fourth bowl we've been in, and this is the first bowl win, so I'm happy for our senior class. I'm happy to see them go out with a bowl win."
On Latavius Murray
"Latavius is a big guy. He's like 6-3, about 224. He runs hard. He gets north and south pretty quickly. I thought today that touchdown that he hit was blocked well. We had some good angles on the block. I thought Georgia gave us a hard time all day in the run game. They were stout up front, and I think he made some big yards on some good cuts, and that's what good running backs do. I'm happy for him. He's a young guy, and he has a great future for himself. He just needs to continue to get better and stronger, and he'll have a bright future."
On the 2010 Season
"I got here seven years ago, and we've come a long way in eight years. It takes time to get a program going, but I think the depth is there now. I think we'll be a solid football program again next year. I think we are losing some good players, but I think some good players are still in the program and coming up in the depth charts. Again, it doesn't happen unless the school makes a commitment, and I think that Dr. Hitt has done what he talked to me about when I came here, and that's important. So again, this is a good win for the UCF program, but also for our conference. We haven't won up here against an SEC opponent, so it's great for Conference USA, and it's great for our program heading into next year."
UCF Junior Linebacker Josh Linam
Talk about the last series and what the defense thought when there was two seconds added to the clock.
"The defense was thinking the whole time just get four stops and get out of there. All of the seniors just stuck together and did our part to get the victory."
Talk about what you were thinking when you got the interception
"I was thinking just catch it and not fumble it so coach wouldn't get mad."
Did you think the defense would only give up six points tonight?
"We thought we would give up zero. We knew it was going to be a tight ball game, and we prepared for that. We just came out and did our job."
UCF Freshman Quarterback Jeff Godfrey
Did you think your first season would go as well as it has?
"This first season has gone better than I pictured it. It's great to win the conference championship and the bowl game for the program, the players, the coaches and the fans. It feels great to be a part of that."
UCF RS-Sophomore Halfback Latavius Murray
How big a relief was the touchdown run you had?
"It was a big relief because we had been running the ball early in the game and wanted to punch one in. I was running with a 40 yard attitude, and that's what we were coached to do. I think the touchdown was a big relief for the team."
Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt
Opening Statement
"The only thing you can do at this point is congratulate Coach (George) O'Leary and UCF, and they've certainly earned that (win) tonight. They did a great job; they certainly played great defense. They made plays offensively and on special teams. It was outstanding; a really hard fought football game if you like defense. I think the turnovers were pretty much a wash. Both teams had a couple. I don't think either team had one in the second half. They just did what they had to do when they needed it most. It wasn't a lack of energy or effort on our guys' part. That's all I can say again--is to congratulate them."
Talk about the performance of quarterback Aaron Murray and his decision to wear the gloves today.
"Well, the decision about the gloves--he's been practicing in them when it's been wet. He's been throwing the ball really well with the gloves on actually, so I don't think that was a factor. It was really more windy than wet, of course. It didn't get wet until right about now, but I don't even think the wind was a big factor. He just misfired. A lot of it had to do with the outstanding defense that was being played. They did a good job of containing Aaron (Murray) in the pocket and squeezing him to make him uncomfortable. A couple just got away from him."
Do you regret not going for it on 4th-and-1 from the three yard-line early in the game?
"If I had known what the final score was going to be, yes. (Laughs) I think it was the right thing to do at the time. We started at what, the two-yard line? And then we drove the field. I think a couple players were upset about it, but I was like, if you want to go for it, just make it on 3rd-and-1. I felt like it was important to put points on the board at that time. I don't think it was a bad decision."
What is your opinion on the state of the Georgia program after a 6-7 season?
"Well, we're all disappointed. We're all disappointed. We didn't want to finish with a loss; we didn't want to finish with a losing record. No one probably would have predicted that. It is what it is, though, as they say. There's reason for why we ended up the way we did. We have to make some changes. We have to make sure that doesn't happen in the future. Now when I say change I don't necessarily mean personnel or anything like that. I don't want to light a fire. But we need to improve, and we're going to improve. We're going to get Georgia where it belongs."
Georgia Junior Flanker A.J. Green
On how the UCF defense kept him under wraps all day:
"You have to give UCF's defense a great deal of credit. They're a hell of a defense, and they came up with some great schemes to keep me under control. They had a really good game plan to keep themselves in front of me and to keep me in front of them. Their containment was very good."
On returning punts:
"Coach (Mark) Richt told me about it a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't believe him (Laughs). It's fun for me back there. I love having the ball in my hands and having a chance to make a play anytime. Anything (I can do) to help my team out I want to do it."
On the last drive:
"When I made the first fourth-down catch, I thought, "We got it." We ran that pattern again and I thought, "Oh my God, we're about to win." But sometimes things happen that way. We just have to take things away and build on it."
Georgia Junior Cornerback Brandon Boykin
On how disappointing the season was for Georgia:
"I'll start by saying this game wasn't what we expected. At the same time, while everybody is disappointed right now, I think we showed a lot of resiliency throughout the year. Starting the year 1-4, not many people expected us to get to .500 or 6-6. So for us to even have a chance to be in a bowl was a blessing, and it showed that we never stopped fighting.
"This senior class we had was awesome, and we wanted them to go out with a win. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. UCF is a great team, and like Coach and A.J. (Green) said, we have to give them a lot of credit."