On Tuesday night, the No. 15 Texas Longhorns and No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs will open the new year in New Orleans, meeting for the first time since the 1984 Cotton Bowl, and there’s a convincing case to be made that neither expected to end their season at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The first team left outside of the College Football Playoff, Georgia came just one scoreless fourth quarter in the SEC Championship away from solidifying their place as one of the nation’s top four teams, and yet despite the 35-28 defeat at the hands of top-ranked Alabama, many still argued for the Bulldogs to earn a playoff bid.