Game Preview: Ohio State Seeks Redemption In College Football Playoff Matchup With Georgia

"Nobody really gives us a chance to win this game anyway, so we’re going to let it all out."

Ohio State’s national championship hopes appeared to come crashing down in last month’s 45-23 loss to Michigan, but the Buckeyes received a second chance when Utah upset USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game, allowing them to sneak into the College Football Playoff.

“It took a different road to get here, but now we’re here,” head coach Ryan Day said. “If you said at the beginning of the year that you'd get a chance to be in the CFP and play in Atlanta against Georgia, the defending champs, you’d cut off your right arm for this opportunity.”

The Buckeyes will now look to do what they did in the inaugural College Football Playoff, when they upset SEC champion Alabama as the No. 4 seed on their way to the national title. The biggest difference, though, is that team was playing its best football heading into the playoff, while this year’s group is coming off a humiliating defeat to their rival.

“The good news is we have great experience being in this style of a game,” Day said. “This is our third time playing in the CFP in the last four year, so we have some really good examples to draw upon of what is going to transpire in this game.

“We’ve been talking to our guys about how much excitement there’s going to be at the stadium, the atmosphere, the electricity and how when you’re in games like this, every yard is a fight. Every first down, every points is going to be that way.

“So, we’ve been preparing that way, we’ve been practicing that way and we’ll continue to to do that throughout the week because we know what a challenge we have here … They’re defending national champs and undefeated this year, so we know what we’re up against.”

On the other hand, Ohio State was ranked in the top three for most of the season and represents the toughest opponent the Bulldogs have faced since last year’s national title game against the Crimson Tide. That gives the Buckeyes a chance to rewrite their story with a victory in the Peach Bowl.

“All the focus is playing the fastest and most violent game we’ve played here Saturday night at 8 o’clock,” Day said. “All this work that we’ve put in the last month is going to show. Our guys are going to play with confidence because we’ve had a really good month of prep.

“We know what we need to in this game to win, and that’s the way this month has been at practice every day. There’s been an edge. There’s been friction. There’s been conflict. There’s been a lot of that going on, and that’s a healthy thing.

“Nobody really gives us a chance to win this game anyway, so we’re going to let it all out. We’re going to play as hard as we possibly can and look up after four quarters and see where we’re at.”

General Info

Date: Dec. 31, 2022
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA)
Expected Weather: Indoors
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET

Current Betting Numbers

Spread: Georgia (-6.5)
O/U Total: 62.0
Betting: Check out the new SISportsbook!

How to Watch/Listen

Television: ESPN
Streaming: fuboTV (get a 7-day free trial)
Announcers: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline)

Local Radio: Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Flagship: WBNS 97.1 The Fan
Announcers: Paul Keels (play-by-play), Jim Lachey (analyst), Matt Andrews (sideline reporter)

Series History

Georgia leads Ohio State, 1-0

LAST TIME THEY MET
1993: Georgia 21, Ohio State 14 (Florida Citrus Bowl)

Coaching Matchup

Ryan Day
• At Ohio State: 4th Season, Record: 45-5
• Overall: Same
• Record vs. Georgia: 0-0

Kirby Smart
• At Georgia: 7th Season, Record: 79-15
• Overall: Same
• Record vs. Ohio State: 0-0 (0-1 as an assistant at Alabama)

More News From Sports Illustrated: College Football Bowl Schedule | A Look Inside Georgia's Ferocious Defense | The Schemes And Plays That Will Decide Michigan-TCU | What We'll Remember From 2022: The Year Of Chaos

Ohio State Capsule

After missing the loss to the Wolverines with a sprained right foot, Ohio State fifth-year senior right guard Matthew Jones is now fully healthy. That’s great news for the Buckeyes, as he’ll be lined up against presumed top-10 pick Jalen Carter, who anchors the nation’s best run defense (77.0 yards per game and 2.94 yards per carry).

