2020 Sugar Bowl – Georgia vs. Baylor: Key matchups, odds, predictions

After falling in their conference championships, the Baylor Bears will face the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2020 Sugar Bowl. Here are the odds and a prediction.

Playing in a New Year’s Six Bowl is always a huge deal, but no, this isn’t the bowl game these two conference runner-ups hoped to play for at the start of the year. Playing in the 2020 Allstate Sugar Bowl will be the No. 7 Baylor Bears (11-2) and the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (11-2).

Kickoff from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana will be at 8:45 p.m. ET/7:45 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Jan. 1. ESPN will have the national broadcast of the Sugar Bowl. WatchESPN will have the available live stream.

Baylor had a terrific season in the Big 12. The Bears went from a dead football program to a College Football Playoff contender in a matter of years. After losing to the Oklahoma Sooners at home a few weeks ago, Baylor had its shot at beating the Sooners on a neutral site, but couldn’t quite get it done to win the Big 12 for the first time since 2013. It was a great effort, though.

Georgia came up short in the SEC Championship again. After losing a laughable game at home in double overtime to the South Carolina Gamecocks, Georgia rebounded to win the SEC East for the third year in a row. That’s only the second time it’s ever happened. However, they were humiliated at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the LSU Tigers for the right to go do the playoff.

Though this isn’t the game either school hoped to play in, Baylor vs. Georgia stands as one of the better matchups in the New Year’s Six. The Bears haven’t been to a Sugar Bowl in the current bowl format and Georgia wants to right last year’s wrong vs. the Texas Longhorns. Here are some key matchups, the associated betting odds and the final score prediction for the 2020 Sugar Bowl.

Key Matchups

Matt Rhule vs. Kirby Smart

This is the most intriguing matchup in this high-profile bowl game. We have two of the better defensive-minded head coaches in the Power 5 in Matt Rhule of Baylor and Kirby Smart of Georgia. Rhule’s team plays above its talent level and is an opportunistic bunch. Smart recruits at a high level, he gets the most out of his defensive backs and he is keen on halftime adjustments

D’Andre Swift vs. James Lynch

This game will largely be won is if the Baylor defense can neutralize the Georgia rushing attack or not. Led by their All-American defensive tackle James Lynch, the Baylor front-seven will look to slow down 1,000-yard rusher D’Andre Swift and the vaunted Georgia ground game. Swift may not play in this game, as he gets ready for the NFL Draft, but the Dawgs can always pound the rock.

Charlie Brewer vs. J.R. Reed

If Baylor wants to pull off the upset of Georgia in this neutral-site affair, the Bears will need a big game out of its quarterback room. Baylor starter Charlie Brewer’s status is up in the air, but he and the Baylor passing attack will try to pick apart All-American safety J.R. Reed and the talented Georgia defensive backfield. LSU proved in the SEC Championship you can throw on the Dawgs.

Odds

Georgia is more than a touchdown favorite in this neutral-site ball game. The Dawgs are laying 7.5 points to the Baylors in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. This game’s over/under comes in at a combined 41.5 points. The associated moneylines for this game are Georgia -290 and Baylor +230. All odds are provided by The Action Network.

Prediction

This game will go down to the wire. It’ll be more of a defensive struggle than anything, but both schools will do enough offensively for this point total to go over the 41.5-point threshold. Baylor will lead by three with minutes left in the ball game before the Georgia ground game punches it in to lift the Dawgs to a four-point victory. Baylor loses another heartbreaker but covers the spread.

Pick: Georgia 24, Baylor 20

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