The 2022 college football season can best be described as unpredictable.
Historical powerhouses like Clemson and Alabama lost multiple regular-season games, so both are out of the College Football Playoff. This allowed for other one-loss teams like TCU (12-1) and Ohio State (11-1) to get into the semifinals.
The only perfect teams after conference championship week were the Michigan Wolverines (13-0) and Georgia Bulldogs (13-0).
Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines will face the third-ranked Horned Frogs in Glendale, Ariz. for the Fiesta Bowl trophy while Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs will take on the fourth-ranked Buckeyes in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.
The bowl games will be played on New Year’s Eve, with the winners to meet at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles two Mondays later (Jan. 9, 2023).
After Georgia beat LSU 50-30 in the SEC Championship game last Saturday, Smart hopped on a virtual call with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day to talk about the upcoming matchup between the two teams.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Ryan [Day] and Ohio State. What a tremendous job he has consistently done, year in and year out, with that program,” Smart said. “It should be an electric matchup with an electric atmosphere. It’s really what college football is all about – these kids having an opportunity to play in a game like this.”
The Bulldogs know a thing or two about the electric atmosphere they’ll be playing in come game day.
Georgia has played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium twice already this year and nine times since 2017. In this year’s two games, the Bulldogs’ offense averaged 49.5 points per game after beating the Oregon Ducks 49-3 in Week 1 and LSU by 20 last Saturday.
Day acknowledged Georgia’s offense will be difficult to scheme for.
“Stetson Bennett does a great job in all areas. I’ve got a lot of respect for the way he plays,” Day said. “They certainly put a lot of stress on you with multiple tight ends, a really good offensive line and skill players on the outside. The focus over the next couple weeks has got to be working on fundamentals and getting guys healthy.”
On the flip side, Ohio State’s offense is one of the best in the country and Georgia’s defense will have its hands full.
The Buckeyes tout Heisman hopeful CJ Stroud as quarterback and field general. The junior has thrown for 3,340 yards through 12 games and added 37 touchdowns compared to only six interceptions on the year.
Ohio State will not be getting back its top target in Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the first-round playoff game against Georgia. The 6-foot-1 wide receiver played in only three games during the regular season and has declared for the NFL draft.
With some of Georgia’s secondary getting exposed in the second half against the Tigers last weekend, the Buckeyes' top-15 passing attack may cause issues for Smart and his defensive staff.
Ultimately, the Bulldogs come into the playoffs with more momentum than the Buckeyes. Georgia just won an SEC Championship on its last outing while Ohio State lost by 22 at home to the No. 2 Wolverines.
The two programs haven’t played in almost 30 years, but with how wild some of these college football finishes have been recent, expect a hard-fought match.