The Chick-fil-A Bowl, formerly known as the deadly combination that is the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, features a matchup of two teams that narrowly missed winning their conferences. No. 20 South Carolina, losers of the SEC Championship, battles No. 23, losers of the ACC Championship, duke it out at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 31. Two 9-4 teams enter, one will emerge with the prestigious Chick-fil-A trophy.
Chick-Fil-A Bowl, South Carolina Vs. Florida State: Two Near-BCS Teams Do Battle In Atlanta
The South Carolina Gamecocks, winners of the SEC East, capped the regular season with a loss to BCS No. 1 Auburn in the SEC title game at the same site as the Chick-fil-A bowl. The Gamecocks are looking for redemption after putting together a surprising year in the SEC. South Carolina started strong, winning its first three games, before losing to eventual SEC champion Auburn on Sept. 25. Three-straight wins to end the regular season brought South Carolina to within inches of a BCS game, but a loss in the SEC title game ended the dream. Instead, they'll settle for a Chick-fil-A Bowl berth and chance to end the season on a high-note.
Florida State took a similar route to its bowl game, winning its last three regular season games before falling to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game. The Seminoles dropped an early non-conference game to Oklahoma before stringing together five straight wins. North Carolina and North Carolina State put up a road block for Florida State to break the streak, with each team tripping-up the Seminoles on back-to-back weeks. The Seminoles hung on to win the ACC’s Atlantic Division, but, like South Carolina, fell just short of a BCS game.
The Chick-fil-A bowl kicks off on Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.
Stay tuned to this StoryStream right up through game time, as we review key unit matchups, odds, bowl history and more, and connect with South Carolina fans at SB Nation’s Garnet And Black Attack and Florida State fans at Tomahawk Nation. For a complete list of bowl games, browse our 2010 college football postseason schedule.
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