“The Sugar Bowl served as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.”
The Bulldogs’ social media staff shared a pregame message from the huddle prior to their game versus the Fighting Irish.
The Georgia Bulldogs wrote, “60 minutes or however long it takes,” on social media. Then, Lane Kiffin, the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels, entered the discussion and made it clear who he was supporting in the Sugar Bowl.
“Good luck,” Kiffin wished the Georgia Bulldogs well. On X, Kiffin disseminated the message to more than 707.9k followers.
Even though the Rebels were eliminated from the College Football Playoff, Kiffin seems to be supporting the SEC.
“Kiffin and the Rebels faced Georgia in Week 11 of the 2024 college football season, securing a 28–10 victory over the Bulldogs.”
Ole Miss had a 9-3 overall record at the end of the season, including a 5-3 SEC record. They finished the season as the 14th-ranked club in the rankings, just missing out on the College Football Playoffs.
According to ESPN BET, Georgia was a 1-point underdog going into the game versus Notre Dame. The Bulldogs are 11-2 after losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Rebels.
Playing their first game since the SEC Championship Game on December 7, Smart and the Bulldogs were given a first-round bye.
Officials Criticized for Controversial Decisions in Georgia-Notre Dame Sugar Bowl.
In the Allstate Sugar Bowl, which doubles as the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, the second-seeded Georgia Bulldogs will play the seventh-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Thursday.
With the winner going to the semifinals to play No. 6 Penn State, there will be a lot of attention on the game. The score is only 13-3 at the half, and Notre Dame leads.
With such eyes, fans have been furious with the authorities over dubious penalties and noncalls.
Notre Dame was penalized twice for racing into the kicker on a special teams play, earning them five-yard penalties. The second was refused.
They should have been penalized roughing the kicker, though, for striking the punter’s plant leg, which would have resulted in 15 yards and an automatic first down, according to a chat.
“If this doesn’t qualify as roughing, I dread to see what does,” one observer remarked. Another added, “In both instances, the plant leg was contacted or landed on; these should have been straightforward roughing calls.”
“This is definitely roughing. “I thought the second one was deliberate,” said a third. The subsequent call, which was made on a tackle during a 32-yard run by Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, was even more obvious.
The defender had clearly grasped Leonard’s facemask when he took him down.
“Notre Dame is currently having a terrible time with the no calls. A fan also mentioned Leonard’s facemask and the Georgia db’s potential hold on Thomas. “How do you miss a blatant facemask on the open field on Leonard??” replied another.
Someone else said, “No facemask on that big run by Leonard is nasty work.” Given that the Fighting Irish tied the score 3–3 with a field goal, this call might have a significant effect on the outcome of the match.
There is, of course, the argument that the additional 15 yards, which would have placed Notre Dame on Georgia’s 11-yard line, would have made a touchdown much more likely.
The officials’ missed holding calls, like as this play by Notre Dame offensive lineman Pat Coogan, have also been noted by fans.
“Many holding calls were missed. I’m not a big fan of “refs suck,” but these aren’t very good,” someone else commented. “Neither holding on ND nor roughing the kicker were called. “Many opportunities,” someone other said.
“I’m happy that someone else noticed that as well. One fan commented, “I was yelling at the TV and then asked myself if I would accept the penalty after KJ stuffed him.” Ironically, there haven’t been as many claims of “rigged” games as there have been in previous CFP games since both fan bases appear to believe that the referees have missed calls on the other side.
