Florida State, the first unbeaten Power 5 conference winner to ever miss out on the College Football Playoff, will settle for a matchup with two-time defending champion Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.
Coach Mike Norvell said the No. 5 Seminoles, who finished with a 13-0 mark en route to the ACC championship, will be ready for the matchup in Miami Gardens (4 p.m., ESPN/ESPN App) despite being snubbed by the CFP selection committee Sunday.
“I’m proud of the work we have put in and the players I have the privilege to coach,” Norvell said in a statement. “We have one more opportunity to define this 2023 team in the Orange Bowl, and I believe in how our team will respond.”
The Seminoles’ 19 consecutive wins is the second-longest active streak in FBS.
No. 6 Georgia had won 29 straight games prior to Saturday’s loss to Alabama in the SEC title game. As a result, the Bulldogs become the first No. 1 team in the penultimate CFP rankings to fall out of the top four after losing in Championship Week.
The Bulldogs have won six consecutive bowl games.
The other drama played out Sunday was determining who would be chosen as the highest-ranked Group of 5 team, getting an automatic bid into the New Year’s Six.
That honor went to the undefeated Liberty Flames (13-0), the Conference USA champion. The Flames finished at No. 23 in the final CFP rankings — one spot ahead of the American Athletic Conference champion SMU Mustangs (11-2).
Liberty, which will be making only its fifth bowl appearance ever, will take on No. 8 Oregon in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona (Jan. 1, ESPN/ESPN App).
The Ducks will be making their seventh straight bowl appearance.
The remaining two New Year’s Six games will feature a clash between Big Ten and SEC teams.
No. 9 Missouri, which is seeking its first bowl win in three appearances under coach Eli Drinkwitz, will take on No. 7 Ohio State at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas (Dec. 29, 8 p.m., ESPN/ESPN App).
The Buckeyes are 2-12 in bowl games against SEC opponents all-time.
The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta (Dec. 30, noon, ESPN/ESPN App) features a matchup between No. 11 Ole Miss and the No. 10 Penn State.
It will be the Rebels’ second New Year’s Six bowl appearance under coach Lane Kiffin, while the Nittany Lions will be playing in their ninth bowl under coach James Franklin.
The other two games in the New Year’s Six were set earlier Sunday when the CFP semifinal matchups were announced.
No. 1 Michigan will take on No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential in Pasadena, California (Jan. 1, 5 p.m., ESPN/ESPN App), while No. 2 Washington plays No. 3 Texas in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m., ESPN/ESPN App).