BCS-Caliber Bulldogs Ready For BCS-Level Experience In Orlando

While Georgia fans may still be reeling from Saturday’s heartbreaking SEC Championship Game, head coach Mark Richt says the Dawgs are excited about the Nebraska matchup in Orlando.

“We’re very thankful to have this opportunity to play in the Capital One Bowl,” Richt said on Sunday night. “It’s a tremendous experience for our players, for our coaches and their wives and children.”

“Playing Nebraska is going to be a very interesting challenge,” Richt said. “It’s kind of personal for me in that I was born in Omaha and my mom and dad grew up in Nebraska. All my cousins on that side of the family are big Huskers fans. They like the Dawgs too, they call themselves the ‘Corn-Dawgs’ actually.”

Although some people believe the Dawgs will have difficulty preparing for the game after narrowly missing out on the BCS National Championship, Richt says his team will be up to the challenge.

“I just think we’ve got a bunch of really great seniors that are very good men of character and I think that they love the game of football,” Richt said.

“I don’t that it’s going to be an issue. I think our guys are going to want to finish strong. There aren’t many teams in the history of Georgia football that have ever won 12 games in a season. It’s going to mean something to them and I know our guys want to finish on a high note.”

Should Georgia rise to the challenge in the Capital One Bowl, it will be only the third time in school history that the Dawgs finish with a 12 win season, the last coming in 2002 when Richt led the Dawgs to a SEC championship and a 13 win season.