Peach Bowl 2015, No. 9 Florida State vs. No. 18 Houston

Making an appearance in a New Year’s Six bowl is a significant victory for FSU.

Here’s a look at who will be playing in this year’s edition of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl held on December 31..

“I couldn’t be prouder of how this team has grown this year”. Wide receiver Demarcus Ayers also developed into a big time player, and led the team by a wide margin with 1,140 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions. Ward has totalled 3,631 yards and 35 touchdowns this season.

To the surprise of many, FSU has in fact played Houston before, quite a handful of times actually.

No. 2 Alabama (12-1) and No. 3 Michigan State (12-1) will meet in the other semifinal at the Good year Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas on the same day.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said during Sunday’s bowl selection show that the Seminoles will need a focused and sharp effort if they’re to beat the Cougars. The Hurricanes will square off against Washington State in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. “That is extremely hard to get that much offense in in a year”.

The Seminoles entered the 2015 campaign looking to replace 11 National Football League draft picks from last year’s team, including Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston.

Houston, ranked 18th in the country, only lost to the UConn Huskies after starting the season 10-0 and getting some chatter in the College Football Playoff mix, if they were to go undefeated.

The Seminoles achieved all those goals.

“This certainly should be an exciting game between two very potent offenses with a lot of star power”, said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl president and CEO. The Seminoles finished second to No. 1 Clemson in the ACC-Atlantic and capped the season with three straight wins including a 27-2 win over SEC East Champion Florida. And with a spot in yet another high-profile bowl game, they’ve got one more on the table.

If you’re a Houston fan who regular reads the American Athletic Conference Blog here on BCSNN and plan on attended the game, we ask that you please make sure to purchase your bowl tickets directly from the Houston athletic department. As the highest-ranked champion from a “Group of Five” conference, the Cougars were guaranteed an at-large bid to a “New Year’s Six” bowl.