The Sugar Bowl showdown between the Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish has been postponed to Thursday after a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street, according to Erin Lowrey of WDSU News in New Orleans and confirmed by Sugar Bowl officials. The initial agreement was a 24-hour postponement from the scheduled 8:45 p.m. ET start, but now the game is scheduled to begin a few hours earlier at 4 p.m. ET, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.
The first reports said 10 people had been killed in the attack, but that number has since jumped to 15, per ABC News, and an ex-Princeton football player is among the dead. At least 25 more people are hospitalized, and a Georgia student was revealed to be injured.
ESPN's Laura Rutledge spoke more about the situation Wednesday afternoon, noting that the Georgia football team is in lockdown at their hotel:
BREAKING: The Sugar Bowl has been postponed following the deadly attack in New Orleans, where investigators are still combing the crime scene and working to secure the French Quarter.
ESPN's Laura Rutledge has the latest on the game which was set to kickoff tonight. pic.twitter.com/lzE9gn4pxW
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) January 1, 2025
Initial plans suggested the Sugar Bowl would still be played as scheduled on Wednesday night, according to ESPN. New Orleans Police Commissioner Anne Fitzpatrick said there would be heightened security at the Superdome for the College Football Playoff matchup, and the Sugar Bowl Committee released a statement on the tragedy.
“The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said in a statement. “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 horrific attack occurred around 3:15 a.m. local time as people engaged in New Year's celebrations deep into the night. A 42-year-old Army veteran named Shamsud-Din Jabbar was identified as the man who drove through the crowd in a white truck and also opened fire with a gun. He was ultimately shot and killed by police when he got out of his truck and fired an assault rifle at them.
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said. “It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could.”
The FBI released a statement Wednesday morning and labeled the attack “an act of terrorism” as part of its investigation. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell also called it a “terrorist attack.” There was at least one suspected improvised explosive device found on the scene, and the ongoing investigation has turned up information that has the FBI believing Jabbar didn't act alone. Surveillance footage allegedly shows several other people planting potential explosive devices in the area.
This attack will cast a pall over the highly anticipated Sugar Bowl matchup. Georgia is the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff and earned a bye. Notre Dame took down Indiana in the first round to set up this quarterfinal matchup in New Orleans.