ATHENS — Georgia is officially in the College Football Playoff, having earned the No. 3 overall seed.

The Bulldogs have gone 12-1 to this point, with their latest win coming in the SEC championship game on Saturday. The Bulldogs stomped Alabama 28-7 to avenge their only loss of the season.

Georgia will play in the Sugar Bowl, which is set for a Jan. 1 date. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

As for who Georgia will play, that will be determined in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs will take on the winner of No. 6 seed Ole Miss vs. No. 11 seed Tulane.

Georgia is one of five teams from the SEC to make the College Football Playoff, as the Bulldogs join Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Alabama. Those five teams to make it are the most from any one conference this season.

Georgia has made the 12-team College Football Playoff in back-to-back seasons. It is the only SEC team to do so, while Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon all replicated the feat in the Big Ten.

It’s the fifth time in 10 seasons that Georgia has made the College Football Playoff under Kirby Smart.

“All the credit goes to the players who have had a very long, tough, hard season,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Saturday. “The kids in our program buy into hard. I appreciate their toughness in the way they do things. That pays off in the long run. To win back-to-back SEC championships, it’s every kid in this footprint’s dream, and an honor to be at Georgia and to be the head coach here and win games like this.”

Because of Saturday’s win, Georgia clinched a berth into the College Football Playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. The Bulldogs were joined by Indiana, Texas Tech, Tulane and James Madison in that regard.

Being a top-four seed also gives the Bulldogs a first-round bye. Georgia is joined by Indiana, Ohio State and Texas Tech as the top four seeds.

The bye gives Georgia some time to rest after a physical season and SEC championship game. The Bulldogs were without starting defensive back Joenel Aguero on Saturday, while wide receiver Noah Thomas left the game due to back spasms.

Georgia beat Ole Miss earlier this season 43-35 when the two teams met in Athens on Oct. 19. Ole Miss will play Tulane in the first round, with the Rebels having beaten them 45-10 on Sept. 20.

With some much-needed time off, they should be back healthy for when Georgia next takes the field on Jan. 1.

You can see the full rankings and bracket for the College Football Playoff field below.

Final College Football Playoff rankings, Bracket

First-round byes: Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech

Final College Football Playoff rankings