Part of what makes the annual Big Ten vs. SEC tilts in bowl season so much fun is that the two conferences have some of the most passionate fan bases in the country.

Mark Richt knows that full well, having grown up in Nebraska, where the Cornhuskers are the only thing close to a professional team that the people of the state have to root for.

As a result, there's no guarantee his cousins, aunts and uncles will be rooting for him at the Capital One Bowl, even though he's the one who got them tickets (courtesy of Dogbytesonline):

"I'm sure they'll be cheering for the Huskers," said Bill Richt, first cousin of the Georgia football coach. "They'll have to be kind of quiet because I think they're getting the tickets through the Georgia athletic department. I'm sure they'll be fine. I know they'll be bringing our banner and they're bringing all their T-shirts."

Richt's family, who apparently call themselves "CornDawgs", have never had to face this dilemma before.

My father is from Nebraska, where the joke is there are only two topics of conversation -- the corn and the Cornhuskers.