The Sugar Bowl Has Finalized Its Kickoff Time For Thursday
01/01/2025 05:07 PM
Tonight's Sugar Bowl was postponed following the suspected terrorist attack in New Orleans.
Georgia and Notre Dame were supposed to play at 8:45 p.m. ET tonight, but the game was pushed back because in the early morning hours Wednesday, a man plowed his truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens of others. According to investigators, the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, of Texas, is thought to have connections to terrorist organizations and may not have acted alone. Jabbar was killed by police in a firefight.
The Sugar Bowl committee announced earlier this afternoon that the game was being moved to tomorrow, but did not provide a kickoff time. Now, ESPN's Pete Thamel said one has been settled on.
"Per ESPN sources, the Sugar Bowl will kick off tomorrow at 4 pm Eastern," Thamel tweeted.
According to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger, officials from Georgia, Notre Dame and the College Football Playoff all spoke with New Orleans authorities and asked for the game to kick off before primetime on Thursday.
A formal announcement on the kickoff time is expected this evening.
The Bulldogs and Fighting Irish are meeting in the fourth and final College Football Playoff quarterfinal. Penn State beat Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl Tuesday night, while Texas and Arizona State are currently in overtime in the Peach Bowl and Oregon and Ohio State just got underway from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Sadly, today's attack affected Georgia beyond impacting the Sugar Bowl. A University of Georgia student was "critically injured" in the tragedy, UGA president Jere W. Morehead confirmed in a statement.
"I have spoken to the student's family and shared my concern, support and well wishes on behalf of the entire UGA community," Morehead wrote. "I would like to express my gratitude to all the first responders who moved so quickly to help those affected by this senseless act of violence, as well as to the medical personnel who are caring for the injured."
Related: Notre Dame Fans Have Emotional Moment At Mass In New Orleans
