Georgia Tech has its Orange Bowl invitation.
Tech will play Mississippi State on New Year’s Eve, just the Yellow Jackets’ second appearance in one of the historically major bowls (Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Rose, Sugar) since Tech went to the Orange in 1967 at the end of coach Bobby Dodd’s final season. The other was the 2010 Orange Bowl following the 2009 ACC championship. The announcement was made Sunday afternoon by the College Football Playoff selection committee.
Tech earned the Orange invite when Florida State claimed a spot in the College Football Playoff as the No. 3 seed earlier Sunday. The Orange Bowl normally reserves a spot for the ACC champion, but takes the next highest-ranked team when that team is selected for the playoff.
Mississippi State is a bit of a surprise opponent. The Orange’s ACC opponent is the highest-ranked non-champion from either the Big Ten or the SEC or Notre Dame, and the Spartans entered this weekend ranked No. 8, ranked two spots ahead of Mississippi State. Neither played this weekend, but the Bulldogs jumped to No. 7 while the Spartans stayed at No. 8.
Tech, which was No. 11 prior to the ACC championship game, dropped one spot to No. 12.
The Bulldogs, like the Jackets, began the season unranked but reached No. 1 with a 9-0 start with wins over LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. They finished 10-2 with road losses to Alabama and Ole miss.
Tech and Mississippi State last played a two-game series in 2008 and 2009, both wins for the Jackets. The Bulldogs are coached by Dan Mullen and led by quarterback Dak Prescott, who is No. 6 in the country in total offense at 327.9 yards per game.
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