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Georgia begins preparations for Peach Bowl
Posted: Friday December 18, 1998 03:40 PM
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Donnan and his Bulldogs begin to prepare for their game against Virgina in the Peach Bowl Vincent Laforet/Allsport |
ATHENS, Georgia (AP) -- Jim Donnan has been so busy recruiting since
the last-second loss to Georgia Tech that he hasn't had much time
to study Georgia's opponent in the Peach Bowl.
He's heard enough from two of his assistant coaches who have
looked at Virginia to know one thing. "We realize that we've got a
tough game," he said Friday. "They are one of the best teams
we'll see this year."
The 19th-ranked Bulldogs (8-3) began their intense preparations
for the 12th-ranked Cavaliers on Friday. Workouts and film sessions
are scheduled through Tuesday, followed by a Christmas break. The
team will show up in Atlanta December 26 to wrap up practice for the
New Year's Eve game in the Georgia Dome.
It's a game Donnan would dearly love to win to help erase the
bitter taste of the 21-19 loss to Tech, in which the Bulldogs blew
a 19-7 lead in the final 13 minutes and lost on a field goal with
two seconds left.
"That was a very demoralizing way to lose a game. This [bowl
game] will kind of catapult you into the off season," said Donnan.
This will be the second time in four years that the Bulldogs and
Cavaliers have met in the postseason game in Atlanta. In the 1995
Peach Bowl, Demetrius Allen returned a kickoff 87 yards for a
touchdown with 57 seconds remaining to give Virginia a 34-27
victory in Ray Goff's last game as Georgia coach.
"I remember the heartbreak" of that game, said defensive back
Kirby Smart, who was on the kickoff team chasing Allen down the
field. He said he thought the Virginia player stepped out of
bounds.
"It was a helpless feeling," he said.
But Smart isn't entering the final game of his college career
seeking revenge for the 1995 bowl loss.
"It's a chance to right a wrong we made against Tech," he
said. "It would help our confidence to win. It would probably be
the best team we've played other than Tennessee and Florida.
They're as good as Tech."
Most Georgia players thought they were heading to the Outback
Bowl in Tampa, Florida, for the second year in a row until Kentucky --
a team the Bulldogs had beaten -- was selected by the Outback.
"My first reaction was shock," Smart said. "But I'd rather go
to Atlanta. It's a storybook ending for me."
Smart said he finished his final exams this week earlier than
some of his teammates and thus got a chance to watch film on the
Cavaliers.
"They are a very talented team," he said. "Very powerful. On
their first drive against Florida State, they drove the ball down
their throat. Tech never really slowed them down. It'll be a tough
game."
Virginia's only losses were to the co-champions of the Atlantic
Coast Conference, a 41-38 setback at Tech on October 17 and a 45-14
loss at FSU on November 7.
"I'm just happy we're playing a quality team," Smart said.
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