Ohio State has 'a chance' to beat Georgia in College Football Playoff, Joel Klatt says

The College Football Playoff semifinal between No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Ohio State is intriguing to the point where people questioned if the Bulldogs have a bad matchup against the Buckeyes. FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt actually pegged Ohio State to have a chance to beat the defending national champions.

“Yes, they do have a chance to beat Georgia,” Klatt said on his podcast. “Is it a matchup that if I was Georgia, I would be thinking to myself, ‘Man, this is what we get for the number one seed?’ Yeah, of all the possible matchups, I think this is the one that gives Georgia the most problems. Namely … if they do struggle, the one thing that you have to do well is throw the football.” 

Ohio State is led by quarterback C.J. Stroud, who can really air it out. Even without Jaxon Smith-Njigba all season, Stroud and the Buckeyes have a dangerous passing attack.

That right there is the key, according to Klatt.

“So for instance, Georgia over their last let’s see 30 call it eight games, you know, when they’ve given up less than 400 yards of total offense, they’re 34-0,” Klatt said. “And when they give up more than 400 yards of total offense they are 1-3 in those games. “So yeah, Ohio State has a chance. Now do I think that they should be favored? No. Am I going to pick them? Probably not because Georgia is just so good. But they do have the quarterback, the offense and the wide receiver group to threaten them. That’s one of the reasons why Georgia lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game a year ago. 

“Bryce Young and John Metchie and Jameson Williams, they were able to throw the ball and really hurt the Georgia defense. They were doing it early in the national championship game before Williams got hurt. And that’s what Ohio State’s going to have to do. So that offense is going to have to take front and center for them to create that upset if they want to beat the Georgia Bulldogs.”

Stroud, despite taking a dip in his stats compared to last season, was still a Heisman Trophy finalist. He finished the season with 3,340 yards, 37 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 66.2% completion percentage. 

On the flip side, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was also a Heisman finalist, surprising many with his solid season. He had 3,425 yards, 20 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 67.9% completion percentage. He also added seven touchdowns on the ground.

No. 1 Georgia takes on No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff Semifinals Dec. 31.