[TomWilkinson]

The Louisville Cardinals accepted an invitation Monday to represent the Big East Conference in the Gator Bowl.

The game will have the 16th-ranked Cardinals (8-2) against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent, probably Miami, in Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 2. Each bowl participant is allotted 12,750 game tickets, with the remaining 30,000 open to the public.

Bowl officials have to wait until after the inaugural ACC championship game between Florida State and No. 5 Virginia Tech in Jacksonville on Saturday to announce Louisville's opponent. If the Hokies win as expected and gain the automatic BCS bid that goes to the ACC champion, the Cardinals would almost assuredly face 10th-ranked Miami. The game would be a rematch of Miami's 41-38 win in 2004.