ORLANDO, Fla. -- It would be easy for both No. 8
South Carolina and No. 19 Wisconsin to dwell on the missteps this season
that cost them both spots in the BCS
standings.
Instead, Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier
and the Badgers' Gary Andersen are embracing what they believe could be
one of the better non-BCS pairings when they matchup for the Jan. 1
Capital One Bowl in Orlando.
"I think we all strived
at beginning of the year to get to BCS game, (but) it's very difficult
to do and we won nine football games," Andersen said. "It's a tremendous
matchup for both teams I think...This is a great bowl game for us for
so many reasons."
The game will mark the first-ever
meeting between the two programs.
The Badgers (9-3)
are playing in a non-BCS bowl for the first time in three seasons
following three consecutive appearances in the Rose
Bowl.
Wisconsin lost those games, though, and will be
looking for its first bowl win under Andersen.
The
Badgers will be appearing in their 12th-consecutive bowl game, a streak
that includes a 3-1 record in four Orlando bowl
games.
They climbed as high as No. 15 in the BCS
standings, but had their season stunted by early-season losses to
Arizona State and Ohio State and loss to Penn State in their
regular-season finale.
Andersen said though he
doesn't know Spurrier personally, he is well aware of what kind of
opponent to expect when they meet up with the
Gamecocks.
"From afar really, I understand what coach
has done and the career he's had. He's meant a lot to college football
for a number of years. He's had unbelievably successful teams and does
again this season," Andersen said. "It will be special. I don't think
anybody can tell you you're gonna line up against coach Spurrier and it
won't be a special experience for all of us who are
involved."
South Carolina (10-2) won its final five
games of the season, including double-overtime win over then unbeaten
Missouri. It helped salvage a season that was beset by a loss to Georgia
and loss to Tennessee in a game that saw quarterback Connor Shaw go
down with an injury.
The Gamecocks are making their
second Capital One Bowl appearance in three seasons, having beaten
Nebraska in the 2012 edition of the game.
Missouri and Oklahoma
State came so close to conference titles and being in the Bowl
Championship Series.
The No. 9 Tigers and No. 13
Cowboys, who in the past have been in two leagues together, will instead
play each other Jan. 3 in the Cotton Bowl, a pretty nice consolation a
day after both missed shots at conference
championships.
"Playing in the Cotton Bowl is a great
reward for our team," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said Sunday after
the matchup was announced. "Certainly you want to be in a BCS bowl
because it means you won a conference championship. ... This location
and venue, this is a great opportunity for the team and our
fans."
After this season's game, the Cotton Bowl will
become part of the annual rotation for semifinal games in the new
College Football Playoff. The game is played in the Dallas Cowboys'
massive stadium where the first national championship in the post-BCS
era will be held next season.
Oklahoma State (10-2)
was on track for a Big 12 title and a spot in the Bowl Championship
Series before a 33-24 loss at home to Oklahoma on
Saturday.
Missouri (11-2) is coming off a 59-42 loss
to Auburn in the SEC championship game in only its second season in that
league.
"We know firsthand just how great of a trip
this is, and how first-class of an operation the Cotton Bowl runs," said
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, who is taking the Tigers to their ninth
bowl in 13 seasons there.
Mizzou made its SEC debut
in 2012 with its first losing season in eight years, and went only 2-6
in league play. The Tigers this season were SEC Eastern Division
champions with a 7-1 conference record.
ATLANTA -- Johnny
Manziel might play his final college game in the Chick-fil-A
Bowl.
No. 20 Texas A&M, led by the 2012
Heisman Trophy winner, will face No. 22 Duke in the first-ever meeting
between the schools on New Year's Eve at the Georgia Dome, officials
announced Sunday night.
Manziel is a third-year
sophomore, making him eligible to enter the 2014 NFL draft. He hasn't
revealed his plans for next season after guiding Texas A&M to a
disappointing 8-4 record, with all four losses coming against fellow
Southeastern Conference teams ranked among the top 14 in The Associated
Press poll.
Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said Manziel
has yet to make a decision on turning pro.
"If he
does, he does," the coach said. "Right now, we're looking through that
and evaluating his future. Then we'll go from
there."
Duke (10-3) was a surprising division winner
in the Atlantic Coast Conference, posting the most wins ever at a school
known more for basketball. The Blue Devils are eager to make up for
their performance in the league championship game Saturday night, when
they were routed by top-ranked Florida State
45-7.
"The invitation to the Chick-fil-A Bowl is the
perfect medicine for us," coach David Cutcliffe said. "To play a team
with the reputation and history and tradition they have at Texas
A&M, to play the caliber of team they have, it's going to revive
our guys quickly. It didn't go like we wanted last night, but the
nation will be watching this game, so we want to put our best foot
forward."
