College Football Playoff
The Peach Bowl
(4) Ohio State Buckeyes at (1) Georgia Bulldogs
Ohio State: They should be sending the Utah Utes a ton of thank you cards and unlimited orders of food. They needed the USC Trojans to lose in the Pac-12 Championship to ensure some madness and it happened. I kept saying for them to get in, it would take a USC loss. Now, let’s talk about the obvious. In their regular season finale, that was the worst they looked all season. Michigan came into the shoe and punched them in the mouth and that’s a fact. This is also the second consecutive season that they’ve fallen short to the Wolverines and haven’t won the Big Ten East, nor have they made the Big Ten Championship and it was coming to a point where they were penciled to win both the division and the conference title. The one thing I’ll give the Ohio State Buckeyes credit for is how they’ve improved as an overall team. If you watch their 2021 club, the offense did what was expected of them. It was the defense that let them down. This year, I saw a balanced group on both sides of the football, especially on the defensive side because they improved in so many aspects of the game and I’m talking the basics such as tackling, clogging lanes and getting off the field when opportunities presented itself. I remember saying during the regular season that even when the Buckeyes had a big lead, I still saw them play with a sense of urgency as if they were trailing in the game. To the other side of the ball, I go. This is an offense that can strike at any time. When Jaxson Smith-Njigba was dealing with injuries, Marvin Harrison Jr stepped up and became the best Wide Receiver in the country. C.J. Stroud was also a Heisman candidate once again. For the fourth time, they are a playoff team and will play in the Peach Bowl.
Georgia: I knew things were going to be different for them in 2022. After all, last season was as perfect as possible. I’ve been analyzing the sport of college football for a decade now and I’ve seen some special teams and their title winning group is one of them. They did just enough offensively and suffocated teams’ week in and out defensively. If you all remember, only one team scored more than 17 points on them last year and that was of course, the Alabama Crimson Tide. I had a feeling they would win the SEC East once again, but would they have the same motor that they did last season? It’s tough to duplicate that kind of success when you lost key pieces from a title winning team to the NFL. There were moments this year when teams scored 20 or more points on their defense. However, this is still an elite defense that will punish you when necessary. The offense deserves a lot more love and recognition because they can push the ball down the field with a physical running attack and say what you want about him, but when you need Stetson Bennett to deliver, he does it. On third down when you need a throw, he completes the pass and his mobility can also hurt a defense. They aren’t in this position without him. He may not be the sexiest name and his style of play may not wow you, but he complements this team very well and runs this offense only the way he can. The road to repeating as champions will begin on Saturday night as they begin their run in Atlanta.
Ohio State X-Factor: TreVeyon Henderson– I feel he flies under the radar because of the prolific passing attack, but he’s another key part of what they do as an offense. TreVeyon is a lot quicker than people give him credit for and that’s one thing people don’t truly realize until they watch him. This year, I saw a more patient runner as he patiently waited for lanes to open instead of just trucking through as he did in 2021. TreVeyon has versatility, explosiveness and patience. I especially like when he pass blocks and picks up blitzes. His ability to cut and accelerate is what also stands out to me.
Georgia X-Factor: Jamon Dumas-Johnson: There will never be a shortage of talent on this defense. Jamon is a prime example of this. He was on last year’s team but was out shadowed by Nakobe Dean of course. Jamon might be their quickest Linebacker. He patrols from sideline to sideline, gets into the backfield and he’s a true ballhawk. It doesn’t matter where he might be, Jamon will find his way to that football in any way, shape or form. Roquan Smith was a star playing Linebacker in Athens and so was Nakobe Dean. Jamon is cut from the same cloth as those two.
Final Thoughts: This is basically a home game for the Bulldogs with it being in Atlanta. Talk about a battle of strength facing strength here. On one side, Ohio State ranks sixth nationally in total offense averaging nearly 500 yards a game. In other words, they can strike at any time. On the other side, Georgia ranks ninth nationally in total defense as they give up less than 300 yards a game. Something must give, right? The key for the Buckeyes will be to run the football and churn out yards. Don’t put Stroud in the pressure-packed position to take the game over with his arm. For the Dawgs, if this offense can score 28 points and jump out to a big lead, they should breeze through this contest. They will need to put four touchdowns on the board. I can’t wait to see how this Georgia secondary battles with Marvin Harrison Jr.
Prediction: Georgia 38, Ohio State 23
