FSU to play Georgia in Orange Bowl; Liberty gets Group of 5 bid - ESPN

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 (Jan. 1, 4 p.m., ESPN/ESPN App) despite being snubbed by the CFP selection committee on 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 Five team, with that team getting the 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 in program history, 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.

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