The Chick Fil A Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia will get first choice among all ACC teams that don’t make the Orange Bowl and fourth pick among non-BCS SEC teams. Let’s presume the Virginia Tech Hokies and Auburn Tigers win their conferences. Who might show up in the Dome on New Year’s Eve? Besides Houston Nutt?
The N.C. State Wolfpack only need to beat the Maryland Terrapins to earn a spot in the ACC Championship Game. A competitive showing by the Pack in Charlotte could convince the Chick Fil A to take them over the Florida St. Seminoles. The Miami Hurricanes could also be considered, but their shaky quarterback situation should make any bowl committee uneasy.
The Wolfpack have some playmakers, so they’ve got a chance at gaining VIP fans in the next two weeks.
Which team will rep the SEC? Actually, this seems like a clearer choice. If Auburn beats the South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC Championship Game to earn a BCS bid, we’d see three SEC teams taken by bowls before the Chick Fil A got to pick (the Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers would be obvious, and the Arkansas Razorbacks aren’t making it past the Cotton Bowl in alum Jerry Jones’ house). That would leave the Gamecocks, Florida Gators, Mississippi St. Bulldogs, and Kentucky Wildcats, and possibly the Georgia Bulldogs or Tennessee Volunteers.
UGA would certainly sell some seats. But with Steve Spurrier holding more big-time college football wins in the Georgia Dome than anybody else, who wouldn’t want to see him again a few weeks after the SECCG? Who knows how many more times we’ll get to welcome OBC to Atlanta?