ESPN’s Laura Rutledge is in New Orleans to cover the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame. But that game has suddenly taken a backseat locally after tragedy struck the area.
In the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, a terrorist attack struck the heart of the city with multiple fatalities and injuries involved. The Sugar Bowl, originally set for primetime on New Year’s Day, was quickly postponed with both teams accounting for their travel parties shortly after.
Originally, the game was postponed for 24 hours and pushed to a Thursday night primetime kickoff, but discussions were had throughout New Year’s Day to move that time up. A new kickoff time of 4 pm ET/3 pm CT was eventually confirmed, and Rutledge appeared on ESPN’s “Get Up” Thursday morning to discuss the decision-making process.
According to Rutledge, the discussions involved parties from Notre Dame and Georgia, bowl game officials and Playoff decision-makers all the way up to city officials and even the FBI. One of the deciding factors ultimately boiled down to a quick turnaround for the Orange Bowl which will be played in a week between Penn State in Miami.
“It was a lot of discussions that got to (the 4 pm kickoff), we’re talking discussion between the Sugar Bowl officials, the CFP, the teams, the FBI, the City of New Orleans. The reason why they landed at 4 pm ET is because there is an extremely quick turnaround for whichever team wins this game into the Orange Bowl which is a week away,” explained Rutledge. “It’s less time to prepare for the team that will play in that game.”
Rutledge did acknowledge that football itself takes a backseat to the tragedy and those who lost their lives, but both teams felt the need to think about what is best for their teams and individual athletes. It led to both teams fighting for an early kickoff time than Thursday night.
.@LauraRutledge has more on how officials landed on today's 4 PM ET start time for the Sugar Bowl after rescheduling the game due to the attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/haJPKBkMRZ
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 2, 2025ESPN’s Laura Rutledge outlines how new kickoff time for Sugar Bowl developed Saturday Down South.
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