Staff predictions: Michigan football vs. Georgia in the Orange Bowl

Michigan will face Georgia in the Orange Bowl in a matchup of teams that mirror each other in a lot of ways.

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Stetson Bennett and Cade McNamara are essentially the same type quarterbacks. The defenses are stout, and the offenses very similar. Both teams even won a game this year with the starting quarterbacks throwing for only 70-something yards (McNamara against Washington, Bennett vs. Arkansas).

The defensive lines have been outstanding, and the coaches …

Well, the coaches have history.

They’ve been playing nice this week, but Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh weren’t on great terms when Harbaugh first started at U-M. It was all about the satellite camps — a turf war, if you will — and the southerners didn’t take kindly to Harbaugh invading their space.

“They’re obviously trying to gain a competitive advantage, and that’s their right,” Smart said. “But I think the NCAA in due time will have to step in. …

“There are a lot of factors that people don’t think about in that deal. You’ve got to think about recruiting rules. How are they going to handle those?”

(Editor’s note: Oh, the irony)

“Are they going to let other coaches come to it? Are they going to hold open practices?” Smart continued. “Do we all come in there and watch them and scout them? If they’re all open practices, why don’t we go and watch them? It’s a Pandora’s Box of what it’s going to get into, obviously.”

Harbaugh, of course, wasn’t going to sit quietly, and he didn’t.

If the Georgia coach is implying any intent on our part to break rules, he is barking up the wrong tree.

— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) February 24, 2016

Now, though, they’re acting like friendly adversaries heading into Friday night’s Orange Bowl and national playoff semifinal. Michigan is a 7.5-point underdog, and Georgia has been dominant much of the year.

The Wolverines relish that role, and they’re looking forward to proving people wrong again.

Congratulations to whoever won our last contest (too lazy to go back and look, though we all picked Michigan over Iowa). This week’s winner receives a couple shells we picked up on Miami Beach and a coconut.

Staff Picks: Michigan vs. Georgia

CHRIS BALAS: “It’s been a tough season here (this column, for this guy) — 10-3 heading into the first of two (?) bowl games. Michigan has won two of the three they were predicted to lose here — here’s hoping for three out of four.

“Georgia was No. 1 most of the season for a reason. U-M will battle before falling in a low scoring affair.” GEORGIA 23, MICHIGAN 20

JOHN BORTON: “They said Jim Harbaugh’s team would be lucky to reach .500. They said Washington wasn’t up to standard this year, and that Wisconsin would burst the bubble. Then, it was Penn State was a fortunate survival before the fall, and that the Buckeyes would roll once again.

“They say Georgia represents too tough of a task.” MICHIGAN 20, GEORGIA 17

CLAYTON SAYFIE: “The national talking heads only want to discuss Georgia’s defensive front — which is great — but Michigan has an elite offensive line that should be able to hold its own. I trust the Wolverines’ quarterbacks more than Georgia’s, especially considering Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo will be chasing them, and there’s not much outside of tight end Brock Bowers that scares me about the Bulldogs’ offense.

“This will be a huge challenge, and it will come down to the wire, but the Maize and Blue are built ‘different’ and will make winning plays at the end.” MICHIGAN 24, GEORGIA 17

ANTHONY BROOME: “Michigan takes on another opponent that is a tall task because of how talented they are. Surely the Wolverines can’t beat a team that has more stars next to the names of its players right? Whatever. We heard the same thing against Ohio State and we saw how that turned out. Michigan is on the warpath right now and it is going to take a team’s A-game to beat them. Georgia finds itself on a similar warpath having blown through most of its season. That is until a big serving of Alabama rat poison was served to them.

“The Bulldogs were lit up in the SEC title game but still backed into the playoff. Time will tell if the loss to Alabama causes an identity crisis or if it was a bump in the road like Michigan’s loss to Sparty. Georgia is deserving and have a defense full of guys we will be watching on NFL Sundays for a long time.

“This game comes down to Stetson Bennett vs. Cade McNamara and who can lead his team to points and put a drive together in a critical moment. It will be tough. It might not be pretty. But I’m putting my money on the guys that have spoken their goals into existence all season long.

“See you in Indianapolis.” MICHIGAN 24, GEORGIA 20

DOUG SKENE: “I’m not buying the SEC superiority kool-aid that many prognosticators and gulping down. Michigan can run the football, has multiple offensive options and can rush the passer as well as anyone.  

“Look for Georgia to angle their D-Line and jump gaps to cause problems with the effective Michigan offensive line.  Michigan has zone blocking skills to offset that, too. Michigan’s defense will keep everything in front and get after the quarterback.”

I’m drinking blue Kool-aid to start off the new year. MICHIGAN 31, GEORGIA 27

DOUG KARSCH: “Georgia seems to have suddenly lost all their “street cred” in one Saturday in Atlanta courtesy of Alabama. The Dogs stunningly didn’t get one sack against that ‘Bama offensive Line.

“But over the years, too often I’ve been fooled by what my eyes showed me last. So as for Georgia, I’m trusting the 12 data points over the most recent data point. And with uncertainly surrounding Dax Hill and Georgia getting a healthier George Pickens, I see the Dogs in a close one. GEORGIA 21, MICHIGAN 16