UGA Football Releases Hype Film Before Sugar Bowl vs. Notre Dame
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NEW ORLEANS - UGA football released the program's hype film ahead of the program's appearance in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Bulldogs Return to the CFP - Face Notre Dame
After playing the nation’s toughest schedule per ESPN’s Football Power Index, second-ranked Georgia is battle-tested entering the College Football Playoffs (CFP) on a four-game winning streak. Georgia is 4-0 against the CFP field with wins over Texas (two), Tennessee and Clemson.
After claiming its 15th SEC title in school history with a win over then No. 2 Texas for the second time this season, Georgia secured a bye to the CFP quarterfinals. The Bulldogs face No. 5 Notre Dame in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025. In the CFP first round, the Irish played host to Indiana on Dec. 20. The Sugar Bowl winner advances to the semifinal at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 against the winner of No. 9 Boise State versus the No. 4 Penn State/No. 10 SMU first round winner. The CFP National Championship Game will be Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
In school history, the Bulldogs are 3-0 against Notre Dame including a memorable 17-10 win over the Irish in the 1981 Sugar Bowl for the national championship. Then in 2017, Georgia edged Notre Dame 20-19 in South Bend and posted a 23-17 victory in Athens in 2019.
Georgia is 5-6 in the Sugar Bowl, the most recent appearance coming after the 2019 season when it defeated Baylor 26-14. That victory started a bowl/CFP winning streak that stands at seven.
Resilient Bulldogs Respond
Six times this season Georgia has not scored in the first quarter, and the Bulldogs are 5-1 in those games. In six games this season, Georgia has trailed at the half, and it is 4-2 in those contests.
The biggest comeback in a win so far featured a 17-0 halftime deficit and then later a 14-point deficit with less than six minutes left in the 4th quarter, both against Ga. Tech. The Bulldogs stormed back for a 44-42 win in a school record eight overtimes. In the SEC Championship Game, the Bulldogs trailed #2 Texas 6-3 at halftime and 19-16 in overtime and rallied for a 22-19 win. Earlier this year, Georgia fell behind 28-0 in the first half at No. 4 Alabama, trailed 30-7 at halftime and then took a 34-33 lead with 2:31 left in the contest before falling 41-34.
Georgia was the only SEC team to face Texas, Tennessee, Alabama and Ole Miss, the CFP’s highest-rated SEC teams after the Bulldogs. Georgia played six games against teams ranked in the committee’s final top 16, and it went 4-2 with only one of those game at home.
Georgia has bounced back twice this season after tough road losses. With their 31-17 home win over No. 7 Tennessee on Nov. 16, the Bulldogs improved to 15-3 after a loss in the Kirby Smart era, and they haven’t lost back-to-back games in the regular season since 2016, his first year at the helm. In fact, the last nine times Georgia has lost a game, it has won its next contest. This year, then No. 2 Georgia lost at No. 4 Alabama and then beat Auburn the next week in Athens. The No. 3 Bulldogs lost at No. 16 Ole Miss on Nov. 9 and then responded against No. 7 Tennessee.