Peach Bowl Odds: Georgia Is Favorite, Can It Beat Ohio State?

No team has repeated as national champion in the College Football Playoff era, but No. 1 Georgia is favored to do so and a solid favorite on the NCAAF odds in the Peach Bowl semifinal game on Saturday against No. 4 Ohio State.

How to Bet Georgia vs. Ohio State NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

When: Saturday, 8 PM ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN app
Radio: ESPN radio
Opening NCAAF Lines: Georgia -6.5 (total 62.5)

Series History

Ohio State will be making its fifth College Football Playoff Semifinal appearance, while Georgia will play in its second consecutive semifinal and third overall after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship last season. The Buckeyes make their first trip to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, while the Bulldogs are set to make their seventh appearance, going 4-2 in the previous six. The lone meeting between OSU and UGA was when the Bulldogs defeated the Buckeyes 21-14 in the 1993 Florida Citrus Bowl.

Why Bet on Georgia?

Some people forget that while Georgia won the national title last season, it didn’t win the SEC title. Well, this season the Dawgs did as they stomped No. 14 LSU 50-30 on Dec. 3 to win it for the first time since 2017. Georgia has now captured 14 SEC championships and improved to 4-6 in the SEC Championship Game. This marks the first time Georgia has started a season 13-0.

The 2022 senior class added to its school record for wins as it now stands at 47-5. The Bulldogs have won 15 straight going back to last season’s CFP semifinal/Capital One Orange Bowl win over No. 2 Michigan. Senior QB Stetson Bennett, a Heisman finalist, was 23-for-29 for 274 yards and four TDs. Bennett now has 269 completions this season which ties the single season record, also by Eric Zeier in 1993. Sophomore Brock Bowers posted a team-high six catches for 81 yards and a TD. He won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end.

The Bulldogs are tied for third nationally with 37 rushing touchdowns (The school record is 42 set in 2017). Eight different Bulldogs have scored a rushing TD this year. Senior RB Kenny McIntosh has a team-leading 10. Senior PK Jack Podlesny leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally in Scoring (130, 10.0 points/game.

Georgia again brings a stellar defense that ranks first in the nation in red zone defense (60.7 percent) and second in scoring defense (12.8 points allowed per game). It is allowing 292.1 yards per game, the ninth lowest mark in the country. Under Kirby Smart, Georgia has registered 27 scores on defense and special teams. The Dogs are 24-1 (loss came versus #8 UF in 2020) when they register a non-offensive score under Smart. They had a blocked field-goal return for a TD vs. LSU.

Georgia will be making its third appearance in the CFP and extend the nation’s longest active bowl streak to 26 straight years. The Bulldogs are 35-21-3 all-time in bowls, and the appearances and victories rank second nationally.

Why Bet on Ohio State?

Ohio State was upset in its regular-season finale at home vs. Michigan but snuck into the playoff when then-No. 4 USC lost in the Pac-12 title game.

The Buckeye offense is scoring 44.5 points per game – 2nd nationally – and has scored 55 of 58 times in the red zone for the second-highest percentage in the country (.948). Ohio State is tied for 4th nationally with 44 red zone touchdowns. Georgia is No. 1 with 48. QB CJ Stroud, a Heisman finalist enters the Peach Bowl with 3,340 passing yards and top-five national rankings in TDs (T-1st, 37), pass efficiency (1st, 176.3), yards per attempt (3rd, 9.4), completions of 30+ yards (2nd, 29) and yards per completion (5th, 14.21).

However, running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba are both out for the playoff due to injury. Smith-Njigba entered the season as one of the most decorated players in college football and the country’s top wide receiver draft prospect, but he dealt with a lingering hamstring injury all year. Henderson missed a few games at the end.

On the other side of the ball, Ohio State is 12th in total defense (303.9), fourth in first downs allowed (173), 12th in third down conversions (.305; 54-177), 15th against the pass (184.0 ypg), 13th in scoring (19.3 ppg) and 23rd vs. the run (119.9) in 2022.

This game will be Georgia’s 11th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is situated 72 miles from Athens, since it opened in 2017. This will be Ohio State’s first game in the stadium.

Ohio State has played in five of the nine College Football Playoffs since their inception in 2014. OSU won that inaugural CFP. Coach Ryan Day has led Ohio State to three CFPs. His Buckeyes are 1-2 in CFP games with a last-second loss to Clemson in 2019 (29-23), a win over Clemson in 2020 (49-28), and a loss to Alabama in the 2021 CFP championship game (52-24). In the Buckeyes’ three CFP wins, they’ve averaged 44.3 points per game and scored 42 or more each time. In their three losses, they’ve averaged just 15.6 points per game.

It’s OSU’s 54th bowl game all-time, the most among Big Ten teams. The Buckeyes are 26-27 in the previous 53.