Manziel will clearly be the star attraction
in Atlanta. While Johnny Football is not expected to repeat as the
Heisman winner after becoming the first freshman to win college
football's top individual award, he put up another stellar season with
3,732 yards passing and 33 touchdowns, as well as leading the Aggies in
rushing with 686 yards and eight TDs.
TAMPA, Fla. -- LSU and
Iowa will meet in the Outback Bowl, just the second time the Tigers and
Hawkeyes faced each other on the football field.
The
teams were extended invitations Sunday for the New Year's Day matchup
played at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay
Buccaneers.
The only other meeting between the school
with rich football traditions was in the 2005 Capital One Bowl in
Orlando. Drew Tate threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway as
time expired to give Iowa 30-25 victory.
"We feel
these two teams will continue our reputation of putting on an exciting
show," Outback Bowl chairman Ken Hoverman said.
The
14th-ranked Tigers (9-4) are making their first trip to Tampa for
postseason action since 1989, when the Outback was known as the Hall of
Fame Bowl.
Iowa (8-4) will be making its fourth
appearance in Tampa, having last appeared in Outback following the 2008
season when the Hawkeyes beat South Carolina
31-10.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --
Georgia and Nebraska are headed back to the Sunshine State to play
again.
The Bulldogs and Cornhuskers were paired in
the Gator Bowl on Sunday night, setting up a rematch of last year's
Capital One Bowl.
Georgia won that meeting 45-31,
getting five touchdown passes from Aaron Murray. The 23rd-ranked
Bulldogs (8-4) won't have Murray in the Jan. 1 rematch. The Southeastern
Conference's all-time passing leader tore the anterior cruciate
ligament in his left knee Nov. 23 against
Kentucky.
Junior Hutson Mason will make his second
start. Mason completed 22 of 36 passes for 299 yards, with two
touchdowns and an interception, in a 41-34 win in double overtime
against Georgia Tech.
"We think Hutson is going to be
a heck of a ball player," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "It's good
that he got a little experience against Georgia
Tech."
Nebraska (8-4) last played in the Gator Bowl
in 2009, beating Clemson 26-21.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The
Mississippi Rebels will finish the season in the same place where they
started back in August.
The Rebels will play Georgia
Tech in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in a pairing announced Sunday
night. Ole Miss opened the season beating Vanderbilt a couple miles from
LP Field, home of the bowl game. Now the Rebels are back in this bowl
for the second time.
"We have one of the great bowl
traditions in all of college football, and I'm excited that we have
earned a bowl berth in each of our first two seasons," Ole Miss coach
Hugh Freeze said. "I appreciate the unbelievable support Rebel Nation
has provided our team, and I look forward to seeing a sea of Red and
Blue in Nashville."
Ole Miss (7-5) finished on a
two-game skid that dropped the Rebels out of the Top 25 rankings. The
Rebels played in the BBVA Compass Bowl last
season.
This will be the 35th bowl appearance
all-time by Ole Miss. The Rebels are 22-12, including last season when
Ole Miss beat Pittsburgh 38-17 at the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham,
Ala., to cap Freeze's first season.
The last time Ole
Miss played in the Music City Bowl, David Cutcliffe was the coach and
Eli Manning was the Rebels' quarterback. That's the only bowl the Rebels
have lost over the past 10 bowl trips going back to the 1992 Liberty
Bowl.
Ole Miss lost 49-38 to West Virginia in their
first Music City Bowl. These Rebels have plenty of Tennessee connections
starting at quarterback in Bo Wallace, a native of Giles County, and a
running back in I'Tavius Mathers from nearby Murfreesboro.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --
Houston will face Vanderbilt in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Jan. 4 at
Legion Field.
The bowl game announced the matchup
Sunday, the first meeting between the two teams. Vanderbilt is playing
in its third straight bowl game for the first time, all under coach
James Franklin.
"Four in the last six years,"
athletic director David Williams said. "This is becoming a habit. And it
will remain a habit for the future."
Houston, which
plays in the American Athletic Conference, is 8-4 and is making its
eighth postseason trip in the past 11 seasons. Vandy is also 8-4 and
beat Georgia, Florida and Tennessee for the first time in the same
season.
The Commodores have posted back-to-back
eight-win seasons for the first time since 1927-28 and are 15-4 in their
last 19 games. Some 1,500 fans and the Vandy band turned out for the
bowl announcement.
The Mississippi State
Bulldogs are the pick out of the Southeastern Conference to play Rice in
the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31 in Memphis.
Liberty Bowl
officials made the announcement Sunday night.
Bowl
officials passed over Vanderbilt (8-4) who played in Memphis two years
ago.
Picking Mississippi State gives bowl officials a
team marking the 50th anniversary of its first game in this bowl. The
Bulldogs beat North Carolina State 16-12 in 1963 when this bowl was
played in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Bulldogs (6-6) needed
overtime to beat Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl to become bowl eligible for a
fourth straight season.
Rice (10-3) accepted its
berth Saturday after beating Marshall 41-24 in the Conference USA
championship game.
