Ohio State football’s defense made its stand, but couldn’t make it last against Georgia
Ohio State #OhioState
ATLANTA — One confounding certainty will linger from Ohio State football’s 42-41 loss to Georgia in Saturday’s Peach Bowl playoff semifinal.
This disappointing defensive performance — the second in a row after 11 games of mostly encouraging play — allowed six touchdowns and 533 yards. Given a 14-point lead and 15 minutes remaining to protect it, that unit could not finish the job.
Yet the night also included arguably the Buckeyes’ most impressive defensive stretch of the season. Ohio State held that 14-point lead in part because it blanked Georgia in the third quarter — shutting down drives, repelling another that started in OSU territory and, for a while, appearing to turn the momentum of the game.
How did those 15 minutes of success devolve into 210 yards worth of scoring drives allowed in the final 10 minutes, 14 seconds? Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and the rest of the Ohio State program must ponder that question for months.
Recommended Buckeyes stories
• Ohio State football’s national championship hopes slip away in 42-41 loss to Georgia in Peach Bowl
• C.J. Stroud came to the College Football Playoff ready to rewrite his Ohio State legacy, but it wasn’t enough
• Ohio State played its version of winning football — but couldn’t find a way to win: Doug Lesmerises
“It came down to us,” said captain and second-team All-America linebacker Tommy Eichenberg. “It’s what we wanted.”
Georgia posted 11 explosive plays — runs of 10 or more yards, pass plays of 15 or more — in the first half alone. It averaged nearly a first down per play. Only Steele Chambers’ interception of Stetson Bennett IV interrupted the defending national champions’ march.
Ohio State needed adjustments, and made them.
• A three-and-out gained 4 yards.
• Kenny McIntosh ran for 10 yards on first down, but three plays later, OSU forced another punt. Of Georgia’s 17 explosive plays on the night, that was the only one that came in the third quarter.
• More or less, another three-and-out. Kearis Jackson’s 22-yard punt return set Georgia up at the OSU 32. After Zach Harrison and Javontae Jean-Baptiste combined for a sack on third down, Jack Podlesny missed a 52-yard field goal.
Had Bennett not connected with Kenny McIntosh for a 17-yard gain out of the backfield on the final play of the quarter, the Bulldogs would have gained only 15 yards on 10 plays.
“We started fitting things different against the run,” Knowles said. “We were able to kind of control the line of scrimmage better. We played a little bit tighter in our coverages, started disguising some things better. I think that threw them off-balance.
“They all worked in the third quarter. They didn’t work in the fourth.”
In a game decided by this narrow of a margin, OSU’s fate may have been decided by inches early in the fourth quarter.
Georgia drove into the red zone, but the Buckeyes forced a fourth-and-6 at the 13. Bennett threw to his primary target all season, tight end Brock Bowers, and OSU safety Lathan Ransom stopped him in his tracks. The initial spot marked Bowers short of the marker, but replay review gave Georgia the first down.
And yet, OSU’s defense stiffened again. Ronnie Hickman’s pass breakup on third down forced Georgia to settle for a 31-yard field goal and a 38-27 deficit.
The Bulldogs’ final two possessions, though, too closely resembled the collapses one month earlier against Michigan.
• After OSU’s own three-and-out, Jesse Mirco’s punt left Georgia at its own 24. On the next snap, Ransom appeared to slip and fall in coverage on Arian Smith. Bennett by then was already in the process of connecting with him for a 76-yard touchdown pass.
Bennett found Ladd McConkey for the 2-point conversion pass. In two plays, an 11-point cushion became a precarious three-point lead.
• Noah Ruggles’ 48-yard field goal pushed the lead to 41-35 with 2:49 to play. Bennett carved up 75 yards in only five plays. A 35-yard strike over the middle to Jackson was the back breaker. The go-ahead 10-yard score to Adonai Mitchell came on a relatively easy pitch and catch after the receiver got a step on Denzel Burke.
“They executed, we didn’t,” Knowles said. “We switched up coverages a couple of times. Just didn’t get it done. They made the plays, we didn’t.”
Michigan used five explosive-play touchdowns to beat OSU back on Nov. 26. Knowles said prevention of such home-run back breakers became a big focus of bowl prep. Yet the Buckeyes still allowed three, including that 76-yard, one-play drive.
In the third quarter, OSU held Georgia to 2.9 yards per play.
Over the other three quarters, the Bulldogs averaged 10.2 yards per play.
Ohio State found the solution it had been looking for all night. It, like the game and the season, slipped through its fingers.
If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700 or visit 1800gambler.net for more information.
21+ and present in Ohio. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
©2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Buckeyes linebacker Steele Chambers (22) tries to stop Bulldogs running back Kenny McIntosh (6) during second half action in the CFP semifinal game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, December 31, 2022. Georgia won 42-41. David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com
© David Petkiewicz/cleveland.com/TNS