My Top Five Bowl Destinations For USC
posted by Scott Hood, Wednesday, October 28, 2009
1. Cotton Bowl (Jan. 2): Who wouldn’t want to spend a week around Jerry Jones’ $1.5 billion palace in Arlington? From all accounts, the place is absolutely over the top, which is why I want to see the Gamecocks play there. And, of course, I want to see if Spencer Lanning can hit the scoreboard with one of his punts. Plus, Dallas is an exciting, glitzy city. There is plenty of stuff going on all the time. Plenty of sports with the Cowboys, Mavericks and Stars. For TV fans, you can head out to Southfork Ranch to see where ‘Dallas’ was filmed. Finally, USC would play a very good Big 12 team. Spurrier v. Stoops? It could happen.
2. Capital One Bowl (Jan. 1): If there is one place in Florida I’d like to hang out, it’s Orlando. Unfortunately, the Citrus Bowl badly needs a renovation, so it’s not the prettiest stadium out there. But who is going to turn down an opportunity to go to Disney World, or one of the many other attractions around the area? Of course, playing in the Capital One Bowl means a return engagement with a Big 10 team, possibly Iowa. So, if you’re up for a challenge, this bowl game is for you. I’ve already seen predictions of a USC-Ohio State matchup here.
3. Chick-fil-A Bowl (Dec. 31): Three hours from Columbia. New Years’ Eve. Georgia Dome. ACC opponent. For many Gamecock fans, that’s enough to head to Atlanta for a few days of fun and football. It won’t be warm like most of the spots in Florida but there’s plenty to do in the unofficial capital of the South. USC hasn’t played in a bowl game in Atlanta since 1969. It will also be an opportunity to play a prime time game right smack in the middle of one of the most fertile recruiting territories anywhere. USC has a number of players from the Atlanta area on its roster. Playing in the Dome close to his hometown of Acworth, Ga. would cap Eric Norwood’s stellar career in style.
4. Music City Bowl (Dec. 27): Nashville is one of my favorite places on the SEC circuit. It’s the anti-Starkville. Plenty to do for entertainment. The 65,000 seat NFL quality stadium where the Tennessee Titans play is across the river from downtown. The bar scene is great and they don’t call Nashville ‘Music City’ for nothing. If country music is your passion, this is the bowl game for you. I spent five days here in 2006 for the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and enjoyed every minute of it. Great city. Great bowl game against an ACC opponent.
5. Papajohns.com Bowl (Jan. 2): OK, a week in Birmingham doesn’t sound too enchanting considering I’ve been there about a billion times since 2005 for Football Media Days, the SEC Baseball Tournament and other delightful activities. Legions Field is a shell of its former shelf based on what I’ve seen from the outside. But two words make this bowl game attractive: Free Pizza! Make mine with anchovies and pepperoni. Please. A couple of those and my week in B-Town will be enjoyable indeed. If USC makes it here, they would play a Big East team. Very winnable game.
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Now that South Carolina is bowl eligible, it’s safe to start speculating which bowl game the Gamecocks will play in during the holiday season. I know USC has won only six games to date and, yes, I remember the fiasco of 2007 when the Gamecocks went 6-6 but were left out in the cold. Since then, the SEC has added a bowl game to their already lengthen list. Thus, up to 10 conference teams will be able to go bowling provided two SEC teams make it to the BCS, which is likely considering Florida and Alabama are ranked No. 1 and 2 in the BCS. Here are my five favorite bowl games for USC this year:
1. Cotton Bowl (Jan. 2): Who wouldn’t want to spend a week around Jerry Jones’ $1.5 billion palace in Arlington? From all accounts, the place is absolutely over the top, which is why I want to see the Gamecocks play there. And, of course, I want to see if Spencer Lanning can hit the scoreboard with one of his punts. Plus, Dallas is an exciting, glitzy city. There is plenty of stuff going on all the time. Plenty of sports with the Cowboys, Mavericks and Stars. For TV fans, you can head out to Southfork Ranch to see where ‘Dallas’ was filmed. Finally, USC would play a very good Big 12 team. Spurrier v. Stoops? It could happen.
2. Capital One Bowl (Jan. 1): If there is one place in Florida I’d like to hang out, it’s Orlando. Unfortunately, the Citrus Bowl badly needs a renovation, so it’s not the prettiest stadium out there. But who is going to turn down an opportunity to go to Disney World, or one of the many other attractions around the area? Of course, playing in the Capital One Bowl means a return engagement with a Big 10 team, possibly Iowa. So, if you’re up for a challenge, this bowl game is for you. I’ve already seen predictions of a USC-Ohio State matchup here.
3. Chick-fil-A Bowl (Dec. 31): Three hours from Columbia. New Years’ Eve. Georgia Dome. ACC opponent. For many Gamecock fans, that’s enough to head to Atlanta for a few days of fun and football. It won’t be warm like most of the spots in Florida but there’s plenty to do in the unofficial capital of the South. USC hasn’t played in a bowl game in Atlanta since 1969. It will also be an opportunity to play a prime time game right smack in the middle of one of the most fertile recruiting territories anywhere. USC has a number of players from the Atlanta area on its roster. Playing in the Dome close to his hometown of Acworth, Ga. would cap Eric Norwood’s stellar career in style.
4. Music City Bowl (Dec. 27): Nashville is one of my favorite places on the SEC circuit. It’s the anti-Starkville. Plenty to do for entertainment. The 65,000 seat NFL quality stadium where the Tennessee Titans play is across the river from downtown. The bar scene is great and they don’t call Nashville ‘Music City’ for nothing. If country music is your passion, this is the bowl game for you. I spent five days here in 2006 for the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and enjoyed every minute of it. Great city. Great bowl game against an ACC opponent.
5. Papajohns.com Bowl (Jan. 2): OK, a week in Birmingham doesn’t sound too enchanting considering I’ve been there about a billion times since 2005 for Football Media Days, the SEC Baseball Tournament and other delightful activities. Legions Field is a shell of its former shelf based on what I’ve seen from the outside. But two words make this bowl game attractive: Free Pizza! Make mine with anchovies and pepperoni. Please. A couple of those and my week in B-Town will be enjoyable indeed. If USC makes it here, they would play a Big East team. Very winnable game.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.