FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Something has been missing from South Florida this week.
There has not been a red and black fan takeover that typically puncutates any city that hosts a Georgia football postseason appearance. The Bulldogs are in Florida preparing to play in the Orange Bowl on Saturday. But there has been little pregame buzz around the game from the fanbase. Perhaps winning two straight national championships and then being relagated to a non-New Year’s Day bowl game following a narrow defeat in the last game of the regular season has something to do with it.
After such a bitter pill to swallow, it all seems like a letdown.
Georgia and Florida State, two college football bluebloods, boast a combined 25-1 record. Georgia (12-1) feels it was snubbed from the College Football Playoff and a chance at three straight national championship after a loss to rival Alabama in the SEC Championship game earlier this month. Florida State (13-0) has made its own argument after going undefeated and winning the ACC Championship and then not being one of the final four teams. It has even initiated a law suit to leave the conference.
The Orange Bowl says it sold out within days of Selection Sunday. However, the secondary market has indicated limited interest. Tickets were as low as $61 on SeatGeek Friday morning. It’s expected there will be plenty of vacant seats in the upper levels come game time.
All around Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Miami, one won’t find the typical Bulldog fans that’s occurred in hosting cities of recent years. You have to actually look for fans. Typically, wherever the Bulldogs are playing, the streets are enshrouded in red and black and you’re perpetually serenaded by those dogs barking.
There isn’t a resounding Florida State representation either despite being an in-state school with a heavy presence in South Florida. It all makes for an uncharacteristically tame environment between two fan bases who usually make themselves heard. Such is the circumstances.
An Orange Bowl official did not respond for comment concerning ticket availability and interest in the game.
Still, the lack of excitement entering the Orange Bowl is understandable. Georgia fans have traveled plenty over the past two years, seeing their program win consecutive national championships in Indianapolis and Los Angeles, respectively, and also College Football Playoff games in Miami and Atlanta. Unlike those games, there are no stakes Saturday. This is simply an exhibition. Before that run of success, Georgia fans were found aplenty at bowl games.
Both programs have moved in different directions since being left out in the cold for the warmth of South Florida.
“They want to go out on top,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of the team’s attitude toward the game. “They don’t want their last Georgia outing to be what was the SEC Championship. They put their minds to it, and it was a little bit of almost a contagious deal. One guy did it, another guy did it, and they wanted to play.”
On the field, Georgia has kept many of its top players who are committed to playing in the bowl game. Their starting quarterback, Carson Beck, even announced he will pass on the NFL for another season at Georgia. The notable exception is star tight end Brock Bowers, coming off ankle surgery and destined for the professional ranks himself, has not been with the team and there has been no definitive word on his status.
“It wasn’t a decision that I had to make,” Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran, himself with NFL aspirations, said of the imporantace of the game. “This is the last opportunity I get with my brothers so I wanna enjoy it.”
Florida State has lost nearly 20 players, including many starters, and is down to its third-string quarterback.
All this has Georgia listed as a 20-point favorite.
Nonetheless, Georgia is making the most of being in South Florida.
“Everybody likes coming down here because of the weather, the beaches, and all the beautiful things you get,” Smart said. “Our energy level is enthusiastic.”
The Bulldogs and Seminoles kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. This is Georgia’s fifth appearance in the Orange Bowl (1942, 1949, 1960, 2021).
