As expected, the Georgia Bulldogs are heading back to the Orange Bowl to face Florida State.

The game is set for Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Dec. 30. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.

This will mark the 12th meeting between the two teams, the last since the 2002 Sugar Bowl, when the Bulldogs beat the Seminoles, 26-13.

Ironically, Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart was a graduate assistant on that Seminole team, coached by the late Bobby Bowden.

“I did talk to our team, and they're very excited. Of all the bowls outside the playoffs, this is where our kids wanted to be,” Smart said. “So, that part is good. We’ve got a very high-character team; it’s a fun team to coach. The guys who are going to play in it, are going to enjoy it, the guys who are going to continue with us, they are going to enjoy it.”

Both teams will have questions coming into the game.

Georgia (12-1) and ACC Champion Florida State (13-0) both had playoff aspirations, but came up short. Will there be “disappointment” for falling to the Orange?

Getting their teams in the right frame of mind will be a definite challenge for Smart and Seminole coach Mike Norvell, who minced no words for his team being kept out of the College Football Playoffs.

“I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games. What is the point of playing games?” Norvell said in a statement. “Do you tell players it is okay to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play a senior on Senior Day for fear of injury? Where is the motivation to schedule challenging non-conference games? We are not only an undefeated P5 conference champion, but we also played two P5 non-conference games away from home and won both of them. I don’t understand how we are supposed to think this is an acceptable way to evaluate a team.

"I’m proud of the work we have put in, and the players I have the privilege to coach. We have one more opportunity to define this 2023 team in the Orange Bowl, and I believe in how our team will respond."

There’s also the question of opt-outs. Both the Bulldogs and Seminoles have draft-eligible players who could decide to opt out.

“We’ll have guys go into the portal, and guys look to where the future is brighter maybe at other places. That’s what the portal is for,” Smart said. “We’ll lose guys like every program in the country will, but the guys that come back, there’s going to be a commitment to getting ready, getting better. It won’t be just about the game, but the practices you get to have for this game.”