Kirby Smart and Georgia ended the 2022 college football season with the largest single-major blowout in the history of football bowl games.
Georgia defeated No. 3 TCU 65-7 to win the College Football Playoff national championship, setting a record for the largest margin of victory in a bowl game (58 points). A season later, under different circumstances, the Bulldogs broke their own record in a loss to Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
The Bulldogs overcame a turnover on their first drive before scoring nine straight touchdowns. The fifth-ranked Seminoles (13-1, 9-0 ACC) entered halftime with a score of 42-3 (to be fair, added Several deviations by the Seminoles)
Required Reading: Georgia football vs. Florida State scores, updates, Orange Bowl highlights
The margin between the Bulldogs and Seminoles is actually four points big Against the break than last season's score. The Bulldogs didn't slow down against FSU until the record was already set with a final score of 63-3: a ridiculous 60-point margin of victory.
Which begs the question: Where does the 2023 Orange Bowl rank among the biggest blowouts in bowl game history? Check out the company Georgia kept after knocking off Florida:
What is the greatest blowout in bowl game history?
Georgia's 63-3 score from the 2023 Orange Bowl gives Georgia the new bowl game record for most wins in a bowl game: 60 points. Not only did the Bulldogs score nine straight touchdowns, they also limited the offense to 209 for 673 yards.
Previously, the biggest blowout in bowl game history was set last season by Smart's undefeated CFP champion Bulldogs. With a 65-7 victory over the Horned Frogs, top-ranked Georgia also set a national championship game record (58 points). Any Bowl game.
The previous record for the largest margin of victory in the championship game was Nebraska's 62-24 victory over Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, a 38-point victory. The most points scored in any bowl game was 56, a feat that spanned three previous bowl games.
Required Reading: Georgia football stomped Florida State in the Orange Bowl to finish the season 13-1.
Largest blowout in Orange Bowl history
Georgia's 63-3 blowout over Florida State is not only the largest blowout in Orange Bowl history, but also in bowl game history. Prior to 2023, 55 points was the largest in Orange Bowl history when Alabama beat Syracuse 61-6 in the 1953 edition of the game.
Most points scored in Orange Bowl history
The Orange Bowl record for most points scored by a winning team was 70 when West Virginia defeated Clemson 70–33 in the 2012 Orange Bowl. That game also holds the record for the highest scoring Orange Bowl (103 points).
Georgia eventually fell short of that margin by a touchdown, though it knelt down at the Florida State 22 in the game's final minute and could have tied the Mountaineers' record.
Biggest blowouts in bowl game history
Here's a look at the top 10 biggest blowouts in bowl game history. Following the 2023 Orange Bowl, Georgia now has two of the biggest blowouts in bowl game history:
- 1. Georgia 63, Florida State 3 (2023 Orange Bowl)
- 2. Georgia 65, TCU 7 (2023 CFP Championship Game)
- D-3. LSU 63, Purdue 7 (2023 Citrus Bowl)
- D-3. Army 70, Houston 14 (2018 Army Bowl)
- D-3. Tulsa 63, Bowling Green 7 (2008 GMAC Bowl)
- 6. Alabama 61, Syracuse 6 (1953 Orange Bowl)
- 7. Texas A&M 65, BYU 14 (1990 Holiday Bowl)
- D-8. Auburn 63, Purdue 14 (2018 Music City Bowl)
- D-8. Nebraska 66, Northwestern 17 (2000 Alamo Bowl)
- 10. Boise State 55, Northern Illinois 7 (2015 Poinsettia Bowl)
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