It isn't the bowl game Florida State wanted or expected to be in, but the Seminoles have a chance to make a statement Saturday afternoon in the Orange Bowl.
The fifth-ranked Seminoles (13-0) take on No. 6 Georgia (12-1) at 4 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium with the game broadcast on ESPN. FSU enters Saturday's game on an active 19-game winning streak while the Bulldogs have a 29-game winning streak which was snapped in their SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama which dropped them out of College Football Playoff position and the No. 1 spot they had resided in all season.
Both teams will be depleted by players leaving the program or announcing for the NFL Draft, but FSU's absences are much more severe. The Seminoles will be without 13 starters/co-starters from their ACC Championship Game depth chart and 18 players on the two-deep. This includes projected starting quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who announced his opt-out on Christmas Day, which means true freshman quarterback Brock Glenn will get the start for the Seminoles.
Georgia is expected to be without NFL-bound tight end Brock Bowers and offensive tackle Amarius Mims and a few reserve players but it has many more of its starters available including starting quarterback Carson Beck.
Because of this discrepancy, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Seminoles are sizable 20.5-point underdogs for Saturday's New Year's Six Bowl. UGA holds a 6-4-1 lead all-time in the series.
FSU has a 5-5 all-time record in the Orange Bowl, beating Michigan 33-32 back in 2016 in its last time playing in the bowl game and doing so as a full-touchdown underdog.
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