The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Orange Bowl features star defenses
The College Football Playoff semifinal in the Orange Bowl will match surging Michigan against a Georgia team that went unbeaten through the regular season before a humbling loss to the defending national champion.
Defense has been the calling card for both.
The Dec. 31 matchup at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, was set up when the Wolverines were slotted No. 2 and the Bulldogs No. 3 in the final CFP rankings released Dec. 5.
Michigan (12-1) and Georgia (12-1) are two of the more storied programs in college football, but they have faced each other only twice before. They split the two meetings, one in 1957 and the other in 1965.
The Wolverines got on a roll after their only loss, 37-33 at Michigan State on Oct. 30. They closed with a 42-27 win over thenNo. 2 Ohio State and put a 42-3 beatdown on Iowa in the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 4.
“Just a bunch of guys
that wanted to give it their very best and then feel good about what they accomplished,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told ESPN. “They accomplished a lot through a lot of work. Guys just working and not worrying.”
Georgia, with the most dominant defense in the country through its first 12 games, came into the season with high expectations. The Bulldogs were No. 5 in the preseason and No. 2 to Alabama in the first five polls of the regular season. They took over the top spot
after Alabama lost at Texas A&M on Oct. 9 and were there until they fell to No. 3 in the AP poll Dec. 5.
The Bulldogs went into Southeastern Conference championship game as a touchdown favorite against Alabama. But their offense went flat and committed two turnovers, one an interception returned for a touchdown, and they converted only 3 of 12 third downs. Alabama’s Bryce Young threw for 421 yards and three touchdowns and the Bulldogs lost 41-24.
“You have to be brutally honest with yourself at a time like this,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “You’ve got to be able to go through and say, ‘Well, who are we? What are we doing? Well, maybe we’re not as good as we thought in some areas, and where can we improve that?’ And sometimes you’ll see that through a loss.”
Defense is the identity for both teams. The Wolverines feature two of the best defensive ends in the country in Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, who have combined for 25 sacks, and Georgia has the premier defensive tackle in Outland Trophy finalist Jordan Davis.
This year’s other semifinal matches No. 1 Alabama (12-1) against No. 4 Cincinnati (13-0) in the Cotton Bowl. The winners play for the national championship Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.