Georgia Football: 3 reasons to watch 2019 Sugar Bowl vs. Texas

1. How does Georgia respond from Atlanta heartbreak?

A lot of times, bowl games come down to something as simple as which team comes in with the most motivation.

The motivation for Texas is clear, despite coming off a conference championship loss in their own right. The Longhorns have never played in the New Year’s Six since its inception in 2014, and haven’t played in the equivalent since losing to Alabama in the National Championship in 2009.

Texas has been wandering the wilderness since Colt McCoy was knocked from that game in the first quarter, never again reaching double-digit wins since. At 9-4, they’ll have the opportunity to do just that in New Orleans, and taking down a Top 5 opponent on a big stage will officially announce that Texas is unequivocally back.

The motivation for Georgia is murkier as their loss prevented them from making the College Football Playoff for the second season in a row. How do the Bulldogs respond after getting their hearts ripped out for the second time with everything on the line?

The Sugar Bowl, despite being an SEC staple, hasn’t been kind to its representatives from the flagship conference in games that don’t have national championship stakes.

The SEC is just 2-5 in the last seven Sugar Bowls that weren’t National Championship or playoff games.

In the 2009 game, Alabama was a heavy favorite over Utah after a close-loss to Florida in the SEC Championship knocked them out of the national title race, and the Utes humbled the Crimson Tide in New Orleans. Alabama was similarly favored against Oklahoma in the 2014 version after the Kick-Six ended the Tide’s hopes for a three-peat, and were blindsided by a highly motivated Sooners team.

No. 4 Florida lost as a heavy favorite in the 2013 game to Louisville as well. Recent history has been unkind to the SEC.

Can Georgia reverse this trend and come out motivated and play to the standard they are capable of? It was hard to argue that the Bulldogs weren’t one of the four best teams in the country based on how they played against Alabama, and they are certainly disappointed to be playing for a consolation prize.

I think playing a team with the name-value of Texas will help get Georgia motivated and ready to make a loud statement in New Orleans that they belonged in the playoff.