Florida Sports Wire

By MIKE BONTS Jacksonville SportsDay Both Penn State and Georgia continued to prepare for their Saturday meeting in the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville. Under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the upper 70s, Georgia resumed practice Monday. The Bulldogs worked out in jerseys, shoulder pads, helmets and shorts on the campus of the University of North Florida. Georgia interim head coach Bryan McClendon confirmed that senior fullback Quayvon Hicks would miss the TaxSlayer Bowl game due to an injury. “Quayvon will not play in the bowl game; he has a lot to look forward to as he moves on, and you hate to see a senior not get to play in his final game because of an injury,” McClendon said. With Hicks out, Georgia’s depth at fullback will consists of sophomore Christian Payne and redshirt sophomore Glenn Welch. Hicks had appeared in all 12 games with three starts.  Payne has played in seven games this year with no starts while Welch has appeared in 11 g...

Penn State returns to a Florida bowl for the first time since the 2010 season when the Nittany Lions take on Southeastern Conference foe Georgia in the 71st annual TaxSlayer Bowl. The game will air on ESPN. The Nittany Lions and the Bulldogs were selected for just their second all-time meeting and the 46th all-time bowl appearance for Penn State.  The only other meeting between the teams came in the 1983 Sugar Bowl when the Nittany Lions claimed a 27-23 win over Georgia to claim their first National Championship. That game featured "The Catch," a 48-yard diving touchdown reception by wide receiver Gregg Garrity from Todd Blackledge to give the Lions a 27-17 lead. Garrity's son, also named Gregg, is a student-athlete on the 2015 team. This will be Penn State's fifth appearance in the TaxSlayer Bowl, formerly the Gator Bowl, with the last time coming in 1976 when the Nittany Lions fell to Notre Dame, 20-9. Penn State was 1-2-1 all-time in the Gator Bowl. The Lio...

The Georgia football team continued preparations for the TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State with a two-hour workout in full pads Friday at the Woodruff Practice Fields. This was the third practice in as many days for the Bulldogs, who will workout in Athens four additional times before reconvening in Jacksonville. “The last three days have been very good,” said interim head coach Bryan McClendon. “There has been a lot of energy, and competition has been going well. The guys are working hard at getting better fundamentally, and they all understand the importance of preparation each day." Earlier in the day, 13 current or former Bulldogs earned their degrees at Georgia’s fall commencement held at Stegeman Coliseum.  The football student-athletes who received their degrees were Patrick Beless, Devin Bowman, Kennar Daniels-Johnson, Cameron Faulkner, Merritt Hall, Hunter Long, Keith Marshall, Chris Mayes, Malcolm Mitchell, Jay Rome, Justin Scott-Wesley, Ben Souther and Rantaviou...

MIKE BONTS JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Heather Duncan, chairwoman of the TaxSlayer Bowl, announced today that Pennsylvania State University will play the University of Georgia in the Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl.  “Both Penn State and Georgia have storied football programs with fantastic fan bases,” said Duncan.  “We are thrilled to host these two top-notch teams and their players, coaches and fans in Jacksonville for a great day of football.” The Nittany Lions and the Bulldogs have only squared off once, in 1983’s Sugar Bowl, as the teams battled for the National Championship.  Penn State defeated Georgia by a score of 27-23. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Penn State and Georgia play in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl,” said TaxSlayer President Jimmy Rhodes. “We know the competitive matchup will be a highlight for college football fans traveling to Jacksonville and watching from home. There’s no better way to kickoff tax season than with a great American tradition...