The 6^th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs will face the 5^th-ranked Florida State Seminoles in the 2023 Orange Bowl on Saturday, December 30^th, in Miami Gardens, Florida at Hard Rock Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 4:00 PM ET on Saturday afternoon and will air on ESPN.

 

Georgia enters this game ranked 6^th in the College Football Playoff rankings with a record of 12-1 which led to an East Division Championship in the SEC, however, the Georgia Bulldogs lost their first game in over two years when they lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2023 SEC Championship game by a score of 24-27 which also cost them their chance to win their 3^rd consecutive National Championship. 

 

The Bulldogs had one of the best scoring defenses in college football this season as they allowed the 9^th fewest points per game in the nation with an average of 16.62 points per game. 

 

Georgia featured one of the best passing offenses in the nation as they enter this game averaging 300 passing yards per game which ranked 8^th in college football. Carson Beck had an impressive season in his first year as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs as he finished the season having completed 289 of 399 attempts for 3,738 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 127 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The Georgia Bulldogs will look to bounce back following the loss in the SEC Championship game when they face the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday afternoon.

 

The Florida State Seminoles were the first team to finish the regular season undefeated in a Power-5 conference and not make the college football playoffs which caused controversy after the four teams were announced as two teams that suffered a loss were selected over the Seminoles.

 

Many will point to Jordan Travis not being available to play for the rest of the season due to an injury as the reason the Seminoles did not make the playoffs, however, they also had one of the best scoring defenses in college football this year allowing the 6^th fewest points per game with an average of 15.92 points per game. 

 

However, after Travis was injured in the game against North Alabama, the Seminoles averaged 20 points per game after averaging 44.1 points per game in their first ten games. The Florida State Seminoles will look to have a statement win and prove they should have been in the College Football Playoffs when they play the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2023 Orange Bowl.

 

BookMaker has the Georgia Bulldogs listed as 16-point favorites against the Florida State Seminoles in the 2023 Orange Bowl on Saturday afternoon. The teams have met one time before this matchup which occurred in the 2022 college football season and resulted in a 26-13 win for the Georgia Bulldogs and a 7.5-point cover as a favorite. 

 

The Georgia Bulldogs are 4-8-1 ATS overall and 4-8-1 ATS as a favorite this season while the Florida State Seminoles are 8-5 ATS overall and 2-0 ATS as an underdog on the year.

 

Both teams have two of the top scoring-defenses in college football this season with Georgia allowing an average of 16.62 points per game and Florida State allowing an average of 15.92 points per game. I look for this to be a defensive battle and for the Seminoles to struggle offensively against the Bulldogs. 

 

This could have been one of the most exciting matchups of bowl season if not for the injury to QB Jordan Travis of FSU.  Georgia is a huge favorite without Travis and their star WR Johnny Wilson from Florida State.  But defense wins championships and I could actually see a relatively low scoring close game here so take the points at this time.