A team led by a Heisman Trophy winner will take on one of the biggest surprises in college football in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Texas A&M, featuring 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, will take on Duke, the ACC’s upstart runners-up, at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31 in the Georgia Dome in what may well be a high-scoring game.
“It will be an interesting bowl game because of the potential offensive firepower from both teams,” Chick-fil-A President and CEO Gary Stokan.
Both teams are led by offensive-minded coaches in No. 21 Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin and No. 24 Duke’s David Cutcliffe, whose team won 10 games for the first time in school history and will appear in back-to-back bowls for the first time in school history.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams, the first time either team has played in the Chick-fil-A Bowl and will also be the first time a Heisman Trophy winner has played in the game.
After a tumultuous offseason, Manziel wasn’t able to match the fireworks he produced in 2012 that propelled him to winning college football’s most-coveted individual award.
The sophomore, who is projected to be a first-round pick if he enters the 2014 NFL draft, passed for more yards this year (3,732 and 33 touchdowns compared to 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns last season). But he didn’t rush for as many (686 and eight touchdowns compared to 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns last year). Sumlin said that Manziel is evaluating his future.
The Aggies also weren’t able to match last year’s success. After going 11-2 last year, they stumbled to 8-4, 4-4 in their second season in the SEC.
Texas A&M was undone by a defense that couldn’t get off the field, particularly in high-scoring games. The Aggies scored a lot of points but were defeated by both then-No. 1 Alabama 49-42 and then-No. 24 Auburn 45-41. The Aggies lost their last two games to then-No. 18 LSU 34-10 and then-No. 5 Missouri 28-21. All four of those teams finished among the top-16 in the BCS standings released Sunday.
“This will be a primetime spot for both of us to show our programs off to the world,” said Sumlin, who played in the Peach Bowl as a player at Purdue in 1984.
Texas A&M averaged 43.6 points per game, best in the SEC, but allowed 30.9 points, second-worst in the conference. The Aggies were particularly susceptible to running attacks, giving up an SEC-worst average of 221.3 rushing yards per game.
The Aggies are 15-19 in bowl games.
Duke averaged 31.6 points per game and 173.7 rushing yards this year. The Blue Devils (10-3, 6-2) are led by quarterback Anthony Boone, who averaged 202 yards in the team’s option offense. The Blue Devils also feature wide receiver Jamison Crowder, who has school single-season records for pass receptions (96) and receiving yards (1,197).
But Duke also didn’t feature the stoutest defense, giving up 24.7 points and 408.5 yards per game. Nor was Duke’s schedule as difficult as Texas A&M’s.
The Blue Devils played three ranked teams, knocking off then-No. 16 Virginia Tech 13-10 and then-No. 24 Miami 48-30. They were steamrolled by No. 1 Florida State on Saturday in the ACC Championship game, 45-7. Cutcliffe said the team was disgusted by the results in Charlotte, but he was enthusiastic about the next game.
“Our players are thrilled with the opportunity to play in one of the premier football cities,” Cutcliffe said of the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Duke is 3-6 in bowl games.
Both coaches say they hope to use the game to improve their recruiting in Georgia.
This will be the 22nd year that the Chick-fil-A Bowl will host the SEC and ACC in a guaranteed contract. The bowl will become a part of the college football playoff next year, which will likely end the ACC vs. SEC matchup.
The Chick-fil-A payout this year will be $7.4 million, a record for the bowl, and will be distributed between the ACC and SEC. Additionally, more than $1.5 million will go toward charities and scholarships.
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