New Year’s Six bowls set: Florida State to face Georgia in Orange Bowl; Liberty edges SMU for G5 berth to Fiesta

An undefeated Florida State squad will match up against reigning national champion Georgia in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. ET after the two teams were left on the outside looking in during the final College Football Playoff rankings release Sunday.

Despite winning the ACC championship Saturday, the Seminoles were bumped to the No. 5 spot behind Alabama, which won the SEC championship but has a 12-1 record due to a September loss to No. 3 Texas. Georgia fell from No. 1 to No. 6 after its 29-game win streak ended with a 27-24 loss to Alabama on Saturday.

The Cotton Bowl will feature No. 9 Missouri taking on No. 7 Ohio State on Dec. 29. The Buckeyes are 2-12 versus SEC opponents in bowl games.

No. 10 Penn State will get the chance to become the first program in the history of college football to capture every New Year’s Six trophy when the Nittany Lions take on No. 11 Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30.

No. 23 Liberty earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl as the highest ranked Group of 5 champion. The Flames will face No. 8 Oregon on Jan 1.

The full CFP rankings

CFP Rk	Team	Record	Prev
1	13-0	2	1
2	13-0	3	2
3	12-1	7	3
4	12-1	8	5
5	13-0	4	4
6	12-1	1	6
7	11-1	6	7
8	11-2	5	8
9	10-2	9	9
10	10-2	10	10
11	10-2	11	11
12	10-2	12	12
13	9-3	13	13
14	9-3	15	14
15	10-3	14	16
16	9-3	17	15
17	10-3	16	20
18	9-3	19	19
19	8-4	20	21
20	9-4	18	22
21	8-4	21	25
22	8-4	23	NR
23	13-0	24	18
24	11-2	NR	17
25	8-4	25	NR

A bittersweet Orange Bowl

Georgia and Florida State was a very conceivable Playoff semifinal before Saturday. Now it’s a matchup in the Orange Bowl between two teams that you’d think don’t want to be there and will have opt-outs, especially Georgia. (It would be a surprise if tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Ladd McConkey, among other Bulldogs, play in the game.) But you could see the Seminoles being fired up to play the respect card, especially against the SEC, whose champion got in ahead of them. On Georgia’s end, this is the second visit to Miami in three years, and the first one went well, but that was a Playoff semifinal. Kirby Smart is actually 3-1 in non-Playoff bowl games, so he has found a way to motivate his teams. It could also be a head start on 2024. — Seth Emerson

How will Ohio State look in the Cotton Bowl?

While it’s not a College Football Playoff semifinal, Ohio State is ending its year with an SEC matchup after being matched up withy Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. The teams have played 11 times and Ohio State leads the series 10-1, winning the most recent matchup 35-14 in 1998. Missouri is coming off its best season since it won 11 games in 2014. It’s not the flashy matchup against Oregon some might have wanted, but it will be a test for an Ohio State team that needs to end the season on a bright note after losing to Michigan. — Cameron Teague Robinson

Penn State, Ole Miss have point to prove in Peach Bowl

Penn State’s first appearance in the Peach Bowl also marks the Nittany Lions’ fifth appearance in a New Year’s Six bowl game during James Franklin’s Penn State tenure. The early narrative of No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 11 Ole Miss is this: Who can finally exit bowl season having won a marquee game this year? Penn State lost to No. 7 Ohio State and No. 1 Michigan, while Lane Kiffin’s Rebels took their two losses to No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Georgia. — Audrey Snyder

History for Liberty and CUSA

Liberty getting the G5 spot over SMU was a bit of a surprise but a huge moment for the school and Conference USA. Liberty was 13-0 but had the worst strength of schedule in the FBS and didn’t play a Power 5 opponent. SMU was 11-2 with losses to Oklahoma and TCU but road wins against Memphis and Tulane over the last three weeks. It lost starting quarterback Preston Stone to a leg injury (similar to Florida State), but backup Kevin Jennings played the entire win against Tulane.

It’s hard to say whether Liberty will be competitive in the game, especially with no way to know how many Oregon players will choose to opt out, but I do know that Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter is one of the most fun players to watch in the country, and he’s a perfect fit for coach Jamey Chadwell’s spread option offense, with 2,750 passing yards, 1,064 rushing yards and 43 combined touchdowns. Chadwell is 44-6 as a head coach since 2020. Only Kirby Smart and Nick Saban have more wins in that span.

CUSA was on death’s door two years ago after it got raided in conference realignment. Now it has earned its first New Year’s Six spot, a huge moment and a dramatic turnaround for the league. — Chris Vannini