SUGAR BOWL CENTRAL | ANNOUNCEMENT RELEASE
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
At 44 years old,
Matt Rhule has plenty of time to do whatever might be left on his bucket list.
On Jan. 1, Baylor's third-year head coach will get to scratch one thing off his list when the No. 7 Bears (11-2) play fifth-ranked Georgia (11-2) in the 86
th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La.
"Born into" being a Penn State fan, Rhule remembers watching the 1983 Sugar Bowl as a 7-year-old fan when flanker Gregg Garrity made a diving catch on a 47-yard TD pass from Todd Blackledge as the Nittany Lions clinched the national championship with a 27-23 win over top-ranked Georgia.
"It's a lifelong sort of bucket-list item for me to take part in the game," Rhule said when the bowl selection was announced Sunday, sending Baylor to the Sugar Bowl for the second time ever and first since the Bears upset No. 2 Tennessee, 13-7, in the 1957 game. "I had a chance as a player to play in the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl, all tremendous experiences.
"But, just having (the 1983 Sugar Bowl) as one of my earliest memories of football, of what bowl games mean when family and friends come together to root their teams on whether in person or far, far away . . . . to me, it will be just an amazing experience to play in one of the greatest bowl games in history and to take a Baylor team that has done something really special over the last three years."
Georgia coach Kirby Smart, whose team is in the Sugar Bowl for the second-straight year, said Rhule's turnaround at Baylor has been "phenomenal, just incredible." The Bears went from 1-11 two years ago to 7-6 last season to 11-2 this year with the Bears' first appearance in the Big 12 Championship game, falling 30-23 in overtime to an Oklahoma team that is the No. 4 seed for the College Football Playoff.
"You can tell the passion and energy he coaches with, you can just tell how his team plays," said Smart, whose Bulldogs lost to top-ranked LSU, 37-10, in Saturday's SEC Championship. "They played two hard-fought battles with Oklahoma, one of the best teams in the country year-in and year-out. I just have a ton of respect for the job he's done."
Coming off last year's 45-38 Texas Bowl victory over Vanderbilt and a six-win improvement from his debut season at Baylor, Rhule said he went into this season thinking the Bears could be a 10-win team this season and compete for a Big 12 championship.
"Certainly, I don't think anyone would have said, 'Hey, we'll be playing in a College Football Playoff game in Year 2,' especially with where we started,'' said Rhule, who had back-to-back 10-win seasons at Temple before coming to Baylor. "A tremendous amount of credit needs to be given to our players and everything they've battled through and accomplished."
The Sugar Bowl is particularly rewarding for a senior class that "had to endure, at a young age, a lot of change and turmoil." Playing under three different head coaches in their careers, they had lost 16 of 18 at one point, "and that can have a real effect on people. But, these guys were tough, they were hard-working, they competed in everything they did."
"As juniors, they got us to a bowl game and won the bowl game," he said. "And then this year, as seniors, to finish the season as the No. 7 team in the country with the opportunity to play the University of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, there's not many stories written like that. And it's been their character and their resolve and their toughness. I'll get some credit . . . but it's really been the players and, most importantly, the seniors that have made that happen."
The New Year's Day game matches two of the best defenses in the country.
Georgia has thrown three shutouts, ranks second nationally in points allowed (12.5) and fourth in total defense, giving up just 274.2 yards per game. Baylor's defense has made a dramatic improvement and ranks second nationally in turnovers gained (30) and 16
th in scoring defense (19.3).
Rhule said the biggest reasons for the jump this year, going from 7-6 to 11-2, were the maturation process in Year 3 and "I think really our growth on or defense, going from maybe second to last or last in every defensive category to this year where we're first or second in every category."
"And it's the same players," he said. "It was really just their growth and development. The job that
Phil Snow, our defensive coordinator, has done is amazing. I think those are probably the biggest reasons why we've been able to make this jump."
Smart said the Bulldogs tried to learn from last year's Sugar Bowl, when a heavily favored Georgia team lost to Texas, 28-21, and had to score twice in the last 10 ½ minutes to make it that close.
"A lot of teams all across the country would be dying to play in a game like this," said Smart, whose team lost to Alabama two years ago in the national championship game. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. None of our players have been Sugar Bowl champs and they're going to get an opportunity to do that."
Similarly, Baylor has a chance to set a single-season record for wins and capture its first major bowl championship since that 1957 Sugar Bowl.
"Obviously, our players are disappointed we lost (in the Big 12 Championship)," Rhule said. "But, we were a team that was picked sixth or seventh in the Big 12. For them to accomplish all they've accomplished, to come that close to winning the Big 12 and going to the playoff, and to now have a chance, though, to go out and play one final game together against a great SEC team and play in the Sugar Bowl, what an amazing year and what a standard set by this senior class."
NOTE: Baylor assistant strength coach
Corey Campbell was a fullback and special teams standout in four years at Georgia (2010-13), playing for Bulldog teams that went 36-18 and made four bowl game appearances under coach Mark Richt.
Football accepts bid to Allstate Sugar Bowl
Bears to face Georgia in program's 25th bowl game all-time
WACO, Texas – Baylor football has accepted an invitation to play in the 86th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, and will face Georgia from the Southeastern Conference. The game will be played on January 1, 2019 at 7:45 p.m. CT at Mercedes Benz Superdome. It will be broadcast by ESPN.
"The opportunity to go to New Orleans, to play an SEC team for the second year in a row, to play in the Sugar Bowl, this iconic bowl," Baylor head coach
Matt Rhule said. "For our seniors, the chance to go out there and play a game against really good competition as they get evaluated for the next level, I think it's really, really exciting for the entire program."
In only his third season directing the Baylor program, Rhule led the Bears to an 11-2 record and the team's first-ever appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game. BU is seeking its first-ever 12-win season after registering the third 11-win campaign in program history.
"We are honored to be selected for the Allstate Sugar Bowl, one of the most historically significant bowls in the country," Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
Mack Rhoades said. "New Orleans is a great destination and Georgia is a top-notch opponent. This has been an incredibly special season, and I'm proud of the work of our student-athletes, coaches and staff."
Current Bear Foundation Members and season ticket holders can request tickets now through their online ticket accounts by 5 pm Tuesday, December 10. Tickets go on sale to the general public, Thursday, December 12.
"The Allstate Sugar Bowl is honored and excited to host two of the best teams in the country," said Monique Morial, the President of the Sugar Bowl Committee. "For 85 years, the Sugar Bowl has built a tradition of hosting great college football action, and thanks to the SEC and the Big 12 we have the chance to build on that this year. This match-up between the Bulldogs and the Bears not only represents great football but also great fun."
Baylor is making only its second-ever trip to the prestigious Sugar Bowl following a 13-7 win over Tennessee on January 1, 1956. It is the Bears' third New Year's Six bowl trip after berths in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl and 2015 Cotton Bowl.
SEC East champion and fifth-ranked Georgia enters the Sugar Bowl with an 11-2 record under head coach Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs boast the nation's No. 2 scoring defense, allowing only 12.5 ppg.
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Georgia and Baylor – the Bulldogs won all four meetings by an average of just 6.8 points and all four were played in Athens. The teams' first match-up was a 24-14 decision in 1972 while the last meeting was a 15-3 Georgia win in 1989. The Bulldogs also won 16-14 in 1978 and 17-14 in 1985.
Baylor fans interested in hotel accommodations for Baylor's trip to New Orleans for the 2020 Allstate Sugar Bowl may sign up for information with Anthony Travel. Travel options will be sent via email from Baylor's travel partner as soon as they become available.
