Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee give clashing takes on Michigan, Ohio State's ability to beat Georgia

Georgia will be fighting for the SEC in the upcoming College Football Playoff, with two Big Ten teams looking to tear down the giants. Ohio State will get the first crack in Atlanta, facing off in the Peach Bowl semifinal. Michigan will be hoping to get a shot as well in the national championship game but will first have to get through TCU.

There is some debate as to which of the two conference rivals would match up better against Georgia. ESPN’s Pat McAfee took the Wolverines, citing how physical they were in the head-to-head matchup in the Game. A confident JJ McCarthy could go a long way as well, especially on the national scene.

“If you watched what Michigan did to Ohio State, they bullied them,” McAfee said during Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl broadcast. “That’s the type of team you’re going to have to play if you want to beat Georgia. Georgia’s big everywhere, fast everywhere.

“They got an experienced quarterback who has the confidence and composure to do it all. I think Michigan has enough firepower and meat to keep up with Georgia.”

Kirk Herbstreit pulled his best Lee Corso impression, saying not so fast, my friend. He believes Michigan was not able to play bully ball until late in the second half. Instead, he said there was a total defensive collapse from Ohio State down the stretch and people ran with the narrative.

“I don’t know if they bullied Ohio State until the fourth quarter where they gave up those two big ones,” Herbstreit said. “I think it was a pretty competitive game when you got back and look at it. It was just Ohio State’s defense gave up those big run by Donovan Edwards and it gave off a perception they got destroyed at the line of scrimmage. They didn’t tackle well late in the game and looked like they kinda shut it down defensively.”

While Herbstreit did not say he thinks Ohio State would play better against Georgia compared to Georgia, he did say to be careful. He thinks Ryan Day has too talented of a squad to be counted out and one game will not change that fact.

“I think Ohio State’s a wildcard just because of the ability they have and before that Michigan game, everyone was talking about them as a team to look out for,” said Herbstreit. “They still have a lot of talent but where will their mindset be after that Michigan game going into that, will be the thing to watch.”

We’ll have the opportunity to see Ohio State put forth its best effort against Georgia, with kickoff scheduled for New Year’s Eve. The Bulldogs will enter as heavy favorites, expecting to roll into the national championship game.

If they can, Michigan will be hoping to be there, waiting for their own opportunity. Then, we’ll get to see two physical football teams line up for college football’s biggest prize.