The 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. With sponsorship from Chick-fil-A, it was the 39th edition of the game previously (and later) known as the Peach Bowl. Georgia represented the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the competition. The game was the final game 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 $2.4 million. The combined $5.65 million payout was the seventh-largest among all college football bowl games, and the fourth-largest non-BCS bowl game payout."Chick-fil-A Bowl Re-writes Its Record Book" Chick-fil-A Bowl press release, Chick-fil-abowl.com. January 12, 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2007.
In a game that was expected to be a defensive struggle,Chick-fil-A Bowl Preview, ESPN.com. Retrieved October 9, 2007. Virginia Tech took a 21–3 lead in the first half. After halftime, Georgia answered Tech's first-half success, thanks in part to four second-half turnovers by Tech quarterback Sean Glennon.Chick-fil-A Bowl Recap USA Today, December 31, 2006. Retrieved October 10, 2007. Virginia Tech's No. 1 ranked defense struggled in the second half, allowing 153 yards (of 200 total) in the final 30 minutes.Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, 2007 Virginia Tech Media Guide. Southern Printing Co., Blacksburg, Va. As time ran out, Georgia held a one-touchdown lead, 31–24, having beaten back a last-second Tech rally."2006 Football Game Recap: Hokies Blow Halftime Lead, Lose to Georgia in Atlanta" Dan Coleman, Techsideline.com. December 31, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2007. 75,406 people attended the game, making it the 10th consecutive Peach Bowl sellout, the largest crowd to ever attend an event at the Georgia Dome, and the third-largest bowl game in terms of attendance for the 2006–2007 season."Chick-fil-A Bowl sold out" 'Atlanta Business Chronicle', December 5, 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2006. Each school sold out its allotment of 18,500 tickets quickly. 31,922 people attended the Chick-fil-A "fan fest" before the game, setting a new attendance record.Chick-fil-A Bowl sponsorship and advertising information Marketwire.com. Retrieved October 12, 2007. 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.
Selection process
Beginning with the 2006 game, the Chick-fil-A Bowl had purchased the right to select the highest-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team after representatives from the Bowl Championship Series made their selection. According to the official selection rules still used today, the team chosen to represent the ACC must be within one conference victory of the remaining, highest-ranked conference team or be ranked more than five spaces ahead of the ACC team with the best Conference record available in the final BCS Standings."Bowl Selection Process for Atlantic Coast Conference teams" Atlantic Coast Conference, theacc.com, November 13, 2006. Retrieved October 29, 2007.
In choosing the SEC opponent, the Chick-fil-A Bowl selection committee had the right to select the first SEC school after the Bowl Championship Series, Cotton Bowl Classic, Capital One Bowl, and Outback Bowl made their selections. Just as in the ACC, the selection committee could not select an SEC team with two more losses than the highest available team."SEC Bowl Tie-Ins" SECsports.com. Retrieved October 29, 2007. The bowl earned the right to select these teams via its multimillion-dollar payout system, which guarantees a certain amount of money to the participating conferences. Prior to 2006, the Chick-fil-A Bowl (then known as the Peach Bowl) matched the No. 5 team in the SEC versus the No. 3 team in the ACC. After the bowl increased its payout to $2.8 million per squad, it then was given the second pick from the ACC, with the Gator Bowl dropping to third.
Leeman Bennett, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, served as chairman of the selection committee, which had the task of picking the best teams from those made available by the selection criteria set by the two conferences. The committee would have approximately one month to select the two teams that would attract the most people to the game and generate the largest possible television audience.Chick-fil-A Bowl Team Selection Blog Bennett, Leeman. Chick-fil-A Bowl Selection Blog, November 1, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2007. 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. In addition, that matchup, while attractive to football fans in the Atlanta area (the site of the Chick-fil-A Bowl and home to Georgia Tech), would have less appeal to television viewers outside the Georgia area."Virginia Tech Will Be Going to the 'Dawgs" Kilgore, Adam. The Washington Post, E08. December 6, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2007. Supervising the selection committee was the Chick-fil-A Bowl Executive Committee, which consisted of representatives from various Atlanta businesses and the Chick-fil-A corporation."Chick-fil-A Bowl Executive Committee" Chick-fil-abowl.com. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
Pregame buildup On the morning of December 3, 2006, Chick-fil-A Bowl representatives selected Virginia Tech to represent the ACC in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl."No. 14 Virginia Tech Accepts Bid to Chick-fil-A Bowl" Chick-fil-A bowl.com. Retrieved October 9, 2007. A few hours later, Georgia was selected as the second half of the matchup."Bulldogs Accept Bid to Face No. 14 Virginia Tech in Chick-fil-A Bowl" Chick-fil-A bowl.com. Retrieved October 9, 2007. Two days after the selections were announced, the game was declared sold out, the 10th consecutive sellout in the combined history of the Peach and Chick-fil-A Bowls. Georgia and Virginia Tech each were assigned initial allocations of 18,500 tickets for distribution, and following the quick sales of those ticket blocs, each asked for and received additional tickets to distribute.Chick-fil-A Bowl sold out Chick-fil-abowl.com. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
