There was a time when Larry Munson marveled at the Sugar falling from the sky.

This year Georgia fell from the sky and landed in the Sugar.

The Bulldogs will play in New Orleans on New Year’s Day against a Big XII opponent for the second consecutive season. This time it will be Matt Rhule’s #7 ranked Baylor Bears (11-2), losers of yesterday’s Big XII title game to Oklahoma, 30-23 in overtime.

For those scoring at home the Bears’ only losses this season were to Playoff #4 seed Oklahoma, each in very close games. In true Big XII style the Baptists from Waco averaged 35.2 points per game this season, good for 16th in the nation.

Baylor also averaged 431.2 offensive yards per game behind junior quarterback Charlie Brewer. Brewer left yesterday’s conference title game with a head injury just before halftime, but has thrown for 2,950 yards while completing 65.2% of his passes. Brewer’s also run for over 300 yards on the season. A matchup of Rhule’s entertaining offense and Georgia’s lockdown defense was a no-brainer pairing.

The Bears also have a lot to play for. They’re trying to finish a top 10 season which would give Rhule a lot to sell on the recruiting trail in the Lone Star State, assuming he doesn’t take one of the NFL jobs for which he is a rumored candidate. BU also is looking to win 12 games for the first time in program history. If the ‘Dawgs again choose to not show up in New Orleans, they will get beat. It’s really that simple.

It’s never a bad thing for a University of Georgia football season to end in the Sugar Bowl. For the second straight season the hallowed bowl is a consolation prize for missing the College Football Playoff, but there’s a part of me that senses that Georgia may show up this time, perhaps healthier than they were last night. Until later...

Go ‘Dawgs!!!