Five things to know about trip to Dec. 31 Tax Slayer Bowl vs. Kentucky

Five things to know about Georgia Tech’s 19th bowl trip in the past 20 years, this one to the Tax Slayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. Game time is 11 a.m. Dec. 31.

Jacksonville pipeline

Georgia Tech has gained a recruiting foothold in Jacksonville and the surrounding areas.

Cornerbacks Step Durham and Lamont Simmons, linebacker Victor Alexander and defensive end Antonio Simmons are from Jacksonville, as was former A-back Lynn Griffin, who left the team midway through the season.

The area recruiter is A-backs coach Lamar Owens, who has developed strong ties in the area.

The trip could prove beneficial for Tech from a visibility perspective.

Coach Paul Johnson has sometimes voiced his frustration with the benefit he perceives that teams gain when they come to Atlanta to play in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game.

Tickets

Tickets available through the Tech ticket office are $85 in the lower level and $125 for club seats. The Tax Slayer Bowl website is also selling upperlevel and end-zone seats for $58.75.

On Monday, upper-level seats were as low as $40 on StubHub.

About Kentucky

Tech and Kentucky had two common opponents: Vanderbilt and Georgia. Tech was 2-0 against the Commodores and Bulldogs, winning 38-7 and 28-27, respectively. The Wildcats were 1-1, beating Vanderbilt 20-13 and losing to Georgia 27-24.

Tech coaches got a taste of Kentucky when they reviewed the UK-Georgia game as part of their preparations for the Bulldogs.

“They really had every opportunity to win that game and probably should have won it,” Johnson said. “I know that they’re going to be a tough out, a really good team to play, so our guys are just excited that we have another opportunity to play in Jacksonville.”

Frequent visitor

This will be Tech’s eighth appearance in the Tax Slayer/ Gator Bowl. The Jackets have appeared in no other bowl so frequently. The Orange and Tax Slayer/Gator were in a tie at seven. After those two games, the Sugar Bowl is third at four, followed by the Sun Bowl at three appearances and then the Carquest/ Champs Sports Bowl (now Russell Athletic) and Humanitarian Bowl (now Famous Idaho Potato) at two.

On television

The game will be played at 11 a.m. Dec. 31 on ESPN and will be concurrent with the Citrus Bowl, a matchup of No. 13 Louisville and No. 20 LSU. With two ranked teams in the other game, it probably means that, at first, Tech-Kentucky won’t draw as many viewers, but an entertaining game would likely change that.

It will serve as a lead-in for the day’s College Football Playoff semifinals. No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Washington play in the Peach Bowl at 3:30 p.m. and No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl at 7 p.m.