These are the units that have carried the banner for each program in recent seasons, and both look great on paper again in 2022.
“It’s going to be a fist fight with every play,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. “We got our hands full. Just a lot of respect for their structure, the culture, the way they play and most importantly, you feel their defense. We’re going to have to do our best to make sure they feel us as we play this game because it’s not going to be a reactionary game. It’s going to be an attack game both ways, two guys going at each other. A lot of respect for those guys.”
Ohio State ranks second in the nation in scoring (44.5 points per game) while Georgia counters with the No. 2 defense in points allowed (12.8).
While the Buckeye offense has generally remained balanced, averaging 294.2 yards per game through the air and 198.5 on the ground, the Bulldogs are built on stopping the run.
Georgia has the No. 1 run defense in the nation (allowing 77 yards per game) but has given up some yards through the air (215.1/52nd).
Most recently, the Bulldogs allowed 502 yards passing to LSU in the SEC Championship Game — by far a season high — but Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud said he was not reading too much into that.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll have a plan for that, and we’ll have to be on our game just as much as they are,” Stroud said. “So that was good for LSU, but we gotta go play Buckeye football and make sure what happens on Saturday for us.”
Star Georgia safety Chris Smith said a month to work on what went wrong against the Tigers has been beneficial.
“That game is in the past,” Smith said. “We know we didn’t perform our best and we can perform better, and that’s what we want to do for this game on Saturday.”
Smith compared the Buckeyes to the Tigers because of their deep receiving corps, and co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp praised Stroud for his all-around game.
“Wow, I mean I think he’s an elite passer,” Muschamp said. “That’s the first thing that jumps out. He can make all the throws. He puts the balls in catchable areas where a lot of people don’t have the talent to do that.”
College Football Playoff could change narrative of C.J. Stroud’s career at Ohio State https://t.co/gikhk2am8W
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) December 20, 2022
Stroud was a Heisman finalist for the second straight year, and he leads the nation in passing efficiency while his receiving corps features a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.
Georgia is 11th in the nation in passing efficiency defense, but the line has not helped the defensive backs out much this season with pressure on the quarterback.
The Bulldogs rank 78th in the nation with two sacks per game and 62nd in tackles for loss (5.8 per game), and advanced stats bear out that could be an area Ohio State has an advantage.
The Georgia defense is 111th in the nation in Football Outsiders sack rate, which measures sacks per pass attempt while the Ohio State offensive line is fifth in that measure.
Other numbers from Football Outsiders also show a match of strength on strength up front as Ohio State ranks No. 7 in average line yards, a measure that separates the line’s performance from a runner by crediting the first 3 yards of a run and half of yards 5-8 to the blocking. Georgia is second in the defensive version of line yards, and the Bulldogs have been strong in short yardage, ranking seventh, while Ohio State has struggled in the latter (113th).
“Controlling the running game’s been good,” Muschamp said. “We gotta continue to find ways to affect the quarterback.”
The red zone will also feature a clash of strengths as Ohio State is third in red zone scoring percentage (94.8) and fourth in touchdown percentage (75.9) inside the 20 while the Georgia defense ranks No. 1 in both areas.
Wilson has emphasized the value of points over yards since the preseason, and he also downplayed the job LSU did against the Bulldogs in light of the fact Georgia still won the game 50-30.
“You look at those stats, but the result of the game was they won the game by 20, so that wasn’t necessarily the formula to win the game and make plays in both phases, third down conversions, short-yard conversions,” Wilson said.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Ohio State vs. Georgia, 8 p.m., ESPN, 1410
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