Sports
Bulldogs Notch SEC Win, 3rd Seed In College Football Playoff
The Southeastern Conference championship trophy stays in Atlanta, and the Bulldogs have a playoff quarterfinal bout in the works.
ATLANTA, GA — A championship win against their storied rivals propelled the Georgia Bulldogs to the third seed of the College Football Playoffs and the Allstate Sugar Bowl set for New Year's Day.
The Bulldogs (12-1) are on a nine-game win streak after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide, 28-7, to become Southeastern Conference champions Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The matchup was the fourth time the two competitors have met each other on the field since 2018 and gave the Bulldogs their 16th SEC victory a year after they won the conference against the Texas Longhorns in Atlanta.
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Bulldogs Head Football Coach Kirby Smart, during a news conference, spoke about anyone who doubted the home team ahead of the championship.
“There’s a lot of naysayers out there for (defensive coordinator Glenn) Schumann and his staff,” Smart told reporters on Saturday. “They never flinched. They kept getting better, kept growing the players. They played really well tonight.
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With this significant win, the Bulldogs have slipped into the third CFP seed after No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers (13-0) and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1). After a loss to the Bulldogs, the Tide rolled to the ninth seed.
A crowd favorite in Georgia, the Bulldogs will play in the 92nd Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl at 7 p.m. CT Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
They will take on the winner of the CFP first-round bout between Ole Miss and Tulane. The Sugar Bowl acts as the CFP quarterfinal.
"The Sugar Bowl Committee is thrilled to host SEC Champion Georgia," Dorothy "Dottie" Reese, president of the Sugar Bowl Committee, said in a news release on Sunday. "We're further excited to watch the first round to find out whether Ole Miss or Tulane will earn the opportunity to compete against the Bulldogs. We look forward to hosting the fans of both teams for a wonderful time here in New Orleans, and we know the teams will put on a great show on New Year's Day in the Superdome."
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
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