Saturday was ugly for the Georgia Bulldogs. A 41-24 defeat at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide was not an ideal outcome for UGA. However, the Bulldogs still showed the College Football Playoff committee enough during a 12-0 regular season to be one of the four teams in the playoff.

Georgia was ranked as the No. 3 team in the country on Sunday and will face No. 2 Michigan in the Orange Bowl. The game will be played on New Year’s Eve in Miami Gardens at Hard Rock Stadium. Alabama took the top spot in the rankings with a win in the SEC Championship and will face No. 4 Cincinnati. The Bearcats just completed a 13-0 season, winning the American Athletic Conference.

“We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to sure up, a lot of things we’ve got to work on,” said Georgia head coach Kirby Smart on ESPN’s ‘College Football Playoff Selection Show.’ “We’ve got a lot of respect for Jim [Harbaugh] and Michigan…Hearing their guys talk after the game, just tells you a lot about who they are and what they’re about.”

Michigan has a stout defense and a good running game, so it will be anything but a cakewalk for Georgia. The Wolverines are ranked 13th nationally in total defense.

It will also be a homecoming for Georgia players from the South Florida area, including James Cook, Latavious Brini and Kenny McIntosh.