In certain seasons, Penn State vs. Georgia would be a national-championship-caliber game.
Not so much this season, but it should still be an intriguing matchup in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Jan. 2 in Jacksonville.
The Nittany Lions are in the postseason for the second straight season under James Franklin after the lifting of a two-year bowl ban stemming from the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
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Penn State finished the regular season at 7-5, one better than the 6-6 mark in Franklin's first year. Last season, the Lions bested Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl for win No. 7. This season, a postseason victory would be the season's eighth, the highest single-season total since 2012.
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The Lions have been in this bowl — which used to be the Gator Bowl — four other times, but they haven't played in the game since 1976.
Penn State and Georgia have played just one time, in the 1983 Sugar Bowl, when the Lions scored a 27-23 win over the Bulldogs to win the national championship.
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A little less will be on the line this time around. Georgia finished the regular season at 9-3, firing head coach Mark Richt, who'd been in charge of the program since 2001.
This is one of four games this bowl season pitting a Big Ten team against an SEC team. Additionally, Northwestern plays Tennessee in the Outback Bowl, Michigan meets Florida in the Citrus Bowl and Michigan State will take on Alabama in the Cotton Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff.