Georgia Bulldogs to face Penn State in TaxSlayer Bowl
By John Buhler
The Georgia Bulldogs will face the Penn State Nittany Lions in the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville on January 2nd, 2016 at 12PM ET at EverBank Field.
The Georgia Bulldogs will look for their 10th win of the season when they take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the TaxSlayer Bowl down in Jacksonville on January 2nd. Georgia last played in TaxSlayer Bowl after the 2013 NCAA season, losing to Nebraska in a game where the Dawgs’ defense gave up literally a 99-yard touchdown pass to the run-first Cornhuskers.
Georgia will have a shot at redeeming their pitiful 27-3 loss on Halloween in Jacksonville, only their opponent is from the Big Ten East and not the SEC East in Penn State. The Georgia Bulldogs have only played Penn State once before, a most magical game Dawg Nation dwells over 33 years later: the 1982 National Championship Game. Penn State came away victorious that year with Todd Blackledge as their quarterback, the same season Herschel Walker won the Heisman Trophy.
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Penn State is on its second coach since the Jerry Sandusky Scandal of 2011, with former Vanderbilt Commodore head coach James Franklin leading their team. Penn State finished 2015 at 7-5 under Franklin and will play in their second bowl game since sanctions were justifiably reduced in 2014.
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The Georgia Bulldogs will have wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon as the interim head coach of the team since former head coach Mark Richt now leads the Miami Hurricanes. With incoming head coach Kirby Smart going to help Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide during their College Football Playoff run, it makes sense for McClendon, who will likely stay on Smart’s staff coach the Dawgs in Jacksonville in the interim.
According to Barrett Sallee of Bleacher Report, Smart will help the Georgia Bulldogs on the recruiting front for the next ten days before reporting back to Alabama practice.
Saban says Kirby Smart will come back and work for Alabama when practice starts "in a week to 10 days."
— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) December 6, 2015
Knowing that the Georgia Bulldogs will face quarterback Christian Hackenburg and the Penn State Nittany Lions should help the remnants of Mark Richt’s coaching staff stick together one last time to help send the team’s seniors out on top with their 40th career victory in the Red and Black.
Next: Kirby Smart officially named head coach of Georgia Bulldogs
With all the upheaval surrounding the program the last few months, Georgia doesn’t have much to lose in upcoming bowl game, but winning ten games for the second consecutive year would feel like a nice consolation prize to an otherwise frustrating season. Go Dawgs. Beat Penn State!