It will be Penn State’s fifth time appearing in the game, with its last appearance coming in 1976 (a 20-9 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish).
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Georgia running back Sony Michel (1) runs against Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defenders within the 2nd quarter of their game at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Penn State will face an interim head coach, as the Bulldogs announced the hiring of Kirby Smart on Sunday afternoon but will utilize assistant head/receivers coach Bryan McClendon throughout the bowl. “It’s been different, but the bottom line is keeping the focus on the players”.
This season, Penn State finished the regular season 7-5 and fourth in the Big Ten East. Georgia finished the season 9-3 and third in the SEC East. The Lions are 1-2-1 in this game, formerly known as the Gator Bowl. In TaxSlayer for second time in three seasons. Fired coach Mark Richt and backup QB Faton Bauta won’t be around for the game.
“The guys, they’ve had to put up and kind of weave through a bunch of things all season long, and this is kind of just another thing that’s drawn those guys together”, he said.
Georgia has Penn State connections.
“We want to get somebody in place to evaluate our players and to be around our staff so that, right after the bowl game, they’re able to jump in right from Day 1”, Franklin said on a conference call for the TaxSlayer Bowl announcement. Rutgers’ Norries Wilson, Illinois’ Bill Cubit and Maryland’s Mike Locksley all held that title when Penn State faced them this season, and it went 3-0 in those games.
While Penn State answered one question Sunday by accepting a bid to the TaxSlayer Bowl for a matchup against Georgia, it – in the person of head coach James Franklin – responded to another question about whether a new offensive coordinator will be in place by the time the game is played on January 2 in Jacksonville, Fla. As it is, it generates just a little fear that we’ll give that blowhard Franklin something to crow about for the first time in years.
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. They are very rich in tradition and have had a very successful season.
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Franklin also said while he believes Rahne has a bright future, Franklin does not plan to hire an offensive coordinator from within his coaching staff.
