Georgia Bulldogs have Rose Bowl showdown with Oklahoma

ATHENS — As expected after its SEC Championship win over Auburn Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs, 12-1, are in the College Football Playoffs.

Ranked No. 3, they’ll travel cross country to Pasadena to take on the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. UGA officials said Sunday at kickoff will be at 5:10 p.m.

The other pairing, set for the night of Jan. 1 at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, has No. 1 Clemson, the 21-1 ACC champions, taking on No. 4 Alabama, which ended at 11-1 and is the only team in the playoffs that isn’t a conference champion. The Crimson Tide, which, like Georgia, lost to Auburn (Georgia got its revenge in the SEC title game Saturday), edged past Ohio State, a two-loss team that defeated what had been a 12-0 Wisconsin team Saturday night for the Big Ten championship.

The selections were announced Sunday on ESPN.

While Georgia and Oklahoma have a disadvantage in that the winner will have a long trip back east for the national championship game the next week, head coach Kirby Smart was ecstatic after guiding his Bulldogs to the playoffs in his second year at the helm.

“I couldn’t be more excited for our team and especially our seniors with the selection of our team to participate in the College Football Playoff,” Smart said. “This is certainly a goal of every college football team, coach and player and we are extremely honored. It also presents a great opportunity for our fans who have been so supportive of our team throughout the season.

“Playing in a venue with such rich tradition will be a rewarding experience and it represents another step for our team and program. It also represents a great challenge playing a team like Oklahoma who has proven to be one of the country’s most accomplished programs in college football history.”

This will be only the second appearance by the Bulldogs, who last won a national title in 1980, in the Rose Bowl. The last came on New Year’s Day in 1943, when Georgia emerged with a 9-0 win over UCLA.

If the Bulldogs can tame Oklahoma’s high-powered offense with its stifling defense, UGA will return to the site of its turnaround victory over Auburn. The winners of the CFP semifinal games will meet for the national championship on Jan. 8 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

“We are delighted with the selection of our team to represent the Southeastern Conference in the College Football Playoff,” UGA J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity said. “It will be a completely new experience for most of our coaches and all of our players and fans.

“Our last, and only, appearance in the Rose Bowl Game was January, 1943 — more than 70 years ago. This is just an extremely gratifying opportunity and we are so excited for our fans. Playing in the Rose Bowl against such a quality team and program will be a memorable experience.”

The Rose Bowl will be Georgia’s 53rd bowl game appearance, fourth most of any college team. The Bulldogs’ all-time bowl record is 30-19-3, and the current senior class is 3-0 in bowl games. Georgia is making its 21st consecutive bowl appearance, which ranks as the third longest active streak in the country.