Georgia To Face Louisville, Old Friends, In The Belk Bowl.

Louisville vs. Georgia in Belk Bowl, source told @ESPN

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) December 7, 2014

It appears that the Bulldogs will see some familiar faces in a new place this bowl season, as ESPN reports that the 'Dawgs will face the Louisville Cardinals in the Belk Bowl on December 30th in Charlotte.

In a way it's a bit of a relief for Bulldog fans, many of whom were dreading another Outback Bowl against a Big Ten team they've seen play in Tampa before. While the Belk Bowl is not as historically prestigious as the Outback or Citrus (and has a lower payout), it is a new bowl destination, one which is pretty convenient for fans in the Atlanta area and not a terrible drive for fans further south.

Unfortunately, the game is also going to feature a pretty tired narrative, namely that it's a battle between former Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and his former players. Seeing Grantham's defense match up against Mike Bobo's offense might be a bit fun, I just have no desire to hear the shallow treatment the matchup will receive from hurried ESPN talking heads. Grantham's Louisville defense, staffed with Charlie Strong's players, finished 18th in total defense this season, yielding 20.5 points per game. It's worth noting that they ended the season by giving up 42 to Florida State, 19 to Boston College, 28 to Notre Dame, and 40 to Kentucky.

In other words, as Bulldog fans came to expect from Todd Grantham defenses, they gave up a lot of points when playing good football teams. It's also possible that this gives a little spice to this matchup, especially for Georgia's players. And of course for fans there's the national sport of pulling against Bobby Petrino. Louisville finished 9-3 this season, 5-3 in the ACC with losses to Clemson, FSU, and Virginia.

We'll be back in the coming days with more on the matchup, though in the meantime feel free to head over to SB Nation's excellent Louisville site, Card Chronicle. Until later . . .

Go 'Dawgs!!!