Georgia and Michigan, teams with ‘more similarities than differences,’ ready for Orange Bowl
As they look across at each other, it’s hard not to see how the comparisons line up for Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs and Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines.
Both are graduates from the program they are now coaching. Both took over their jobs at about the same time — Harbaugh in 2015, Smart in 2016. Both teams live on strong defense and smashmouth offense. Both coaches even share the same birthday: Dec. 23 (although Harbaugh is 12 years Smart’s senior).
“There’s probably a lot more similarities than differences,” Harbaugh said.
And those similarities have the two programs on a collision course that meets Friday, when the No. 2 Wolverines face the No. 3 Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl for a College Football Playoff semifinal. Kickoff from Hard Rock Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. and the winner will advance to face either No. 1 Alabama or No. 4 Cincinnati in the national championship on Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.
But despite all the common traits and the mutual respect, the path the teams took to get here had their differences.
Georgia (12-1) ran the table and looked like legitimately the top team in the country before losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, which knocked them from No. 1 to No. 3 in the final rankings.
This is Georgia’s second time in the College Football Playoffs, the other time coming in Smart’s second season in 2017.
A win on Friday — the Bulldogs are a 7 1/2-point favorite — likely sets up a rematch from that season. Georgia lost to Alabama 26-23 in overtime for the national title and has spent the last four years fighting for the opportunity to get back.
“To be in the CFP is where you want to be,” Smart said. “When you pan the room, I think we’ve got, I don’t know exactly how many, but two or three guys that can even remember being in that CFP and know what that was like. When you look at those guys, they embrace that. They’ve been hungry for that opportunity.”
Michigan (12-1), after starting the season unranked following a 2-4 season in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, rebounded from a loss to Michigan State midway through the season by rattling off five convincing wins including a 15-point victory over Ohio State and a blowout against Iowa in the Big Ten Championship.
This is the Wolverines’ first trip to the College Football Playoffs.
“The approach always from the beginning and each year is every day matters, and the games are the ones that count,” Harbaugh said. “We’re going into our 14th game that counts. Our guys have done a tremendous job each day, making each day matter, and then when they get to the games, they’ve made those days count. They’ve been quite successful doing it. We’ll continue the same formula.”
Players to watch
▪ The running backs: The run game will be paramount, with both teams relying on their backfield to set up their offense. Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum lead Michigan’s rushing attack, while Zamir White and Miami native James Cook are the primary one-two punch for Georgia.
The four have combined to score 52 touchdowns this season.
“It’s going to be a fun, physical game,” Haskins said. “I like them type of games, so it’s going to determine who wants the game the most.”
▪ Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson: He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up this year after recording a Michigan single-season record 14 sacks (and counting) and is a near lock to be a top-five pick in the NFL Draft.
▪ Georgia wide receiver George Pickens: He missed most of this season after tearing his ACL in spring practice, but Pickens adds an explosive dimension to Georgia’s passing game.
▪ Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean: He was the Butkus Award given annually to college football’s top linebacker. Dean, a junior, is tied for the team lead with 61 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks and has also broken up five passes.
▪ Michigan linebacker David Ojabo: The junior and first-year starter has had a breakout season, recording 11 sacks and serving as a nice complement to Hutchinson in Michigan’s front seven.
This and that
▪ Michigan defensive back Daxton Hill did not travel with the Wolverines to South Florida, and Harbaugh said his status for the Orange Bowl is questionable. “He’s working through something right now,” Harbaugh said.
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 1:22 PM.
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