Make Your Pick: Michigan vs. Georgia
Jim Harbaugh and Michigan's magical season is about to go up a notch tomorrow night when the No. 2 Wolverines take on the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs in the first round of the College Football Playoff. It feels like a game of strength vs. strength with Michigan's offensive line and running game going up against Georgia's stout front seven. It should make for a really entertaining game and, despite being an 8-point underdog, Michigan is going to have more than a shot in this one.
Chris Breiler
Outside of the questions surrounding Daxton Hill's availability for Friday, it looks like the Wolverines are going to enter the New Year's Eve matchup with No. 3 Georgia at full-strength.
Offensively, I expect Michigan to continue to pound the rock with Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum until someone proves they can stop it. Haskins has scored nine rushing touchdowns over the last three games, including a whopping five against Ohio State.
Defensively, the Wolverines feature two of the most dominant edge-rushers in all of college football in Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo. The disruption up front, combined with the sound play of Michigan's secondary, leads to some timely turnovers that help keep the Wolverines in the driver's seat.
Michigan 38, Georgia 27
Brandon Brown
There's so much excitement surrounding this game, obviously. It's No. 2 vs. No. 3, it's the College Football Playoff and it's two massive brands in Michigan and Georgia. But beyond all that, it's a really good matchup.
Michigan and Georgia are pretty similar in a lot of ways but the matchup between U-M's physical offense and UGA's stout defense has everyone so intrigued to watch. There are fast athletes, high draft picks and playmakers all over the field on both sides of the ball for both squads. That's how a playoff matchup should look.
I give Michigan the edge at quarterback, running back and along the offensive line. I think Michigan has better pass rushers, but I think Georgia has better run stopping defensive linemen and linebackers. I think it's pretty close in the secondary and Michigan definitely has the edge in special teams. At the end of the day, I actually think Michigan has the edge in more areas by a little bit.
Michigan 31, Georgia 23
Josh Taubman
Well, it’s finally here. Michigan vs. Georgia in the College Football Playoff. It’s still crazy that Michigan and College Football Playoff can be written in the same sentence but here we are.
When looking at how the teams matchup, I think they are almost a mirror image of each other. Both have extremely strong defenses. Both have balanced offensive attacks but would prefer to control the game on the ground. So when it comes down to strength vs. strength, who has the edge?
On paper, it’s Georgia. Their defense has allowed an average of fewer than 10 points per game this season and they are loaded with NFL talent. When looking at Georgia’s body of work that got them to 12-0 and had them as the favorite heading into championship week, there was no reason to believe the Wolverines could move the ball on the Bulldogs. But then the Alabama game happened and that gave the Wolverines a blueprint for success.
It proved that Georgia’s defense is mortal and I think Michigan, behind the strength of its award winning O-line, will be able to break some runs through the Bulldog front seven. I also have more confidence in Cade McNamara to move the ball than I do in Stetson Bennett. Michigan wore out Ohio State with sustained drives that never allowed the Buckeyes to close the gap and I think that while it will be harder to move the ball, a similar formula could work here.
There also is just something about this Michigan team that has felt different all year and every time U-M got into a situation where the Wolverines could falter, they’ve only risen even more. They’ve come this far and I don’t think their dreams end in Miami. I think in a close contest, Michigan hits a couple explosive plays and holds on for the win.
Michigan 27, Georgia 21
