The #20 South Carolina Gamecocks will represent the SEC and the #23 Florida State Seminoles will represent the ACC on December 31, 2010 at the Georgia Dome for this year's Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Chick-Fil-A Tickets are being sold for the game, which marks the 19th straight matchup between the ACC and SEC.
The South Carolina Gamecocks won the SEC East with a 9-4 record overall and 5-3 conference record. The Chick-Fil-A Bowl is the consolation prize for the team that lost to the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship. There are three key players to a South Carolina offense that averaged 32 points a game: QB Stephen Garcia (2,816 yards, 20 TD/11 INT, 154.1 QB Rating), RB Marcus Lattimore (1,198 yards and 17 touchdowns), and WR Alshon Jeffery (79 receptions, 1,387 yards, and 9 touchdowns). The three are the main pieces in Steve Spurrier's balanced system that nets 235.6 passing yards and 155.5 rushing yards a game. The Gamecocks defense holds teams to 22.9 points a game.
The Florida State Seminoles have had a pretty good year in the first season with Jimbo Fisher in charge. They come into the Chick-Fil-A Bowl with a 9-4 record overall and 6-2 record in conference play, which was good enough to land them on top of the Atlantic Division standings. A loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game resulted in this consolation prize.
The Seminoles average 31.8 points a game thanks to an offense that picks up 219.1 passing yards and 167.8 rushing yards a game. Florida State's defense holds teams to 19.8 points a game. Florida State may not have had the best skill players in college football, but they survived with QB Christian Ponder (2,038 yards, 20 TD/8 INT, 137.5 QB Rating); RB trio Chris Thompson (699 yards and 5 TD), Ty Jones (520 yards and 5 TD), and Jermaine Thomas (484 yards and 6 TD); and WR trio Bert Reed (56 receptions, 589 yards, 2 TD), Willie Haulstead (36 receptions, 573 yards, 6 TD), and Taiwan Easterling (41 receptions, 541 yards, 4 TD).
The 2010 Chick-Fil-A (formerly the Peach Bowl) is an interesting game, with two conference championship losers hoping to end the season on a bright note after bitter defeats. Look for cheap Chick-Fil-A tickets to see these two teams do battle New Years Eve at the Georgia Dome.
