College Football Playoff
Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia (13-0) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (11-1), Saturday, 8 p.m. Eastern (ESPN)
FanDuel Sportsbook College Line: Georgia by 6.
Series record: Georgia defeated Ohio State 21-14 in the Florida Citrus Bowl to end the 1992 season in the only previous meeting between the schools.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Georgia is trying to become the first team since Alabama in 2011-12 to win consecutive national titles. A year ago, the Bulldogs claimed their first championship since the 1980 season. Ohio State can reach the national title game for the third time, even though they didn’t play for the Big Ten championship. The Buckeyes won the inaugural CFP title during the 2014-15 campaign and lost to Alabama in the championship game two seasons ago.
KEY MATCHUP
Georgia’s pass defense against Ohio State WRs Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. The Bulldogs gave up 502 yards passing against LSU in the SEC championship game — the most they’ve surrendered in Kirby Smart’s seven years as coach. Even though most of those yards came with Georgia comfortably ahead, it will be interesting to see if the Bulldogs can tighten things up against a talented receiving corps that has a Heisman Trophy finalist, C.J. Stroud, delivering the throws.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ohio State RB Miyan Williams missed much of practice this week with a stomach bug, and there’s also the question of an ankle injury he sustained last month against Indiana. Williams sat out one game and had only eight carries for 34 yards in a regular season-ending loss to Michigan. He’ll be going against a Georgia defense that has allowed just 77 rushing yards per game, best in the nation.
Georgia QB Stetson Bennett. The former walk-on is on the cusp of going down as one the greatest big-game quarterbacks in college football history. He claimed offensive MVP honors in Georgia’s two playoff victories a season ago. He did the same in this year’s SEC championship game. Over those three contests, Bennett has completed 60 of 85 passes for 811 yards and nine touchdowns with no interceptions.
FACTS & FIGURES
Georgia is playing at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium — about 75 miles from its Athens campus — for the third time this season. The Bulldogs opened with a 49-3 victory over Oregon, and romped past LSU 50-30 for the SEC title. … Ohio State is playing in the Peach Bowl for the first time. … Georgia is 4-2 in the Peach Bowl, its most recent appearance coming two seasons ago when the Bulldogs defeated Cincinnati 24-21. … The Buckeyes are hoping to duplicate their run to the national title during the inaugural playoff, when they upset SEC powerhouse Alabama in the Sugar Bowl semifinal and went on to beat Oregon in the title game. … Ohio State is making its fifth playoff appearance overall. … Georgia has reached the title game in its two previous CFP appearances, losing to Alabama to end the 2017 season before getting payback against the Crimson Tide a season ago. … Ohio State ranks second nationally in scoring (44.5 points a game).
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