Report: Clemson football team to accept invite to Gator Bowl

By Paul Strelow - The (Columbia) State

CLEMSON -- Even by rivalry standards, Clemson has gotten a lot of mileage out of its latest victory over USC.

First, Saturday's 31-14 romp cemented Dabo Swinney's promotion from interim to full-fledged coach.

And now it has catapulted the Tigers to one of the ACC's most prestigious bowls.

Clemson (7-5), which was not even bowl-eligible before the win, has accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl, held Jan. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla., sources said Tuesday.

The Tigers are expected to face Nebraska (8-4) in a rematch of the 1982 Orange Bowl, which Clemson won 22-15 to secure the national championship.

The Cornhuskers cannot technically be invited until Sunday once the BCS releases one of three Big 12 teams (presumably Texas Tech) currently being held for consideration.

Clemson's announcement could come today, although bowl and school officials cannot disclose the agreement until the Chick-fil-A Bowl announces its participants.

The ACC title game winner (Boston College or Virginia Tech) automatically advances to the Orange Bowl, and the Chick-fil-A gets first dibs on the remaining at-large ACC bowl qualifiers.

Bowl insiders consider it a foregone conclusion the Chick-fil-A will take hometown Georgia Tech. The Gator Bowl has the next choice, and bowl president Rick Catlett reportedly acknowledged his bowl was deciding between Clemson and Florida State.

As word of Clemson's selection trickled down Tuesday, the Champs Sports Bowl then honed in on FSU, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel.

That led to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte locking in North Carolina, according to the Charlotte Observer.

As it turns out, the ACC's bowl tie-ins were not even sure Clemson would be an available option until Monday, two days after the USC win.

NCAA rules stipulate that all seven-win teams must be taken before a bowl can grab a six-win team.

Clemson's record is 7-5, but only six of those wins count toward bowl eligibility because two wins came against Football Championship Subdivision teams.

ACC associate commissioner Mike Finn said the league sought clarification from the NCAA and was informed Monday that the Tigers were eligible for conference tie-ins because they are considered 6-5 and given priority over a team with a .500 record.

The NCAA's rule works under the premise that six-win teams generally have a .500 record under the 12-game season format.

"So they are in our mix, while N.C. State (6-6) is not," Finn said.

Clemson will break the Gator Bowl record for most appearances (nine), snapping a tie with Florida. Nebraska, which has won four of its last five games, will be making its Gator Bowl debut.