Sugar Bowl: What You Need To Know

Sugar Bowl

Texas (9-4) vs Georgia (11-2)

Date/Time: Tuesday, January 1st at 7:45 pm CT

Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA

Bowl history

Originated: 1935

Conference tie-ins: SEC, Big 12

Last year’s result: Alabama defeated Clemson 24-6

Texas bowl history

The Longhorns are 28-24-2 all-time in bowl games including a 33-16 win over Missouri is last season’s Texas Bowl.

Texas is appearing in their fourth Sugar Bowl with the last one coming in 1995. They are 1-2 thus far.

Texas is tied with Georgia in bowl appearances with 55 including this season. That is second all-time to Alabama’s 68.

Georgia bowl history

Georgia is 31-20-3 all-time in their bowl history. The 31 wins is the third most all-time. Last season they beat Oklahoma 54-48 in the Rose Bowl, then lost to Alabama 26-23 in the CFP National Championship.

The Bulldogs are appearing in their 10th Sugar Bowl. They are 4-5 in their prior nine appearances.

This is the third time that Georgia will play Texas in a bowl game. UGA lost in the 1948 Orange Bowl, but won the 1983 Cotton Bowl.

Series history

The Sugar Bowl will be the fifth meeting between these two with Texas holding a 3-1 lead all-time against Georgia. The last meeting was a Georgia win in 1984, which was in the 1983 season’s Cotton Bowl.

Key player to watch for each team

Texas: Wide receiver – Lil’Jordan Humphrey

Georgia: Linebacker – D’Andre Walker

Game Notes:

Texas

Tom Herman is doing an outstanding job of methodically building the Longhorn program back up. They took some steps forward this year, including beating Oklahoma, to win nine games. A key was the poise and continued development of quarterback Sam Ehlinger. The offense ranks 55th in the nation with several playmakers. Interestingly, Texas was one of just two programs that did not produce a play of 50 plus yards from scrimmage this year.

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Not shockingly, the Texas defense struggled some in the Big 12. In fact, they come into this game ranked 68th in the country. The only potential area where Texas may be able to match up with Georgia is their rushing defense as it ranks 35th in the country allowing 135.92 yards per game. Jake Fromm will have plenty of room to throw against the 115th ranked passing defense in the country.

Georgia

Georgia is arguably one of the three or four best teams in the country, but relegated to the Sugar Bowl thanks to losses at LSU and in the SEC title game against Alabama. They led Bama by two touchdowns but allowed Jalen Hurts to lead the Tide back to beat them. Meanwhile, Jake Fromm has taken some steps forward overall in the passing game, showing poise and an ability to make big plays. The Bulldogs rushing offense puts up close to 252 rushing yards per game, making that the obvious strength.

Amazingly, Georgia is near the bottom of the SEC in sacks, despite D’Andre Walker’s amazing play. However, the defense still ranks 13th overall in the country, with their strength being against the pass. Certainly, Georgia holds a statistical advantage over Texas in most categories.

Final analysis

On paper, the Sugar Bowl certainly appears to heavily favor Georgia as they dominate in most categories against the Longhorns. However, Tom Herman knows how to get his team ready for big games. Additionally, with the poise of Sam Ehlinger and talent on defense, anything can happen.

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– David Creekmur covers College Football/Basketball, WNBA and College Women’s Sports for Full Press Coverage. Like and follow on Twitter Follow @dmcreek Follow @FPC_College