Georgia football: Where the Bulldogs are expected to land for their bowl game
ATLANTA — A Georgia football SEC championship game loss to Alabama Saturday leaves its College Football Playoff fate in the hands of the 13-person selection committee meeting in Grapevine, Texas.
The 12-1 Bulldogs, the two-time reigning national champions, may be left out of the four-team field that will be announced Sunday at 12:15 p.m. on ESPN after a 27-24 loss to the Crimson Tide.
An unbeaten Big Ten champion Michigan at 13-0 after downing Iowa 26-0 and Pac-12 champion Washington (13-0) would be in the playoff.
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That would leave Big 12 champion Texas (12-1), SEC champion Alabama (12-1), ACC champion Florida State at 13-0 after it beat Louisville 16-6 or Georgia for the two other playoff spots.
If Georgia isn’t selected in the top four and sent to a semifinal game in the Sugar or Rose Bowls, it likely would end up in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens to face an ACC team.
The Orange Bowl is obligated to take the highest-ranked SEC or Big Ten team that doesn’t make the playoff against the highest ranked ACC team not in the playoff. That would likely be Georgia unless Alabama is left out of the playoff and is ahead of Georgia.
The ACC team could be Florida State or Louisville.
Georgia would have to fall from No. 1 to below one-loss Ohio State which is No. 6 this week to not land in the Orange Bowl. The other New Year’s Six non-playoff bowls are the Fiesta, Cotton and Peach Bowls.
The Bulldogs played in the Orange Bowl last on Dec. 31, 2021 when it crushed Michigan 34-11 in a playoff semifinal game. Georgia has played in the Orange Bowl four times in program history.
The Orange Bowl will be played on Saturday Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
The semifinal winners will play in the national championship game Jan. 8 in Houston.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Where Georgia football should land for its bowl game
