BREAKING: Kirby Smart's UGA Football Headed to Sugar Bowl
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ATHENS - Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs are headed back to the Sugar Bowl to take on the winner of the Notre Dame-Indiana game.
The Bulldogs capped off an SEC Championship win a 22-19 win over No. 2 Texas at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. UGA’s win over the Longhorns pushed Georgia into a quarterfinal - bypassing the College Football Playoff’s first-round games.
The Bulldogs are mandated to play in the Sugar Bowl as the SEC’s champion. This is the fourth time Kirby Smart’s program has participated in the College Football Playoff. In 2017, the Bulldogs defeated the Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners in the Rose Bowl Game before falling to Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide in overtime in the College Football National Championship Game.
In 2021, the Bulldogs defeated the Michigan Wolverines in the Orange Bowl before taking out Saban’s Tide 33-18 in the College Football National Championship Game that season. In 2022, the Bulldogs went an undefeated 15-0 to win it all. A thrilling 42-41 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Peach Bowl led to the Bulldogs’ blowout of TCU in the College Football National Championship Game.
HUNKER DOWN THE CHIMNEY
College Football Playoff Seeds:
1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Boise State
4. Arizona State
5. Texas
6. Penn State
7. Notre Dame
8. Ohio State
9. Tennessee
10. Indiana
11. SMU
12. Clemson
College Football Playoff First Round Games:
5. Texas vs. 12. Clemson
6. Penn State vs. 11. SMU
7. Notre Dame vs. 10. Indiana
8. Ohio State vs. 9. Tennessee
The Bulldogs that prevailed when running back Trevor Etienne scored on a 4-yard run, lifting Georgia to a 22-19 win.
With both teams seemingly securely in the College Football Playoff field of 12 based on their positions in the final regular-season rankings, the teams were playing for playoff positioning and one of the top seeds that goes to the SEC champion. Texas (11-2) forced overtime with a late field goal, and Etienne delivered the game-winner for Georgia (11-2)
The Bulldogs had to turn to backup quarterback Gunner Stockton in the second half after starter Carson Beck was injured on the final play of the first. Stockton, a redshirt sophomore who had appeared in three games all season, completing 3 of 4 passes in mop-up duty, took the field in the biggest game of his career. And Stockton answered the call on his first drive, leading Georgia to a touchdown and the lead.
In overtime, after Stockton was drilled high on a run inside the 5-yard line, it was Beck who returned to the game and handed the ball off to Etienne on first-and-goal at the 4. The Bulldogs won the 15th SEC title in program history and the third in coach Kirby Smart’s nine seasons.