The game was the third time Virginia Tech and the University of Georgia faced each other on the football field. The two previous games—one in 1931 and the other in 1932—resulted in one loss and one win for each team."Georgia" Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Hokiesports.com. Opponent History Database. Retrieved October 9, 2007. Various casinos and betting organizations favored Virginia Tech by 2.5–3 points when setting their point spread."Betting Odds on the Chick-fil-A Bowl—Georgia vs. Virginia Tech" , 1800-sports.com, December 30, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2007., Bodog.com, December 29, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
Media coverage Media discussion of the game in the weeks leading up to kickoff centered on the Hokies' No. 1-nationally ranked defense and Georgia's 5th-ranked SEC defense.Chick-fil-A Bowl preview ESPN.com. Retrieved October 12, 2007. Most pundits predicted a low-scoring game, and a few predicted an "all-out defensive war"."2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl Preview, College Bowl Games" Mike Mitchell, Collegefootballpoll.com, December 16, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2007. A week before departing for Atlanta, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer revealed that Ike Whitaker, Virginia Tech's backup quarterback, would not be attending the game for undisclosed reasons. It was later revealed that Whitaker had been admitted to an alcohol treatment center in Salem, Virginia."Whitaker won't travel to Clemson Game" Randy King, Roanoke Times, October 4, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
For Georgia, discussion centered on the play-calling duties of assistant coach Mike Bobo. Bobo had been named the temporary offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs after then-assistant coordinator Neil Calloway had been named the new head coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Calloway would remain with the Bulldogs as the offensive line coach during the Chick-fil-A Bowl, but Bobo would take over his role as offensive coordinator for the game. It was only the second time that Bobo performed as a play-caller for the Bulldogs, the previous game having come in Georgia's regular-season closer, a 15–12 win against Georgia Tech.
Offensive matchups With the fifth-ranked defense in the SEC going up against the number-one ranked scoring defense in the nation, attention centered on the likelihood of a low-scoring defensive struggle. Of particular interest were the two teams' quarterbacks and how they would likely fare against such a tough defense. Georgia struggled on offense for much of the season, resulting in a battle for the starting quarterback position between senior Joe Tereshinski and freshman Matthew Stafford. Though Stafford was eventually given the starting role, he struggled in his first year, completing 126 of 235 passes (53.6%) for 1,620 yards, with six touchdowns and 12 interceptions heading into the Chick-fil-A Bowl."2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl Preview: Virginia Tech vs. Georgia" Chris Coleman, Techsideline.com. December 27, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2007. On the opposite side of the field, Virginia Tech would be starting redshirt sophomore Sean Glennon. Named the starting quarterback at the beginning of the 2006 season,"Glennon named starting QB" Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Hokiesports.com, August 13, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2007. Glennon replaced Marcus Vick, who had been expelled from Virginia Tech at the end of the previous year. While not as statistically successful as Marcus Vick, Glennon still managed to lead the Hokies to their third consecutive 10-win season, and had the edge over Stafford in terms of experience.By definition, a redshirt sophomore has been in college for three years; a true freshman for less than one.
On the ground, it appeared that Virginia Tech had the edge in experience, forcing Georgia's defense to concentrate on stopping Tech's run game.Strickland, Carter. "College Football: Georgia report: Elusive back Ore has defense wary" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia, December 28, 2006. Virginia Tech running back Branden Ore suffered an ankle injury in the Hokies' regular-season game against Wake Forest, Randy King, Roanoke Times. November 19, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2007. but still took the field in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The same could not be said for Georgia, whose original starting running back, Thomas Brown, suffered a season-ending knee injury in October. Filling his role were two inexperienced players: Kregg Lumpkin and Danny Ware. Making up for this inexperience, the two players were coached by Tony Ball, a former Virginia Tech wide receivers coach with insights into the Tech defense.
With Ore still not fully recovered from his injury and two inexperienced players on the Georgia side, it appeared that the teams' passing offenses would have to take up the slack. Virginia Tech's Eddie Royal, with 452 receiving yards, led both teams in receiving yardage coming into the game. Georgia's receiving corps was led by wide receiver Mohammed Massaquoi and tight end Martrez Milner. Massaquoi caught 28 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns coming into the game, while Milner had 27 receptions for 376 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensive matchups