Michigan draws Georgia in the playoff, a No. 2 vs. No. 3 Orange Bowl
Jim Harbaugh and his Big Ten championship Michigan football team earned the No. 2 overall seed in the final college football playoff ranking. They’ll face No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl, to be played Dec. 31 in Miami.
No. 1 Alabama will play No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl. The two winners will then face off in Indianapolis Jan. 10 in the National Championship game.
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Michigan beat Iowa, 42-3, in the Big Ten championship game to punch their ticket to the playoff.
“We talked about it last night,” Harbaugh said after the game. “How much more can we pile into one game, the importance of one game? It’s a lot … yeah, the championship, a chance to go to the playoffs. But [also] to walk past the sign we all walk by, ‘Those who stay will be champions.’ To make that valid and that true.
“Guys will live on, really, in Schembechler Hall forever. This picture [of end Aidan Hutchinson] is going to be up there on the All-American wall, and every guy on the team in the team picture is going to be up there as part of a Big Ten Champion. We’ve got a banner in Glick Fieldhouse that’s going to say ‘Big Ten Champion.'”
But they want more. As Harbaugh said after a 42-27 drubbing of Ohio State, ‘this feels like the beginning.’
Michigan freshman running back Blake Corum said he believed the Wolverines earned the No. 1 seed with their performance.
“I think so,” he said with a grin. “You tell me. 42-3.”
Sixth-year senior Andrew Vastardis, though, was a bit more diplomatic.
“Hey, however it shakes down,” the Michigan center said. “I’m just excited to go out and play more football.”
But now that they’re here, they want more.
“It’s a great feeling. A lot of hard work,” Harbaugh told ESPN after the draw was announced. “I’ve got to salute our coaches — Josh Gattis, Mike Macdonald, Jay Harbaugh, the coordinators and the assistants on both sides of he ball, special teams and the players.
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“The [players], you mentioned them — Aidan Hutchinson, Hassan Haskins, Andrew Vastardis, Andrew Stueber. Just a long list of a guys. It’s a team that just works. They don’t talk a lot. They’re just more about it. We’ll give them a few days off here and we’ll get back at it and get ready for Georgia.”
The Bulldogs were No. 1 much of the year and lead the nation in scoring defense (9.6 points per game). Alabama hung 41 on them, due in part to Georgia turnovers, but Harbaugh knows the challenge.
“Tremendous team,” the Michigan coach said. “I have great respect for Georgia. My brother-in-law, Tom Crean, is the head basketball coach at Georgia. In our household, we find ourselves rooting for Georgia basketball, and that spills over to Georgia football … my son Jack.
“It’s a big task, a big challenge. They’re great, that team, but we look forward to our preparation for our game on the 31st.”
Michigan returns to the Orange Bowl for the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2016. The Wolverines are 1-2 in their prior trips to the game.
This will be Michigan’s first appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Wolverines are in search of the 12th national championship in program history, having last won the title in 1997.
