Two teams in the 2019 Sugar Bowl had College Football Playoff hopes late in the season, but after failing to do that, will try and end their years with a New Year’s Six win.
Both No. 5 Georgia and No. 7 Baylor went 11-2 on the year, and both lost their respective SEC and Big 12 conference championship games too. The two programs head to New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome after failing to get a spot in the playoff semifinals.
Oddsmakers have the Bulldogs spotting the Bears four points. The moneyline is Georgia -180, Baylor +160, a $100 bet respectively netting $55.56 and $160. Defense is expected to be the name of the game, as the over/under is a conservative 41.5 points.
According to the ESPN Football Power Index computer simulator of 10,000 hypothetical matchups, Georgia wins 70.9 percent of the time. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:45 pm ET.
Motivating Reasons
For a second consecutive year, Georgia is playing in the Sugar Bowl, and expects to rub last year’s memory of losing to Texas by a touchdown. Baylor is heading to Sugar Bowl for the first time since 1957.
As reported by casino.org, Matt Rhule, coach of Baylor says his team is up for the SEC challenge.
Rhule declared,
“Our team will be beyond motivated. And we have to be, because this is such a great team we’re facing. I’m motivated.”
“I have never really met coach Smart, but I certainly respect him. So, a chance to go against him as a head coach, I have to be at my best. And so, I think our guys are highly, highly motivated,” added Rhule.
Some key players will be absent in Kirby Smart’s team. Both starting offensive linemen Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson, are missing the Sugar Bowl to get ready for the NFL Draft. Also, right guard Ben Cleveland will be on the sidelines, supposedly for academic reasons.
Furthermore, Brian Herrien, the Bulldogs’ second-leading rusher won’t play for unrevealed reasons. Several other players may also not play for Georgia.
Smart clarified,
“Some of these guys are injured. Some of them didn’t academically do what they needed to do, but that’s part of college football. With the NFL environment that we have, if we continue to recruit at the level which we’ve done, this is probably going to be an annual deal where guys decide I’m not going to play in the game based on certain reasons or whatever they choose. And I respect that.”
Season Reviews
Until its SEC title game loss to LSU, Georgia was in the CFP top four . The other defeat of Bulldogs was a bad one, a 20-17 loss at home to an unranked South Carolina in October.
Georgia has three wins over teams that finished in the Top 25 of the CFP – No. 9 Florida, No. 12 Auburn, and No. 15 Notre Dame.
The two losses of Baylor both came against Oklahoma, which finished No. 4 in the rankings. The Bears profile doesn’t include a win over a rival which finished in the CFP Top 25.
