A.G. Gancarski
Jacksonville’s TaxSlayer Bowl will announce its teams on Sunday. And there is a strong chance the matchup could have a Sunshine State feel.
The bowl will select one Atlantic Coast Conference team and one Southeastern Conference team.
The four ACC options: Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
The four SEC options: Kentucky, Auburn, Florida, and Arkansas.
Of those options, the most compelling matchup would be a rekindling of the Gators/Hurricanes rivalry, which was a perennial from 1938 to 1987, before the University of Florida backed down from being thrashed by the Miami juggernaut of the 1980s.
The rivalry went dark until 2001, and has been peripatetic since.
The last game between Florida and Miami was in 2013; the Hurricanes won a home tilt 21-16.
The TaxSlayer Bowl is on New Year’s Eve, at the ungodly hour of 11 a.m.
Despite the start time, the game is a decent draw. Georgia/Penn State drew over 58,000 last year, in a stadium that holds nearly 10,000 more.
