Kirby Smart shares what defense he expects from Ohio State

Ohio State has multiple ways of presenting a defense to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart said to expect both kinds of looks, whether it’s the Buckeyes emphasizing on stopping the run or dropping many into coverage to prevent the big play downfield.

Ohio State’s lone loss this year was to Michigan, which gashed the Buckeyes’ defense in the run. That eventually opened up big passing lanes for J.J. McCarthy but the Georgia offense operates a little different with different personnel.

“Well I expect to get a little bit of all of them,” Smart said. “Some of that will be, probably, determined by what personnel we’re in and how we use our guys you know. We’ve got three or four really good tight ends and we hope to be able to use those guys in this game and a lot of that’s gonna boil down to how we play and what we do and try to dictate to them. 

“They got a really good defensive football team. They’re very physical. (Jim Knowles’) done a great job dating back to the Oklahoma State days and has a very good, aggressive, multiple package (look) on getting multiple looks and things.”

Ohio State’s defense certainly improved this season but was left on an island against the rival Wolverines. With weeks of preparation, the Buckeyes could have self improvements ahead of the Peach Bowl.

One superstar Ohio State has to stop is Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. The sophomore pass catcher did not score as much this season as his true freshman year, but is still very dangerous.

This year, he had 52 catches for 726 yards, six touchdowns, 14 yards per catch, six carries, 93 rushing yards and a career high three touchdowns on the ground.

Quarterback and Heisman finalist Stetson Bennett had a career high in passing yards this year. Now he’s just two wins away from winning back-to-back national titles under center.

This year, Bennett had 3,425 yards, 20 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 67.9% completion percentage.

If the game gets into shootout mode, it could favor Ohio State’s high-powered offense. Fellow Heisman finalist and quarterback C.J. Stroud had another solid regular season.

In 12 games, Stroud had 3,340 yards, 37 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 66.2% completion percentage.

No. 1 Georgia (13-0) takes on No. 4 Ohio State (11-1) in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Peach Bowl Dec. 31 at 8:00 p.m. ET.