Georgia to face Texas in Sugar Bowl; other bowls announced

In the days before the college playoff, the Georgia Bulldogs were thrilled when they earned a chance to play in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Today the Bulldogs are disappointed with a bid to Sugar Bowl because they fell just short of getting a chance to play for the national championship after losing a heartbreaker to Alabama Saturday evening.

Georgia (11-2) finished fifth in the overall playoff rankings that left top-ranked Alabama to play fourth-seeded Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl and number two Clemson to face third-ranked Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl.

Georgia will face the loser of the Big 12 conference game Texas (9-4). The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma Saturday 39-27 and finished 14th in the college playoff rankings. The game will be played New Year’s evening with an 8:45 start time. Earlier this year Georgia and Texas agreed to a home and home regular season schedules to begin in 2028, but the two schools have not faced off on a football field since the 1984 Cotton Bowl. Georgia came from behind to win that game 10-9.

ESPN analysts argued Sunday that many football people believed Georgia was among the top four teams in the nation after the game against Alabama but felt that Oklahoma was more deserving for that number four spot because the Bulldogs lost two games and had not won a conference championship. Oklahoma has only one loss and won the Big 12 championship over Texas Saturday. Last year Georgia beat Oklahoma in a thrilling Rose Bowl game to win the right to face Alabama for the national title. Alabama and Oklahoma will battle in Miami at 8 p.m on December 29. Notre Dame and Clemson will begin the playoffs at 4 p.m. that day.

Many of the Bulldogs SEC rivals also picked up bowl bids. With Alabama being the only SEC team to get a playoff bid, Georgia and three other SEC teams received New Year’s Day bowl bids. Mississippi State will play Iowa in the Outback Bowl. Kentucky will take on Penn State in the Citrus Bowl and LSO will battle undefeated University of Central Florida in the Fiesta Bowl. Other bowls for SEC teams include Missouri against Oklahoma State in the Liberty Bowl, Texas A&M against North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl, Florida will go to the Peach Bowl to play seventh-ranked Michigan, South Carolina will play Virginia in the Belk Bowl Auburn will play Purdue in the Music City Bowl, and Vanderbilt will play Baylor in the Texas Bowl.

Georgia Tech also garnered a bowl bid this season. The Yellow Jackets (7-5) will play Minnesota (6-6) the day after Christmas in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.