ATLANTA — At long last, game day is finally here for the Bulldogs as they will take on Ohio State later tonight in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
The Bulldogs will be in the same building they played their last game, a 50-30 win over the LSU Tigers. This will be the Bulldogs’ third game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as Georgia also beat Oregon 49-3 earlier this season.
Ohio State meanwhile is coming off a loss in its most recent game against Michigan. But the Buckeyes did win all 11 of their previous games by double digits.
Georgia is a slight favorite in the game, by the line has moved in Ohio State’s direction as Georgia is a 5.5-point favorite. The Bulldogs understand why they are expected to win the game and are not ducking those expectations.
“The expectations don’t change. We embrace that,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “The standards that are created are created through the players that play there, and we’ve had a really good leadership kind of over the last six, seven years, and they’ve created a standard for the younger players to emulate, and that’s going on now.”
Not that it has any barring on the game but many in the media also think the Bulldogs will win on Saturday night. A number of analysts across multiple outlets have shared their thoughts on the game, with many pointing to Georgia’s Jalen Carter being a significant reason as to why.
It is worth noting though that ESPN’s Lee Corso did pick Ohio State to win, as the College GameDay analyst put on the Buckeyes’ headgear.
Neither of these teams are strangers to the College Football Playoff, as Ohio State had made five appearances in the College Football Playoff, while this will be the third for Georgia. The Bulldogs are the defending champions, after beating Michigan and Alabama in the 2021-22 College Football Playoff.
“I knew the kind of year it would be,” Smart said. “It’s always a little tougher to bring everybody back to home base. It was much easier for us this year because we had so many players leave, and we had a hungrier young team.”
Georgia-Ohio State will be the second College Football Playoff game of the day, as Michigan and TCU play in the Fiesta Bowl at 4 p.m. ET. Georgia and Ohio State will follow, closing things out at 8 p.m. ET. on ESPN.
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- How injured Nolan Smith continues to help Georgia football win: ‘He’s been a huge help to everyone’
- Georgia All-American Jalen Carter opens up, ready to ‘show the world’ what he can do
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- Finally healthy, AD Mitchell ready to make big plays in College Football Playoff: ‘He’s an electric player’
