Georgia Football history at the Orange Bowl

Georgia Football will make its 62nd Bowl appearance when it takes on the Florida State Seminoles on December 30th. The Dawgs are in second place for all-time appearances in Bowl games. The Dawgs are only behind Alabama, which has the record with 76th appearances. However, the Dawgs lead the country with an active streak of Bowl appearances at 27.

The Dawgs will make their 4th appearance in the Orange Bowl this week. This will be the first time the Dawgs play in the Orange Bowl since beating Michigan 34-11 in the 2022 Orange Bowl, a College Football Playoff Semifinal game. 

The Dawgs crushed Michigan at the start of the game, and for many, it will be remembered for what the Dawgs' defense did to Michigan's offense. It was ugly, and you should relive it to make yourself feel better if you are down with the Holiday blues. 

The Dawgs first trip to the Orange Bowl was in 1942. That ‘41 team was 9-1-1 and took on the TCU Horned Frogs. This was also Georgia’s first ever Bowl game in program history. The Dawgs beat TCU 40-26 on New Year's Day 1942.

Seeing that score is odd, because usually when I think Georgia vs. TCU, I think the score should be in the neighborhood of 65-7, favoring the Dawgs. I am not sure why that score sticks out in my mind, it just feels like the Dawgs should always win by that much. 

The next trip down to Miami for the Dawgs was in 1949, where they lost to Texas 41-28. What is it with Georgia playing Texas and Bowl games and not preforming well? 

Anyway, the last time the Dawgs played in the Orange Bowl that was a non-playoff game was in 1960. The Dawgs were lead by Fran Tarkenton and were SEC Champions that year as well. Georgia took on Missouri and won the Orange Bowl 14-0. Georgia would finish 10-1 and be ranked 5th in the country. 

By the way, if you think the current system we have to crown a college football champion is flawed go back and look at the AP poll in 1959. LSU and Ole Miss were ranked higher than the Dawgs, Ole Miss was the second ranked team in the country and LSU was the third ranked team in the country. Georgia won the SEC that season! How does that even work? See, College Football has always been an opinion based game. I am sure you clicked on this blog to get 1959 college football takes, but it is kind of crazy. 

Out of all the New Year 6 bowl games, the Orange Bowl is ranked third in appearances for the Dawgs. The Sugar Bowl and the Peach Bowl are number one and two for the Dawgs. The Dawgs have had a pretty good record in the Orange Bowl and look to keep that trend going with a win over Florida State on Satruday.