Defensive narratives collide at Peach Bowl for Buckeyes, Georgia

ATLANTA — Narrative. What a word.

And, as it pertains to the defenses of No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Ohio State about to play here Saturday night in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal, it pretty much comes down to this:

A – Georgia has had the most consistently elite unit in the nation the past couple of seasons, even though the Bulldogs had to reload after last year’s national championship run.

A – Ohio State had to gut the defensive scheme after the mediocre showing in 2021 and regroup under the direction of first-year coordinator Jim Knowles, who brought his 4-2-5 system from Oklahoma State, and seemed on its way to restored credibility until that big-play-spoiling effort in the 45-23 loss to Michigan.

Though the defense actually did some outstanding things versus the Wolverines, the five incendiary touchdown plays that accounted for 349 of Michigan’s 530 total yards for sure ruled the story. The Wolverines averaged just 3.3 yards on their other 55 plays.

Thus the narratives headed into Saturday night are that Georgia, despite giving up a whopping 502 yards passing in its 50-30 Southeastern Conference title game win over LSU, is the defense walking with pride while Ohio State is the one that should be sporting the hang-dog look.  

Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer is aware, and that the doubters abound.

“We feel like it’s always been Ohio against the world,” Sawyer said here Wednesday. “We feel like that’s never going to change. So throughout this whole month of bowl prep, our defense has been playing very pissed off in practice, I think the whole team as a whole has been.

“And I think that’s where we need to be. And like I said, we’re just really focused and really eager to get back on the field Saturday night.”

Fellow Buckeyes defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau concurred.

“I felt the same way Jack did,” Tuimoloau said. “That was one thing that motivated us even more, when we got back (to work) we saw all the narratives, we saw everything.

”It was coming back to, ‘Hey, we’ve got one more chance to go out in this stadium with nothing to lose, just go out there and play (full throttle) … , trust in God, and know that he has a plan for us, and there’s a reason for all this happening, and just continue to grow and make each other better every day.'”

The Georgia defense has stressed improvement every day, too, as prep for this game has ensued, linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson said. But it’s also Georgia which figuratively is waving the D flag for the nation, even if it gave up more total yards to LSU (549) than Ohio State did to Michigan (530).

“We try to keep the name of the defense alive,” Jamon said. “People say ‘College football, there ain’t no more good defenses.’ We’re just here to keep that alive, that narrative alive. … We will try to be (a great defense) every single year, just for the people who think defenses aren’t good anymore, and that can change ball games.”

Thus neither of the defenses are hanging their heads headed into the Peach Bowl. The Buckeyes have addressed the five plays, indeed, the five individual mistakes, which turned The Game on its ear.

What’s important, Tuimoloau indicated, is the true feeling of improvement that’s permeated the defense as the first year under Knowles progressed.

“I think we’re very motivated,” Tuimoloau said. “It started with last year (and the way the unit was maligned) … and with coach Knowles coming in it really allowed us to level up. He’s brought a different energy.

“I think that’s where (the motivation) all started for us. I don’t think it was last game, I think it was last season, knowing the things that were said about our defense, being more motivated and wanting to prove everybody wrong.”