Looking Back At Ohio State’s Lone Previous Meeting With Georgia Ahead Of Peach Bowl

A fumbled handoff in the red zone proved costly in a seven-point loss in the 1993 Florida Citrus Bowl.

When Ohio State takes on Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal later this month, it will not only be the program’s first-ever trip to the Peach Bowl, it will also be just the second all-time meeting between the Buckeyes and Bulldogs.

The other matchup came in the 1993 Florida Citrus Bowl, when quarterback Eric Zeier threw for 242 yards and running back Garrison Hearst rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 8 Georgia to a 21-14 victory, with Hearst earning the game’s Most Valuable Player honors.

Robert Smith rushed for a team-high 112 yards and two touchdowns for No. 15 Ohio State, meanwhile. It was notably the final game for quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who completed just 8-of-24 passes for 110 yards and an interception, was sacked three times and fumbled a handoff.

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The final turnover was costly, as the Buckeyes were in the red zone and could have kicked the go-ahead field goal on the next play. But the Bulldogs drove 80 yards from there, with running back Frank Harvey’s one-yard rush with 4:32 remaining proving to be the game-winner.

“Their ability to throw the ball and our inability to throw it was probably the difference,” said head coach John Cooper, who suffered his fourth straight bowl defeat that afternoon. “We wanted to force them to throw, but they were able to do it, and we weren’t.”

Looking beyond the Peach Bowl, which will kick off at 8 p.m. on ESPN on Dec. 31, Ohio State and Georgia are also scheduled to play a home-and-home series in Athens on Sept. 14, 2030, and Columbus on Aug. 30, 2031.

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