Notre Dame and Georgia will not play their College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup at the Sugar Bowl as scheduled after tragedy struck New Orleans overnight. The game has since been postponed.
The Fighting Irish and Bulldogs are instead going to play on Thursday at 7:45 p.m. local time— 24 hours after kickoff was supposed to take place on New Year’s Day.
UPDATE: PETE THAMEL OF ESPN REPORTS THAT DETAILS ARE NOT YET CONFIRMED.
Have been told by sources that the Sugar Bowl will be postponed. There’s no official date set yet for when it will be played. Officials are huddling and monitoring a fluid situation, and the game being played tomorrow is in discussion.
— Pete Thamel
Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley issued the following statement:
“All parties agree it's in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours.” – Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley pic.twitter.com/phPGY3fueu
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) January 1, 2025
This postponement stems from an act of terror on Wednesday morning.
42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar was identified by the FBI as the man who drove a pickup truck through a large crowd on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning. Police fatally shot him after the attack, which killed 10 people and injured 35. It is being investigated by an act of terrorism. Jabbar was carrying an ISIS flag in the truck.
The Sugar Bowl is postponed.
There was no immediate word that the Sugar Bowl might be delayed prior to 1:00 p.m. CT. In fact, New Orleans Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick initially said that the game would be played as scheduled.
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.
— Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley
However, Georgia’s team hotel was located near the scene so the Bulldogs were ordered to shelter in place throughout the morning. The Superdome was also on lockdown for security sweeps and people with offices inside of the stadium were told not to come into work until further notice.
ESPN's Laura Rutledge reports that the Georgia football team has a shelter in place at its team hotel following the deadly in attack in New Orleans that happened overnight. pic.twitter.com/26QpbHUDQk
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 1, 2025
As a result of the circumstances, both participating universities worked closely with the Sugar Bowl and local law enforcement to determine the best outcome. They ultimately decided not to play on Wednesday. The game is now scheduled to kickoff at 7:45 p.m. CT on Thursday. It could be moved again if necessary.
As of right now, it’s only being postponed one day.
— District Attorney of Orleans Parish Jason Williams, via ABC
Increased security measures are already in place.
What you’ll see for the Sugar Bowl is that the perimeter for security around the Superdome has been extended to be a larger zone. So expect obviously extra security. There are more police officers who are coming in.
— New Orleans City Council president Helena Moreno
Georgia and Notre Dame are going to play the College Football Playoff quarterfinal one day later than expected because of the horrific terrorist attack. Safety is the singular concern for the Sugar Bowl and this decision wasn’t made lightly.