“He’s a very good player,” Day said of Carter. “He disrupts the game and their entire front is really good. They really don’t have any weaknesses on defense. They’re very, very good and you can see why they’re ranked one of the best in the country. Our guys know what the challenge is, and that’s why we’ve been preparing so hard.”

As a whole, Georgia’s defense allows just 12.8 points and 292.0 yards per game, good for second and eighth in the country, respectively. They’re also No. 1 in red zone defense, as opponents have scored just nine touchdowns and kicked eight field goals in 28 trips inside of the 20-yard line.

“We’re going to have to be balanced like we always are. We’re going to have to find ways to score in the red zone. We’re going to have to be creative in all kinds of different areas,” Day said. “But, at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to who’s more physical, who’s winning the game upfront, who’s going to play harder, who’s going to play through the whistle and who’s going to play four quarters.

“They’re a very, very good team, but so are we. This is going to be a great game on Saturday night. Our guys are excited about that. When you get to this point of year, this is where you want to be. All the focus has been on this game for our guys.”

Georgia Capsule

If Ohio State is going to beat Georgia on Saturday night to punch its ticket to the national championship, the defense absolutely must contain tight ends Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington, who have combined for 78 catches for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

It’ll be a tall task, though, as Bowers’ athleticism – which helped him become this year's Mackey Award winner and the only player in the country with a rushing and receiving touchdown of 75 yards or more – and Washington’s size (6-foot-7 and 270 pounds) could create a matchup issue for the Buckeyes on the back end.

“The fact that they can line up tight to the formation and wide, you have to prepare for those two tight end sets,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “They’re not going to do that all the time, but if you’re not prepared for that, they can do damage from the line of scrimmage. They’re certainly dangerous wherever they line up.”

The Buckeyes’ defense has kept opposing tight ends in check this season, notably holding consensus All-American Michael Mayer to five catches for 32 yards in the season-opening win over Notre Dame and Sam LaPorta, the Big Ten’s leading receiver among tight ends, to six receptions for 55 yards in the victory over Iowa in October.

“Absolutely, you play off that – and you can build on it,” Knowles said when asked if that translates to this weekend’s game against the Bulldogs. “Now there’s two of them, so maybe we need to multiply, but the system part of it, you can show examples and it’s good.”

Major Storyline

• This will be Georgia’s 11th game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, including the third this season, while Ohio State will be making its first appearance at the venue, which opened in 2017.
• This marks the fifth appearance in the College Football Playoff for the Buckeyes since its inception in 2014. They are 3-3 all-time, including a victory in the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.
• Ohio State averaged 44.3 points per game in the three playoff victories but just 15.6 points in the three playoff losses. The Buckeyes have scored 20 points or more in an FBS record 73 straight games, meanwhile.
• Ohio State is 2-0 in the College Football Playoff as the No. 4 seed, knocking off No. 1 Alabama, 42-35, in the 2015 Sugar Bowl and No. 2 Oregon, 42-20, in the aforementioned national title game.
• The Buckeyes are 27-27 all-time in bowl games, including the 31-26 victory over Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl, which was subsequently vacated due to NCAA violations.
• Ohio State and Georgia have met just once before, as the Buckeyes fell to the Bulldogs, 21-14, in the 1993 Florida Citrus Bowl. Georgia co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp recorded one tackle for the Bulldogs that afternoon.
• That was also the final collegiate game for former Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who will be calling the Peach Bowl for ESPN. He threw for just 110 yards and an interception, was sacked three times and fumbled once.
• Ohio State and Georgia are scheduled for a home-and-home series in 2030 and 2031. The Buckeyes will play in Athens on Sept. 14, 2030, and the Bulldogs will travel to Columbus on Aug. 30, 2031.
• Ohio State is the only team to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game every year since the 2014 season (nine appearances). This will be Georgia’s sixth straight appearance, meanwhile.
• Four Buckeyes are from Georgia, including linebacker Steele Chambers (Roswell), cornerback Jordan Hancock (Suwanee), wide receiver Kojo Antwi (Suwanee) and tight end Bennett Christian (Acworth). No Bulldogs are from Ohio, though.

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