We will not know who will be playing in next week's Fiesta Bowl until the clock strikes zero in the Sugar Bowl. On New Year's Eve, Carson Beck and the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes out-muscled the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl to advance to the national semifinals, 24-14. Beck is now 2-0 as a starter since leaving Georgia for Miami by way of the transfer portal in the College Football Playoff.
Should Georgia take care of business vs. the Ole Miss Rebels in their No. 3 vs. No. 6 national quarterfinals matchup in the Sugar Bowl, the Bulldogs will set up a date vs. their former star quarterback's team over in Greater Phoenix. While Georgia is seen as a sizable favorite over Ole Miss, teams like the Dawgs who are coming off byes in the playoff have struggled mightily vs. a hot team.
Admittedly, Miami upsetting Ohio State should be seen as a massive boost in Georgia's chance of winning its third national title in five seasons. Some people were of the belief that the winner of presumably Georgia vs. Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl would emerge victorious in Miami over whoever came out of Indiana's side of the bracket. It is almost a shame we will not get that national semifinal...
The good news is there is potentially a readymade storyline in the Fiesta Bowl should UGA advance.
Georgia can't look ahead to the Fiesta Bowl with the Sugar Bowl up next
For those in need of a refresher, Miami was the last team to make the 12-team College Football Playoff field. They earned the final at-large bid over national independent Notre Dame, based solely on their head-to-head victory over the Fighting Irish way back in Week 1. They were both 10-2 teams. While Notre Dame did have the better losses, Miami owning the head-to-head is what got The U in.
Because this is a new season, records can be thrown out the window. Miami was always seen as a dangerous No. 10 seed. Just ask No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 2 Ohio State about what it is like to go up against Beck and the rest of Mario Cristobal's team... However, Georgia enters the Sugar Bowl as arguably the best team in college football. The offense is elite and the defense is improving as well...
What this may really come down to in New Orleans on New Year's Day night is the fact that Georgia has arguably the best head coach in college football today in Kirby Smart, and he will be going up against a recently promoted head coach from within in Pete Golding. The former Ole Miss defensive coordinator was unable to force the Georgia offense to punt the football even one single time before.
Overall, Georgia cannot afford to count its chickens before they hatch. Ole Miss is chomping at the bit to uspet them. While that seems to be the most unlikely of the four national quarterfinals to go in that direction, there is a non-zero chance that Ole Miss proves victorious. In the end, Beck and the rest of the Hurricanes will have to wait and see if it will be Georgia or Ole Miss meeting them over in Phoenix.
Ultimately, Gunner Stockton and the Georgia offense is playing at another level right now. Glenn Schumann's defense has not allowed more than 21 points in a game since the mid-October barn-burner Between the Hedges vs. Ole Miss. Anything can happen in this wacky, weird, and most wonderful sport. However, it does feel a bit like destiny that Georgia will have to face Beck up next.
For now, Georgia does face a bit more pressure than expected to not fall to pieces vs. Ole Miss here.