Clemson to Face LSU in Chick-fil-A Bowl

Clemson (10-2, 7-1 ACC) will face LSU (10-2, 6-2 SEC) in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on December 31 at 7:30 PM. Both teams are ranked in the top 14 in the nation in both polls, as Clemson is 14 in AP and 13 in USA Today, while LSU is seventh in USA Today and ninth in AP.  This will be the highest ranked team Clemson has faced in a bowl game since the 2003 season when the Tigers upset sixth ranked Tennessee at the Chick-fil-A Bowl.  This will be the first meeting between the two schools who call their home stadium “Death Valley” since the 1996 Chick-fil-A Bowl, a game also played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. LSU won that game 10-7. Overall, it will be just the third meeting. The first meeting was played in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 1959 when number-one ranked LSU defeated Clemson 7-0 to win the National Championship.