New Orleans ? Bobby Bowden placed his right hand — the one with the gaudy diamond ring from Burt Reynolds — on the Sugar Bowl trophy.

Mark Richt also flanked the cup, but with both arms hanging stiffly by his sides.

“Grab the trophy, if you don’t mind,” someone instructed Richt.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot to grab the trophy,” he replied, moving his left hand into position.

When it comes to photo ops, at least, the ol’ coach still has the upper hand on his former pupil.

In tonight’s Sugar Bowl, Bowden, the 73-year-old Florida State icon, will take on the guy who looks at him as nothing less than a father-figure.

Richt worked at Florida State for 14 years, the last seven as Bowden’s offensive coordinator — a professional relationship that ended when Georgia gave Richt his first head coaching job in 2001.

Now they’re together again in the Big Easy, only this time as opponents.

Florida state football coach Bobby Bowden, left, and Georgia coach Mark Richt pose with the Sugar Bowl Trophy. Georgia faces Florida State tonight in New Orleans.

“I don’t think we’re quite as emotional about it as you might think,” said Richt, who guided the No. 3 Bulldogs (12-1) to their first Southeastern Conference championship since 1982. “I’m sure some things will run through my head right before warmups, but it’s really business as usual.”

Likewise, Bowden conceded this game doesn’t stir quite the same feelings as the ones he gets before playing his son, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden.

“There’s one big difference — Tommy’s mother. I have to live with her,” Bowden said, cracking up the room. “I don’t have any blood on this team, just good friends.”

Richt looked forward to spending some time with his former boss, but the bowl schedule was too hectic for anything more than a fleeting hello.

They had one of their longest conversations of the week Tuesday, posing for a few minutes with the Sugar Bowl trophy. It was hardly an intimate moment — at least a dozen photographers snapped pictures.