The College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the 2025 Sugar Bowl has been postponed after 15 people were killed and about 30 people were injured early Wednesday morning in New Orleans when an armed man drove a pickup truck into a large crowd on Bourbon Street in a deadly attack.
Jeff Hundley, Sugar Bowl committee CEO, announced that the game will now be played on Thursday after consultation with officials from all parties involved. ‘All agree it’s in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game,’ Hundley told reporters.
The CFP No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 7 seed Notre Dame were originally scheduled to kick off at 8:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday in the Sugar Bowl game. The two teams will now play at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday and the winner still advances to face No. 6 seed Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 as part of the CFP semifinals.
“There’s just too much stuff we don’t know. It’s just not worth it,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said during a news conference with state, city and law enforcement officials, addressing the decision to postpone the game.
The deadly incident in New Orleans happened around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to the city’s emergency responders, a little over 16 hours before Notre Dame and Georgia were previously scheduled to begin their quarterfinal matchup less than a mile away at the Caesars Superdome. The driver was driving at a high speed and within moments started firing on police officers from inside the vehicle, according to New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.
USA TODAY confirmed with New Orleans police that the driver was fatally shot by police. The FBI said in an initial statement Wednesday that it was ‘working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.’ The FBI identified the driver as 42-year-old U.S. citizen and Texas resident Shamsud Din Jabbar. Federal law enforcement officials stated that an ISIS flag, weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter, according to the FBI, who also indicated it did not believe Jabbar acted alone.
Kirkpatrick said initially the Sugar Bowl game would be played as scheduled. Bill Cassidy, a Republican U.S. senator in Louisiana, also told CNN in an interview Wednesday that he was ‘extremely confident’ the Sugar Bowl game would be played.
‘The standard operating procedure for a big game like the Sugar Bowl, for a Saints game, for the Super Bowl is to go through the building, make sure there’s nothing there that’s wrong, and then to lock it down,’ Cassidy said. ‘The Sugar Bowl, the Superdome has been locked down. There is going to be no problem there.’
University of Georgia president Jere Morehead announced Wednesday one of the victims who was critically injured in the early morning act of violence was a Georgia student. Notre Dame said it was ‘working with law enforcement and others to determine the full scope and impact of the tragedy.’
Former senior U.S. counterterrorism official Javed Ali told USA TODAY things can evolve as the FBI investigation unfolds, including scenarios that could impact the Sugar Bowl.
Based on what the FBI and other authorities have made public to date, “This wasn’t just one person acting on their own, and however many other people are involved in this conspiracy, they’re on the loose right now,” said Ali, who is not involved in the investigation but has held senior U.S. intelligence positions across multiple agencies.
Many factors would have to go into whether the game should be held as scheduled, further postponed or even canceled, Ali said. “That’s going to have to be something to figure out from a risk management perspective,” he said.
When is the Sugar Bowl: Updated time, date, TV for Georgia vs. Notre Dame
The 2025 Sugar Bowl was postponed in the wake of Wednesday’s tragic events on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Here’s the latest information on when the CFP quarterfinal game between No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 7 seed Notre Dame is happening and how to watch:
- Date: Thursday, January 2
- Time: 4 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
- Location: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
Josh Meyer contributed to this story. This article has been updated with new information and a new video.
