Ohio State Football: Three keys to beating Georgia in Peach Bowl
By Ryan Stano
The Ohio State football team has the extremely difficult task of beating the number one team in the country on New Year’s Eve. Georgia is undefeated, as well as the defending national champs. They have been ranked number one the entire season so far.
Early in the year, a lot of people thought that the only team that could challenge Georgia for its throne was Ohio State. The Buckeyes were undefeated until that final game of the year as we all know. Now, people are less sure if the Buckeyes can take them down.
Ohio State gets its chance to take down the champs. Of all of the teams that made the College Football Playoff, Ohio State actually matches up the best with Georgia. Ohio State’s offense and firepower on that side of the ball make them the best candidate to beat them.
I have three keys in mind that the Buckeyes must do to beat Georgia. If they can execute all three of these things, they have an excellent shot at pulling the upset and making the National Championship Game. If they can’t, they will end this season disappointed with a second loss in a row.
1. The Ohio State football team must throw it over the middle of the field.
Georgia has some really good individual players on the defensive side of the ball. Despite this, they too have had some issues giving up big plays in the secondary recently. Ohio State needs to exploit that, specifically by getting the ball into the middle of the field.
When the Buckeyes have moved the ball at their best, they have been able to do so by utilizing the passing game over the middle. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka are both excellent over the middle and can catch the ball in traffic as well as get yards after the catch.
For some reason, the Buckeyes stopped throwing it over the middle consistently against Michigan. That’s why they stopped being able to move the ball. The receivers have to get the ball over the middle several times in this game.
For the second key to beating Georgia, we turn to the secondary.