The Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame will not be played on Wednesday night. Organizers postponed the game by 24 hours after the deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street. The attack happened a mile from the Caesars Superdome. It left at least 14 people dead and a city — and two football teams — reeling.
Organizers had originally set an 8:45 p.m. ET kickoff for New Year’s Day. They will now play the game Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. The winner still faces Penn State in the Orange Bowl semifinal on Jan. 9. Penn State beat Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday.
KEY POINTS
- Officials postponed the 91st Sugar Bowl after consultations. Game officials, ESPN, the College Football Playoff, the SEC and both universities all agreed.
- Police swept the Superdome for explosives after finding two devices near the attack scene. They found none at the stadium.
- Meanwhile, Georgia and Notre Dame spent Wednesday at their hotels. They held meetings instead of final preparations.
Sugar Bowl postponed “in the best interests of everybody”
Sugar Bowl chief executive Jeff Hundley announced the decision Wednesday afternoon. He said all parties involved had discussed it in depth. They agreed that postponing the game for 24 hours served the best interests of everybody and of public safety. The postponement let law enforcement complete a full sweep of the Superdome and the surrounding district. It also gave them time to build a heavier security perimeter for Thursday.
The decision was not unanimous in spirit. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said publicly she would have preferred the game pushed to Friday. That would have given investigators and security forces another full day. She acknowledged the call was not hers to make. Game officials weighed that against the logistics of moving a national television event. They also faced two travelling fan bases and a playoff calendar with no slack in it.
Background and context
Both teams arrived with storylines the postponement overshadowed. Georgia, the SEC champion, was preparing to start backup quarterback Gunner Stockton. Starter Carson Beck had suffered a season-ending elbow injury in the conference title game. Notre Dame had won 11 straight games since a September upset. The Irish had also beaten Indiana in the playoff’s first round. The Sugar Bowl began in 1935 and is the centrepiece of New Orleans‘ New Year. A week of events had already filled the French Quarter with fans of both schools. Many stayed within blocks of the attack scene. Thousands now scrambled to rebook flights and hotel rooms for a game moved by a day.
The Superdome occupies a singular place in New Orleans’ history. It sheltered thousands of residents during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It sits barely a mile from where the attacker drove into the Bourbon Street crowd at about 3:15 a.m. Police had found explosive devices in the French Quarter, which raised the stakes of clearing the stadium. None had any connection to it, however. Both teams effectively spent New Year’s Day in lockdown. Notre Dame held position meetings at its hotel in place of its usual walk-through. Georgia’s party travelled under police escort for a closed session at the stadium in the evening.
Before this, college football had postponed games for hurricanes, wildfires and the Sept. 11 attacks. A playoff game moved for a mass-casualty attack on its host city is new territory for the sport’s expanded postseason. It is also a reminder that the quarterfinal round carries security obligations as large as any regular sporting event in America. Officials play the round at bowl sites across the country.
What happens next
Officials eventually played the game on Thursday afternoon. Notre Dame won 23-10 to reach the Orange Bowl semifinal against Penn State. Before kickoff, the stadium held a moment of silence for the victims. Security around the Superdome therefore reflected the week New Orleans had just lived through. Fans faced bag checks, canine sweeps and a visible police presence.
The football, in the end, was the smallest story in the building. People will remember the Sugar Bowl as the game that waited a day because its city was mourning.
Sources: Allstate Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff statements; Louisiana attorney general’s remarks; Georgia and Notre Dame athletics statements.
