Dec. 4, 2011

Quotes

On behalf of its Selection Committee, Florida Citrus Sports’ Chairman Michel Champagne and CEO Steve Hogan announced today that the South Carolina Gamecocks and Nebraska Cornhuskers have been selected to play in the 2012 Capital One Bowl. The New Year’s classic will kick off at 1:00 p.m. on January 2 from Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando and will be televised nationally by ESPN.

The meeting will be the first between the two schools since 1987. Nebraska holds a 3-0 edge in the all-time series with the closest contest coming in the lone game played in Columbia, S.C., a 27-24 `Husker win.

The matchup is not without some interesting side notes, however, as South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier and Nebraska Athletics Director Tom Osborne squared off in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl for that season’s national championship. While South Carolina’s lone appearance in Orlando came in the 1975 Tangerine Bowl, Nebraska’s 1991 appearance against Georgia Tech in the City Beautiful featured the only game with national title implications to be played in the Citrus Bowl.

South Carolina makes its first trip to the Capital One Bowl by way of a 10-2 record (6-2 SEC). Despite the reputation of Coach Spurrier as the head of an offensive aerial attack, it’s the Carolina defense that is stout against the pass, boasting the No. 2 pass defense in the country. The Gamecocks allow a mere 133.0 yards per game through the air and feature the fourth-ranked overall defense in the country, giving up just 268.9 yards per game.

Nebraska (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten) had an excellent first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Cornhuskers also have one of the nation’s top defenses against the pass (18th, 189.1 ypg) while bringing with it its traditionally-strong rushing attack, averaging 223.9 yards per game (13th nationally). Head coach Bo Pelini will now have taken Nebraska to bowl appearances in each of his four seasons as head coach, posting a 2-1 mark prior to this year’s game.

The South Carolina Athletics Ticket Office is taking requests for the 2012 Capital One Bowl until Tuesday Dec. 6, 2011 at 5 pm. We anticipate being able to fill all orders placed with our office, and strongly encourage Gamecock Boosters and Faculty/Staff to order with us. All tickets are priced at $87 each. Any remaining seats will go on sale to the general public at a later date.

All requests taken from Sunday Dec. 4 until Tuesday, Dec. 6 will be filled after any requests submitted by the priority deadline of November 14.

The following priority limits will be in place: Faculty, Staff, Retiree = 2 Roost, Century, Roundhouse, Half Scholarship, Full Scholarship = 2 Silver Spur, Garnet Spur, Lifetime = 4 Golden Spur, Platinum Spur = 6 Diamond Spur = 8

Student ticket information will be released by Wednesday, December 7.

Please note there is a $10 handling fee per order online. All walk-up, mail and phone orders will be charged a $15 order fee. All orders placed are reservations only, and all seat locations will be determined according to Gamecock Club priority.

The Gamecocks seating allotment will be located in sections: 101-107, 201-207, 113-118, 215-218, and 308-310.