2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl

2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl

The 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a postseason college football match between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The game was the final competition of the 2006 football season for each team and resulted in a 31–24 Georgia victory, even though spread bettors favored Virginia Tech to win by three points. 75,406 people attended the game, making it the 10th consecutive Peach Bowl sellout.

About 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl in brief

Summary 2006 Chick-fil-A BowlThe 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a postseason college football match between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The game was the final competition of the 2006 football season for each team and resulted in a 31–24 Georgia victory, even though spread bettors favored Virginia Tech to win by three points. In exchange for the right to pick the first ACC team after the Bowl Championship Series selections, bowl representatives paid US$3. 25 million to the ACC, while the SEC, whose fifth team was selected, received USD 2. 4 million. The combined USD 5. 65 million payout was the seventh-largest among all college football bowl games, and the fourth-largest non-BCS bowl game payout. 75,406 people attended the game, making it the 10th consecutive Peach Bowl sellout, the largest crowd to ever attend an event at theGeorgia Dome, and the third-largest bowl game in terms of attendance for the 2006–2007 season. Virginia Tech’s loss brought it to a final 2006 record of 10–3, while Georgia’s final-game win earned it a record of 9–4. Prior to 2006, the game matched the No.  5 team in the SEC versus the no. 3 team in the ACC. In choosing the SEC opponent, the selection committee had theright to select the first SEC school after the Cotton Bowl Classic, Capital One Bowl, and Outback Bowl made their selections. The committee would have approximately one month to choose the two teams that would attract the most people to the game and generate the largest possible television audience.

Leeman Bennett, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, served as chairman of the committee, which had the task of picking the best teams from those made available by the selection criteria set by the two conferences. On the morning of December 3, 2006, Chick-ick-A representatives selected Virginia Tech to represent the ACC in the 2006 Chick-fil A Bowl. A few hours later, Georgia was selected as the second half of the matchup. Two days after the selections were announced, the match-up was declared sold out, the combined sellout in the combined history of the Peach Bowl and Chick- Fil A Bowl was the tenth consecutive sellout. Georgia and Virginia Tech were assigned initial allocations of 18,500 tickets for the game. Each school sold out its allotment of 18,.500 tickets quickly, and following the quick ticket sales, each asked for additional tickets to distribute for the third time. After the bowl increased its payout toUSD 2. 8 million per squad, it then was given the second pick from theACC, with the Gator Bowl dropping to third. The selection committee could not select an SEC team with two more losses than the highest available team. This fact helped eliminate ACC runner-up Georgia Tech from the selection process, as the Yellow Jackets had already played Georgia earlier in the season, thus making a potential Georgia-Georgia Tech showdown less attractive.