Ohio State (11-1) vs Georgia (13-0)
When: Saturday, December 31st 2022
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium,
Atlanta, GA
Time: 8:00 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Georgia -7/61.5
The final game of the calendar year in College Football is a big one. This year’s Peach Bowl from Atlanta, Georgia is a playoff game featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Georgia Bulldogs. The winner will face either TCU or Michigan on Jan. 9 in Glendale, Arizona for all the marbles. The Buckeyes are still licking their wounds from being manhandled at home on Nov. 26 to rival Michigan 45-23. Still, because Southern California lost to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship, the Buckeyes get new life. Ohio State has an offense that ranks second in scoring with 44.5 points a game compared to Georgia’s 39.2. The Buckeyes offense will face a stiff test against a Bulldogs defense that is second nationally in scoring at just 12.8 points per contest. Ohio State is playing in the Peach Bowl for the first time and is 3-3 in four previous CFP appearances. They won the inaugural championship after the 2014 season and finished runner-up to Alabama in 2020.
This is Georgia’s second game in this stadium this month. They completed their undefeated season by beating up LSU 50-30 on Dec. 3 to claim another SEC title. The Bulldogs lost 41-24 to Alabama in last year’s SEC title game but beat Michigan 34-11 in the CFP before defeating No. 1 Alabama 33-18 for the national championship. Georgia is 3-1 in their two playoff appearances. In 2017, they lost to Alabama in the title game before last season’s championship title. The Bulldogs are 6.5-point favorites and are seeing over 85% of the bets so far from the public. The total is 62. These schools have only met once before. It was the 1993 Florida Citrus Bowl in which Georgia won 21-14.
It looked as if Ohio State was heading to the Rose Bowl after getting beat up by the Wolverines in the regular season finale. The Buckeyes allowed 252 yards rushing and 530 total. However, the CFP committee picked them after USC’s loss to Utah and the Buckeyes will be playing in the CFP for the fifth time in nine years. This is probably the last collegiate game for record-setting quarterback CJ Stroud, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. Stroud could be the No. overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He threw for 3,340 yards with 37 TDs and just six interceptions. Stroud and the Buckeyes won’t have two of their best offensive weapons in running back TreVeyon Henderson and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who are both hurt. But the Buckeyes will still have the pair of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, who had over 1,000 receiving yards each. Ohio State finished 11th overall in points allowed at just 19.3.
Georgia is the favorite to win this year’s championship and be the first repeat winner in the CFP era. This is also the Bulldog’s 11th game all-time at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is 72 miles from campus. The senior class has established a school record for most career victories with a 47-5 record and kept the program’s bowl appearance streak alive at 26 – the longest current streak in the nation. The offense is led by quarterback Stetson Bennett, who threw for 3,425 yards, 20 TDs and six picks and is 27-3 as a starting quarterback. His favorite target is Brock Bowers, who won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. Not only does Georgia rank second nationally in scoring defense, but are No. 1 against the rush (77.0 ypg). The Under is 5-0 in Georgia’s last five bowl games.
I’m taking the points in this one, but I’m not as confident in this one as I am the TCU vs. Michigan game. The Georgia defense is terrific, but they did allow 30 to LSU in the SEC title game. Stroud has plenty of weapons despite two of them not playing and should be able to help Ohio State keep it close. The Buckeyes defense is solid despite what Michigan did to them.
Pick: Ohio State +6.5
