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The Sugar Bowl Is Reportedly Considering Earlier Kickoff Time Thursday

Originally posted on The Spun | By Hunter Hodies | Last updated Jan 1, 2025 3:18 PM ET

The Sugar Bowl has been postponed to Thursday after a horrific tragedy occurred in New Orleans earlier Wednesday morning.

A man intentionally ran over a group of people in the French Quarter in New Orleans, killing at least 15 people and injuring many others. The suspect was killed after engaging in gunfire with New Orleans Police.

"The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available," the Sugar Bowl said in a statement.

This awful tragedy led the Sugar Bowl Committee to postpone Wednesday's game between Georgia and Notre Dame to Thursday.

Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, there have been discussions about an earlier kickoff time for the game since it's important to both teams for rest and recovery. Wednesday's game was originally expected to start at 8:45 p.m. ET before it was postponed to the same time on Thursday.

Have been told there could be discussions about an earlier kick time for the Sugar Bowl tomorrow. Have been told an earlier kick is important to both teams from a rest and recovery perspective. It was originally scheduled for 8:45 p.m. EST tonight.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 1, 2025

It's not known what earlier kickoff time the committee is looking at for Thursday but it could potentially do a 5 p.m. ET kick so that the game is over by the mid-evening hours. The committee could also look at an early afternoon kickoff time so that it's over by the early evening.

This will be the final quarterfinal game of the CFP since Penn State beat Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday while the Peach Bowl and Rose Bowl take place on Wednesday.

Notre Dame is coming off a first-round win over Indiana while Georgia had a first-round bye after winning the SEC Championship over Texas. The winner of this game will take on Penn State in one of the CFP semifinals.

We continue to send our thoughts and prayers to the entire New Orleans community.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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