“They have played really hard in practice. I think there is a good look in our guys’ eyes. We will give them a couple of days off here for Christmas and then we’ll get back together down in Atlanta. We know what we’re in for. We know what the challenge is, and we’ve been working really hard toward it.”
With the game being a College Football Playoff semifinal, the Buckeyes and Bulldogs figure to be locked in when they arrive in Atlanta.
While it is a business trip, it’s also still a bowl game.
That means there is time for fun built into the schedule.
“It’s always an awesome event,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “It’s grown from a long time ago being small to being one of the best there is in the business. So a lot of connection to the people and the organization and the Peach Bowl.
“It’s an honor to see a lot of familiar faces. Spent a lot of time with (Peach Bowl CEO and president Gary Stokan), having played as a player in the Peach Bowl twice and coached in it multiple times throughout my career. They do as good a job as anybody at entertaining the players and putting on a first class event.
“So thanks to the Peach Bowl. We look forward to being there.”
Stokan traveled to Ohio in mid-December to officially invite the Buckeyes to Atlanta and share some the plans for the week.
“We use the theme of live, laugh and learn for the players,” Stokan said. “Everything we do around this bowl game is a reward for the players.”
Both teams scheduled to tour the College Football Hall of Fame and have a dinner together there Monday night.
On Tuesday, each team will visit separate local hospitals, and in the evening they will meet up at Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the home church of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his father.
At the church, Stokan said the players will hear a presentation about the history of the church and the civil rights moment then get a chance to interact with each other.
When that is over, the teams will have a basketball challenge at their hotels.
On Wednesday, the teams are scheduled to take part in a go-kart outing at Andretti Indoor Karting, and on game day, Stokan said each team will have its traditional pregame walk to their home stadium recreated at the bowl venue, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
A fanfest is also scheduled to take place from 3-7 p.m. on game day.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Ohio State vs. Georgia, 8 p.m., ESPN, 1410
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