Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

The University of Louisville football team waited and waited for the bowl dominoes to fall on Sunday.

Teammates text messaged each other. Families tried to determine travel plans. And U of L spent the day thinking it'd play a bowl game in Orlando or Nashville.

When the dust settled and the shifting was done, Louisville got a rather unexpected postseason assignment.

Louisville will take on Georgia in the Belk Bowl at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 in Charlotte, N.C. The game will be played at Bank of America Stadium, the home of the Carolina Panthers, and will be broadcast on ESPN.

"I am proud of our team's hard work and commitment this season, and playing in the Belk Bowl against a nationally ranked SEC team is very exciting for our program," U of L coach Bobby Petrino said in a school-released statement.

"Charlotte is a great destination for our fans and very accessible. Georgia is a high-quality opponent with a great tradition, and the bowls first-ever top-20 matchup will definitely be exciting."

The most obvious story line is the matchup of Louisville defensive coordinator Todd Grantham against his former team. Grantham held the same position at Georgia for four seasons before joining U of L coach Bobby Petrino's staff earlier this year.

"It was a great experience going against Todd and his defense the four years he was here," UGA offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said in early October. "It helped make me a better coach ... He's a good football mind that knows football."

The connections go deeper than that for the Cards. Louisville has two former UGA players on its roster in defensive backs Josh Harvey-Clemons and Shaq Wiggins, who both had to sit out this season because of NCAA transfer rules.

Ten Cardinals call Georgia their home state, including defensive end Sheldon Rankins and linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin, the team's sack leaders.

Injured quarterback Will Gardner grew up a UGA fan and admired Matthew Stafford, who was the Bulldogs' star quarterback when Gardner was in high school. UGA recruited Gardner a bit, but the process didn't pick up much momentum and the Bulldogs eventually decided they weren't taking a quarterback in his class.

"I think it'll be similar to the Sugar Bowl when we played Florida (after the 2012 season), because we had a few guys from Florida," Smith said. "You watch Georgia football when you grow up in that state."

U of L (9-3) does have some history at the Belk Bowl, too. The Cards lost to NC State 31-24 in 2011.

Smith, now a senior, was a freshman for that game. He joked last season that the Belk Bowl had a solid gift package for the players participating in the game.

"We had a great time down there," he said Sunday.

Georgia (9-3) started the season ranked 12th in The Associated Press Top 25 and finished 13th in the College Football Playoff rankings, climbing as high as ninth in the Week 14 poll before losing to Georgia Tech.

The Bulldogs beat Clemson 45-21 in the season opener and eventually reached a 6-1 record, but the suspension and then injury of star running back Todd Gurley derailed UGA's College Football Playoff hopes.

Florida stunned Georgia on Nov. 1, and Tech edged out the Bulldogs in overtime in the last week of the regular season.

The bowl game later this month will be the first meeting of the teams.

"The selection of our team to play for the first time in the Belk Bowl is a great opportunity for our team, and especially our seniors," UGA head coach Mark Richt said in a school release.

"We've never been to Charlotte and it will be a new experience for our fans and all our players. Charlotte is an exciting city, has a great stadium, and will furnish first-class competition with a quality opponent like Louisville. It will be a challenge for our team and we are looking forward to the game."