SI

The Schemes That Will Decide Georgia-Ohio State in the College Football Playoff

Both teams will be forced to adapt and adjust to their opponent’s unique style of play, making for a compelling Peach Bowl matchup.

Richard Johnson

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The thing that jumps off the screen about the Peach Bowl semifinal is obvious: the ridiculous amount of talent both Georgia and Ohio State bring to the table. Both teams entered the season at No. 2 and No. 3 in the country in the team talent composite. Georgia obviously cashed in on its potential last season with a national championship and another undefeated season to date. The Buckeyes, conversely, are still recovering from the sting of the loss to Michigan that they’re tired of talking about. It’s been almost a calendar year since the Dawgs have faced a team with this level of athleticism, so how can they attempt to repeat their title run, and how can the Buckeyes try to ruin UGA’s perfect season?

When Georgia has the ball

Georgia is one of the country’s leaders in 12-personnel usage (which is when an offense lines up with two tight ends and one running back). Much of the past two decades has seen football move more toward 10 (one running back, no tight ends) and 11-personnel packages (one running back and one tight end). In simplest terms, basing the offense out of 12-personnel creates a distinct disadvantage for many defenses, which overarchingly have moved to putting five defensive backs on the field, subbing a linebacker, or a defensive lineman, to better defend the pass. That creates a particular matchup problem for many defenses. How Ohio State matches up in that scenario specifically will go a long way to determining the game, as Georgia’s tight ends Darnell Washington and Brock Bowers are unique talents.

In another reality, we’d be concerned with how the 6’7” Washington can develop a midrange jump shot, because people built like him are more likely to be playing basketball than operating as a sixth offensive lineman for the Dawgs.

But it’s not just his blocking ability that makes him unique. His freaky athleticism shows up in his receptions as well.

He may get the ball sparingly, but that’s only because of what Georgia has in its other tight end, Bowers. If Washington were the Dawgs’ only tight end, they would be more than O.K. on offense, but Bowers adds a truly unique gear to what UGA can do. Whereas Washington overwhelmingly lines up on the line of scrimmage, Bowers is actually more likely to be lined up as a slot receiver or even as a conventional wideout, where he offers a significant matchup nightmare against even larger cornerbacks.

Georgia’s also not afraid to give him the ball unconventionally to just let him work with the pigskin in his hands. 

Bowers may get the bulk of the glory in the tight end room because of what he does with the ball, but he’s quick to point to his compatriot as the key to Georgia’s success.

“I think most of the offense circles around [Washington], because he’s basically a sixth lineman that can run routes and catch balls,” Bowers said. “He’ll go road grade anybody in front of them, but he can also have the finesse to go in and grab it off someone’s head.”

These schematic changeups work to help Stetson Bennett be the ultimate distributor. Bennett is not consistently throwing deep in this offense; his air yards per pass are not going to make you confuse him for C.J. Stroud, but eventually, you can only underrate a player like Bennett for so long. As a Heisman Trophy finalist and the steady hand that guides this unit with only six interceptions on the season, properly rating him as the control of the offense puts proper context to what he can do, and he does so behind an offensive line that often gives him clean pockets in the passing game…

…and plows the road for a running game that features some more plays involving pulling linemen (referred to as gap scheme) than last season, a favorite of running back Kenny McIntosh, who forms a quartet with Daijun Edwards, Kendall Milton and Branson Robinson.

“[The offensive linemen are] athletes, bro. They do a good job of staying in front of you. That’s something we got to take note of going into the game. They’re a bunch of athletes. Their footwork shows that much,” Ohio State defensive lineman Zach Harrison said. “They do a great job of mirroring guys, especially the pass game. They’ve got good punches, and they do a good job of getting their hands on you and trying to control the blocks.”

Bennett is also a threat on the ground, whether it’s designed runs or breaking the pocket and creating for himself.

Georgia doesn’t generate a tremendous amount of explosive plays. That’s good for Ohio State since that was its main problem against Michigan, with The Game slipping away as it sold out to stop the run, leading to multiple big plays in the run game after breakdowns in the secondary allowed the Wolverines to hit huge plays in the passing game in the first half. So Ohio State will need its own defensive game-breaker, J.T. Tuimoloau, to show up and have at least something like his Penn State outing when he single-handedly took over the game. 

But the Ohio State defense’s best friend may actually be its offense.

When Ohio State has the ball

Ohio State also has its own standout tight end in Cade Stover, who is the key to the Buckeyes’ split flow zone running game. The Buckeyes should have running back Miyan Williams for the game, as reports from Atlanta during game week indicate he can go. But the clearest path to victory in this game is igniting the electric connection between quarterback C.J. Stroud and Marvin Harrison Jr. They’ve combined for 12 touchdowns this season, and Harrison has emerged as arguably the nation’s best receiver.

MORE: Family, Football and Forgiveness: C.J. Stroud’s Road to the Playoff Was Anything but Easy

Last year’s Georgia defense did have one hole in the exhaust port of its death star exposed by Alabama, when Bryce Young and Jameson Williams ran roughshod over them in the SEC championship game for seven catches, 184 yards and two touchdowns. For as good as the Dawgs were last year, Williams was better, and if the Buckeyes are to win this game, Harrison will likely have to have that sort of day. That evening, Young also showed an ability to escape the pocket and create with his legs that Stroud hasn’t often, but that capacity is there and can give the Buckeyes a changeup that Georgia likely will have trouble containing. Stroud is not a threat to run often, but if he is called upon to do it a few times in this game, it gives Ohio State’s offense an extra dimension.

The key for Ohio State is turning this game into a track meet—far easier said than done against the Georgia defense. When he’s in the pocket, Stroud will have to contend with pressure. If there is one knock on the standout OSU signal-caller, it is how he operates when under pressure—albeit not often, thanks to Ohio State’s standout offensive line—but Georgia presents a significant challenge in Jalen Carter, probably the best all-around defensive player in the country.

Pressure up the middle can be an absolute killer for quarterbacks, and Carter brings that better than any player in the country, wrecking plays and making up for the fact that Georgia lacks a truly dominant edge rusher, as Nolan Smith has been sidelined with an injury. The strength of Georgia’s defense, outside of Carter, has shifted a bit to the secondary after most of the interior players from last year’s unit went to the NFL. Chris Smith, Kelee Ringo and newcomer Malaki Starks combine to form a formidable backend to the Dawgs’ defense. How they compete with Harrison and WR Emeka Egbuka creates the most intriguing unit matchup in the entire College Football Playoff.

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Richard Johnson
RICHARD JOHNSON

Richard Johnson is known for his college sports expertise. He co-hosts the “Split Zone Duo” podcast and co-authored The Sinful Seven: Sci-fi Western Legends of the NCAA. Richard was the 2022 winner of the Edward Aschoff Rising Star Award, and previously appeared as an analyst on the SEC Network show “Thinking Out Loud.” He established an early career with ESPN and SB Nation before joining Sports Illustrated in 2021 and lives in Brooklyn.

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