Dec. 8, 2013

2014 Capital One Bowl Central

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina will face Wisconsin in the 2014 Capital One Bowl as announced by Florida Citrus Sports on Sunday evening. The New Year’s Day bowl will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on January 1 from Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium (65,438) and will be televised nationally on ABC. South Carolina heads into the contest 10-2 on the year ranked No. 8 in the nation in this week’s AP Top 25 and USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ poll with Wisconsin 9-3 on the year and No. 19 in the country in both polls.

The 2013 season marked the third straight year the Gamecocks have produced a 10-win season. South Carolina has also won 41 games in the last four years, a school record in that timespan. The Gamecocks have won 14-straight games against non-conference foes. South Carolina visited Orlando earlier this year in the non-conference slate as the Gamecocks defeated UCF 28-25 on Sept. 28 at Bright House Networks Stadium.

This is South Carolina’s second Capital One Bowl and third bowl visit to Orlando. The Gamecocks defeated Nebraska 30-13 on January 2, 2012 in the school’s previous visit. Several current Gamecocks played in the game including quarterback Connor Shaw, who was 11-for-17 in the air for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He added 42 rushing yards as well including a 1-yard score. South Carolina held Nebraska to just 253 yards of total offense in the game with just 64 yards allowed in the second half. The Gamecocks sacked Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez six times including 1.5 sacks by Jadeveon Clowney. South Carolina also appeared in the 1975 Tangerine Bowl in a 20-7 loss to Miami (Ohio).

The Gamecocks are bowl eligible for the ninth time in as many seasons under Steve Spurrier. This is Coach Spurrier’s eighth bowl game at South Carolina. No other coach in Carolina history has taken the Gamecocks to more than three bowl games (Jim Carlen and Joe Morrison). Coach Spurrier is 3-4 in bowl games at South Carolina including wins in both of the last two bowl games (2012 Capital One Bowl, 2013 Outback Bowl).

This is the first meeting on the gridiron between the Gamecocks and Badgers and will be Coach Spurrier’s first career meeting vs. Wisconsin as a head coach. Wisconsin is 2-0 in previous visits to the Capital One Bowl with a 24-10 win over Auburn in 2006 and a 17-14 win over Arkansas in 2007.

The Capital One Bowl, the nation’s seventh-longest running postseason bowl, is in its 68th year. The game features the top non-BCS pick from the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences, while participating schools are awarded the highest payout ($9.2 million) among non-BCS games.

South Carolina is 6-12 in all-time bowl appearances with a 6-4 record in the last 10 bowl appearances dating back to the 1995 Carquest Bowl.

TICKET INFORMATION
The South Carolina Athletics Ticket Office is currently accepting bowl ticket requests from Gamecock Club members and University faculty and staff for the 2014 football postseason. The deadline to request tickets under Gamecock Club priority is Wednesday, December 11, at 8 p.m. Ticket prices are $92 for reserved seats. Student requests will also be taken beginning Monday morning.

Ticket requests may be submitted by signing in to Account Manager or by calling the ticket office at 800.4SC.FANS (372.4267). In addition to normal operating hours (weekdays from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.), ticket office phone lines are open until 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday as well as 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Tickets requested by the deadline will be assigned based on Gamecock Club priority points for members and by years of service for faculty and staff. Any tickets requested after the deadline will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis.

Tickets may go on sale to the public at a later date depending on availability.