Here’s an intriguing storyline -- Mark Richt facing his former employer in a New Year’s Day bowl game.
According to Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports, it could happen at the end of the upcoming season. Lassan's preseason projection has Miami facing Georgia in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2018.
Richt played quarterback at Miami in the late 1970s and early ‘80s and coached at Georgia from 2001-15. He won more than eight games in a single season 14 times and had an overall record of 145-51. Richt was fired before Georgia played in its 2015 bowl game.
Less than a week later, Richt found a new job at his alma mater after the Hurricanes parted ways with coach Al Golden.
In the new “College Football Playoff” era, the Citrus Bowl hosts the top Big Ten and SEC teams from outside the CFP. In years where a Big Ten team is assigned to play in a non-semifinal Orange Bowl, the Citrus Bowl will host the top remaining selection from the Atlantic Coast Conference against the SEC.
Last season, the LSU Tigers out of the SEC played Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals out of the ACC. LSU entered with a 7-4 record and dominated the 9-3 Cardinals throughout en route to a 29-9 victory.
Assuming both the ACC and SEC remain competitive this year, Lassan projects both Georgia and Miami will post records around the 8-4 or 9-3 mark.
