Thursday, December 5, 2013

Chick-fil-a History

As part of a series of reference posts, I want to look at the history of the Chick-fil-a Bowl and Kickoff Game.

The Chick-fil-a Bowl dropped the Peach part of its name in 2006, and the bowl has been an ACC vs. SEC affair.

The Kickoff Game started in 2008.  While an SEC team has anchored the game, the ACC has not always participated.

It has been mentioned several times that a team's chances of getting selected for the Chick-fil-a Bowl would be hindered by their selection in that season's Kickoff Game. 

However, there have been 2 cases of a team appearing in both games in one season.

2009:  Virginia Tech lost to Alabama in the Kickoff Game, but defeated Tennessee in the Bowl.  (They also travelled to Atlanta midseason to play Georgia Tech)
2012:  Clemson defeated the Auburn Tigers in the second Kickoff Game, and came back to Atlanta on New Year's Eve to defeat the LSU Tigers.

In addition, there have been cases of a team playing in the Chick-fil-a Bowl in one year, and then starting the following year in the Kickoff Game.  In most cases, I'm sure the Kickoff Game was scheduled prior to the Bowl selection.

2007:  Clemson ended their season with an overtime loss to Auburn in the Bowl, and then came back at the beginning of 2008 to lose to Alabama.
2011:  Auburn defeated UVA in the Bowl, and then lost to Clemson to start the 2012 season.

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