Georgia was supposed to start its season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, but COVID-19 forced Peach Bowl Inc. to cancel its three kickoff games scheduled for Sept. 5. Now, Georgia will end its season there. The Bulldogs play Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1 at 12:30 p.m.

In a virtual press conference following Sunday’s bowl game selections, Peach Bowl Inc. CEO and president Gary Stokan said Mercedes-Benz will operate at 25% capacity, or around 18,000 spectators, and attendees will have to wear masks while in the stadium.

“We’re super excited for it to be in Atlanta,” said head coach Kirby Smart in Sunday’s virtual press conference. “A lot of our seniors didn’t get to have a final home game … so they’ll get the opportunity to play in front of a lot of parents and families and fans.”

The No. 8 Bearcats, 6-0 in the American Athletic Conference and 9-0 overall, closed out their undefeated regular season with a 27-24 win over Tulsa in its Dec. 19 conference championship. 

Although Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell said after the game he wanted his team to be considered for the four-team College Football Playoff, he clarified Sunday that the Bearcats aren’t disappointed by their Peach Bowl placement.

Jan. 1 will be Cincinnati’s first New Year’s Six bowl appearance since 2009, and Fickell said it’s an opportunity to enter the next phase of his refueled program, which has gone 29-5 in the regular season since 2018.

“When you say things like that, when you put yourself out there like that, it means you have to turn around and put it up,” Fickell said Sunday. “It’s a huge measuring stick for me and what we’re trying to build here.”

No. 9 Georgia, which went 7-2 in SEC play, routed Missouri 49-14 in its last appearance on the gridiron on Dec. 12. The SEC canceled Georgia’s senior day game rescheduled to Dec. 19 against Vanderbilt due to COVID-19-related personnel issues within Vanderbilt.

In Sunday’s virtual press conference, Smart said this year’s season finale will feel more like a typical 2020 road game than a bowl game due to COVID-19 restrictions, including continued testing and traveling one day in advance.

But unlike a typical 2020 road game, Georgia hasn’t played Cincinnati since 1976.

This year, both teams rank in the NCAA top 15 for total defense. Georgia has allowed just over 8 more total yards per game and five more touchdowns. Cincinnati has the offensive edge on paper too, scoring 11 more touchdowns and tallying more than 45 additional yards of offense per game than its bowl game partner.

The Bearcats’ key weapon is dual-threat quarterback Desmond Ridder, who completed more than 66% of his passes for 17 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2020. He’s also second on Cincinnati in rushing yards and first in rushing touchdowns with 12. Aside from Ridder’s 352 total yards and two scores in the AAC championship game, Smart said he hasn’t seen much film on the athletic junior.

“After a game like that … it makes you know what he’s made out of, how he’s built,” Smart said. “But it’s hard to say that because I haven’t had a lot of chance to watch anything.”

Highlighting the relative strength of the SEC and AAC, Georgia played five in-conference games against ranked opponents to Cincinnati’s two. Georgia went 3-2 in those games, losing notably to top 10 Alabama and Florida teams to finish second in the SEC East.

Cincinnati won a non-conference game in September against No. 22 Army and beat No. 16 SMU and No. 23 Tulsa from the AAC.

Neither head coach is putting stock in conference designations like the Power Five, which includes the SEC, and the less-hyped Group of Five, which includes the AAC. Cincinnati and Georgia both landed in the top 10, and the coaches expect a no-holds-barred contest regardless of strength of schedule.

“Obviously, we know who Georgia is, and we know what the SEC is all about,” Fickell said. “But in this 2020 year, I think everybody has sacrificed so much … that anybody that’s playing well at the end of the season has a motivation.” 

This marks the third consecutive season in which the Bulldogs will not compete in the College Football Playoff. To end its 2018 and 2019 seasons, Georgia played in the Sugar Bowl, losing to Texas and beating Baylor, respectively.

A few seniors decided not to compete against Baylor a year ago, but Smart said he didn’t know yet which of his upperclassmen eyeing the 2021 NFL Draft may decide not to play on Jan. 1.

Potential absences from seniors Richard LeCounte and Monty Rice and junior Eric Stokes might not be hugely impactful, though, as Georgia realized over its 1-1 Sugar Bowl stretch.

“We learned a valuable lesson as a staff,” Smart said. “It’s not necessarily who you go play with, but what their mindset is when you go play a game.”

Here are all top 10 team’s bowl game matchups:

Cotton Bowl | Dec. 30 at 8 p.m.: No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Florida

Peach Bowl | Jan. 1 at 12:30 p.m.: No. 9 Georgia vs. No. 8 Cincinnati

Rose Bowl | Jan. 1 at 5 p.m.: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame

Sugar Bowl | Jan. 1 at 8:45 p.m.: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State

Fiesta Bowl | Jan. 2 at 4 p.m.: No. 10 Iowa State vs. No. 25 Oregon

Orange Bowl | Jan. 2 at 8 p.m.: No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 North Carolina

All rankings from College Football Playoff rankings. All times are in EST.

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Ga.; redandblack.com/sports

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