2020 Sugar Bowl


The 2020 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2020, between the 2019 [Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia Bulldogs] and 2019 [Baylor Bears football team|Baylor Bears], with kickoff scheduled for 8:45 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 86th edition of the Sugar Bowl, and one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 [NCAA Division I FBS football season|2019 FBS football season]. Sponsored by insurance provider Allstate, the game was officially known as the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Teams

The game matched the Georgia Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference and the Baylor Bears from the Big 12 Conference. This was the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs; the Bulldogs had won each of the prior four meetings, most recently in 1989.

Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia entered the game with an 11–2 record. They finished atop the SEC's East Division and advanced to the SEC Championship Game, which they lost to 2019 [LSU Tigers football team|LSU], 37–10. As LSU was selected to the College Football Playoff, Georgia was invited as the SEC representative to the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs were 3–1 against ranked opponents, defeating 2019 [Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame], 2019 [Florida Gators football team|Florida], and 2019 [Auburn Tigers football team|Auburn] while losing to LSU. Their only other loss was to 2019 [South Carolina Gamecocks football team|South Carolina].
This was Georgia's eleventh Sugar Bowl ; they had a 4–6 record in prior editions of the bowl. It was also Georgia's second consecutive Sugar Bowl, following their 2018 team's loss to 2018 [Texas Longhorns football team|Texas] in the 2019 edition, 28–21.

Baylor Bears

Baylor also entered the game with an 11–2 record. They finished tied with 2019 [Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma] atop the Big 12, with the Sooners then defeating the Bears in the 2019 [Big 12 Championship Game|Big 12 Championship Game], 30–23 in overtime. As Oklahoma was selected to the College Football Playoff, Baylor was invited as the Big 12 representative to the Sugar Bowl. The Bears were 0–2 against ranked opponents, falling to Oklahoma twice.
This was Baylor's second Sugar Bowl, and their first since their 1956 team won the 1957 edition over 1956 [Tennessee Volunteers football team|Tennessee], 13–7.