Georgia football did it — they punched their ticket to the national championship after demoralizing Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl.
From the game’s opening drive, Georgia looked like they were on a mission to do whatever it took to win, and they did.
The defense bullied Michigan’s offense, and Georgia’s offense found success both on the ground and through the air.
Georgia football put together a total team effort to punch their national title ticket.
This victory marked the 12th win of 17 or more points, which is pretty incredible when you think about it. Georgia proved that the Alabama catastrophe wasn’t going to define their season, and now they will get the opportunity at revenge.
The Dawgs needed to beat down a team like Michigan to get the respect they already deserve. That Alabama game will continue to haunt them until they beat the Tide, but shutting down one of the best rushing offenses does help.
Hassan Haskins rushed for 39 yards, and the Dawgs forced three turnovers, including two picks that Derion Kendrick captured, and DeVonte Wyatt recovered one fumble.
Michigan used Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, and they found some success, but that defense proved to be far too much.
Georgia put together a great team win when that was the only option if they wanted to keep their hopes alive. They put their head down and got to work. Now they have nine days to do the same in preparation for the title game. The fanbase should be proud of this team and how they didn’t listen to any outside noise ahead of the Orange Bowl.
After going through the stats of the Orange Bowl, here are three takeaways from the Dawgs’ big win.
Georgia football sustained drives and won on third down
Georgia football did a great job at keeping drives going against Michigan. The Dawgs went 10-of-16 on third down against the Wolverines, giving them a 62.5% conversion rate.
Defensively, Georgia gave up 8-of-15 third-down conversions. The Dawgs did give up 53% of third downs, so that wasn’t perfect, but the Dawgs held Michigan to 11 points, and six came later in the game. Not that it makes it okay, but Michigan converted when the game was very much out of reach.
However, the more telling stat is that the Wolverines went 0-of-3 on fourth down, which gave the ball back to the Dawgs. Georgia’s defense stood tough, and Michigan only scored because of blown coverage by a third-string defensive back.
The offense’s ability to keep the ball out of Michigan’s hands impressed us the most Friday night because it’s been a while since Georgia was able to keep drives going as they did against the Wolverines.
The Dawgs struggled to convert in third down in the last two games against Georgia Tech and Alabama. They went 2-of-5 and 3-of-12 in those two games. On the season, Georgia converts 45% of third downs, so seeing them convert 62% against a stout defense like Michigan is an excellent sign of their progress over the last few weeks.
Having healthy playmakers out there helped the Dawgs, and starting quarterback Stetson Bennett got two first downs using his legs.
Georgia played their game from the start to the last whistle and finally didn’t let the other team dictate how they played. The Dawgs adjusted, stayed creative, and worked.
I will take 10-of-16 third-down conversions every game if possible.
Georgia football quarterback Stetson Bennett proved his worth
The last three weeks have been so frustrating seeing half of the Georgia football fanbase complain about starting quarterback Stetson Bennett. Still, after his performance against Michigan, some folks owe him an apology.
Bennett went 21-of-31 for 310 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 67.7% of his passes against the Wolverines, and that is what you want out of the starting quarterback.
He started 8-of-8 in the first quarter for 83 yards and a score to Brock Bowers. Bennett then went 8-of-14 in the second quarter, officially giving him 22 pass attempts in the first half alone, which is unheard of according to the critics.
Sure he had a few bad throws, but thankfully none of them cost the Dawgs anything, and if we’re being even more honest, quarterbacks make bad throws sometimes.
Bennett proved he could throw 31 times and win a ballgame. He proved to all the haters that he could lead the team on one of the biggest stages to a 23-point victory.
His 57-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to Jermaine Burton was a beauty. The defender stopped, which helped Burton get plenty of separation and run it all the way into the endzone. There was a 53-yarder to James Cook that only Cook could catch, which is what you want from Bennett.
He proved to everyone why the coaches believe in him and trust that he can take the Dawgs all the way.
His performance earned him the offense MVP title, and those Stetson-Stetson-Stetson chants during the award ceremony were satisfying. He deserved to get that because no one loves this university more than Bennett.
Georgia football got back to the basics and bullied Michigan
Without mentioning the havoc Georgia football’s defense brought to the table on Friday, we couldn’t have this article.
They were in Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy’s face all night long, and the longest pass was 43-yards, and that was a pure luck play.
We predicted 35 havoc plays, and while that didn’t happen, the Dawgs did more than enough to bully Michigan. Georgia finished the game with seven tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two interceptions, two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
Those numbers are the ones from the game and could change because the stats do update after coaches watch the film. So they tallied 20 havoc plays, and that is a big day.
The big playmakers were committing crimes on that football field last night, and both of those quarterbacks probably had to sit in an ice bath for a long time. They will remember the night they took on that Georgia defense.
Nolan Smith paced the Dawgs with eight tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack. He also forced one of the fumbles and had a big pass breakup.
Nakobe Dean was right behind him at seven tackles but led the team with two tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble.
Travon Walker was a monster for the Dawgs as he made that all-world offensive line question everything they knew. When they showed up in warm-ups with shirts that said “run the damn ball,” I had a feeling the Dawgs were going to let them know what a real defense is.
Georgia put on a show from top to bottom Friday night against the Wolverines. The Dawgs wanted the revenge game against Alabama, and they flat out took it away from Michigan, which is what they needed to do. They found themselves again and put together a total team effort, and now it’s onto the national title game.