Georgia's College Football Playoff matchup set. It's Ohio State in the Peach Bowl
The College Football Playoff selection committee Sunday put together a semifinal matchup pairing two marquee brand names that got there in decidedly different ways.
Top-seed Georgia, the reigning national champions, is unbeaten and coming off a 50-30 SEC championship win over LSU.
No. 4 Ohio State sat home on championship weekend after rival Michigan trucked the Buckeyes 45-23 in the regular season finale.
The Bulldogs and Buckeyes will meet Dec. 31 in the Peach Bowl national semifinal in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN.
"It will be a premier matchup, which our guys love," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on ESPN. "When you make the final four whether you're one through four, it doesn't matter. What matters is how you manage this time building up to this game and the nature of the game because there's a lot of build up."
No. 2 Michigan will go up against No. 3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. on the same day at 4 p.m on ESPN in the other semifinal. The national championship game is Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Ohio State got in after Southern Cal faltered in a win-and-get in scenario and was upset 47-24 to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game Friday night.
“Coach (Ryan) Day, you’re welcome,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham told Fox Sports after the game.
The 11-1 Buckeyes backed into the playoff by moving up a spot to make the final four, leaving two-loss Alabama on the outside even with coach Nick Saban making the media rounds Saturday for a final appeal to the committee who were watching games in Grapevine, Texas and saw his pitch.
"It's been an emotional week here," Day said in a Peach Bowl Zoom press conference. "At our facility today, to see our name pop up there, a lot of juice and a lot of energy. We're looking for a great month of preparation and a great week down in Atlanta."
Day on ESPN's selection show called getting in the playoff like "a second lease on life. A couple of days ago, we were on life support, our season was, and now there's a two-game season ahead of us."
Georgia, which is 13-0 for the first time, and Ohio State have only played once before, a 21-14 Citrus Bowl win for the Bulldogs in the 1992 season. The teams are scheduled to play in 2030 and 2031 if that holds up with the changing nature of college athletics.
"Always knew that an opportunity to play them would come along but not knowing when it happened and it came to fruition this year," Smart said.
Ohio State is in the playoff for the fifth time in its nine years. Georgia is in for the third time after winning the national title in the 2021 season and losing in the championship game in the 2017 season.
"What a great program, what a great job Ryan's done there," Smart said on ESPN. "They've got a lot of really good players because we recruit a lot of the same kids. They've got a tremendous program."
The Buckeyes also reached the playoff in 2016 after not playing in its conference championship game. Alabama did it as well in 2017.
Ohio State’s best wins came against Notre Dame and Penn State, but muddled through November wins at Northwestern, 21-7, and Maryland, 43-30. The Buckeyes gave up 530 total yards to Michigan including 252 rushing.
“Hey, they better go in the weight room and get a lunch pail,” ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said before the pairings were announced. “Georgia is going to challenge their manhood at some point in the game.”
The game matches the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense of Ohio State (44.5 points per game) against the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense of Georgia (12.8).
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud leads the nation in passing efficiency (176.2) and touchdown passes (37) and wide receiver Marvin Harrison is fourth in the nation with 12 touchdown catches.
Ohio State is No. 6 and Georgia is No. 7 in total offense at 492.7 and 491.9, respectively.
"It's going to be a great matchup," Day said. "I've got so much respect for what they do in all three phases. Coaches, players, staff members, we've got to do everything we can to maximize this month and we're going to play a hard-fought game on the 31st."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia will go up against Ohio State in the Peach Bowl in a semifinal
