Gamecocks vs Seminoles in Chick-Fil-A Bowl

Posted: 12.05.2010 at 5:42 PM

Gamecocks return to the Georgia Dome on New Year's eve to take on the Florida State Seminoles.

It's been almost 20 years since South Carolina and Florida State squared off on the football field. In 26 days, the wait will be over.

About 24 hours after suffering a 56-17 loss to Auburn in the SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome, USC has accepted an invitation to face the Seminoles in the Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, meaning the Gamecocks will return to the same stadium where they fell to the unbeaten Tigers Saturday afternoon.

Kickoff for the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

The game will mark USC's first bowl in Atlanta since the 1969 Peach Bowl, and the first meeting with Florida State since Nov. 9, 1991. The two schools met nine times between 1982 and 1991 when the series ended in the wake of USC's and FSU's membership in the SEC and ACC, respectively.

The matchup for the 43rd annual Chick-fil-A Bowl will pit a pair conference championship game losers against each other, though both teams will carry respectable 9-4 records into the game. Florida State fell to Virginia Tech, 44-33, Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

But, USC and FSU have something else in common as well - they both posted convincing wins over in-state rivals. The Gamecocks trounced Clemson, 29-7, while FSU battered Florida, 31-7, in Tallahassee on Nov. 27.

USC is ranked No. 19 in the latest AP opull released Sunday, a drop of one spot. THe Gamecocks weren't as fortunate in the USA Today/Coaches poll as they tumbled four spots to No. 20.

Florida State is ranked No. 23 in both major national polls.

The matchup between USC and Florida State means Gamecock head coach Steve Spurrier will have an opportunity to renew his rivalry with the Seminoles. The annual Florida-Florida State game was must-see TV for college football fans throughout the nation in the 1990's when both schools were entrenched atop the polls.

Until a few days ago, it appeared USC might end up in the Outback Bowl in Tampa for the fourth time in 10 years. However, USC's dismal showing in the SEC Championship, together with internal pressures within the Sunshine State, convinced the Outback Bowl to bypass USC and eight-win Mississippi State in favor of a seven-win Florida team that has endured possibly their most difficult season under Urban Meyer.

FSU knew its bowl destination as soon as the clock hot zeroes in the ACC title game Saturday night. The Chick-fil-A Bowl, which has the decond selection on the ACC bowl ladder behind the BCS, announced three days ago it would guarantee a spiot for the ACC runner-up and invite either Florida State or Virginia Tech to represent the conference in the Dec. 31 in Atlanta.

Florida State is 1-1 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl with its last appearance coming in 1983 against North Carolina. The Seminoles have won three of their last four games to deliver its first nine-win season since 2003. In the process, FSU beat Miami, Maryland and UF.

Historically, the Chick-fil-A Bowl sells out every year and the bowl game is expected to announce its 14th consecutive sellout soon.

The cumulative team payout for the 2010 contest is $6.7 million, meaning each team will receive approximately $3.35 million apiece. The Chick-fil-A Bowl has increased team payouts every year since 1996.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and hosts the longest-running rivalry series between the ACC and SEC.

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