DogNation Staff
@mikegriffith32
ATHENS — Ohio State heads to Atlanta on Monday with visions of 40 points on the scoreboard and a second crack against rival Michigan in the CFP Championship Game.
There’s no other way for the Buckeyes to approach things if they hope to win the showdown against No. 1-ranked Georgia at 8 p.m. next Saturday in the CFP Semi-Final.
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Ohio State beat writer Nathan Baird knows Ryan Day’s team as well as anyone and shared the team’s 40-point goal in our Chick-Fil-A 5-Question Scouting Report Peach Bowl with the talented veteran Cleveland.com journalist.
Kirby Smart has said in the past this season that Georgia’s defensive goal is to allow no more than 13 points in any game, a standard the Bulldogs have measured in seven of 13 games this season.
Ohio State’s goal might not be as crazy as it seems when you consider the Buckeyes ranked second in the nation with 44.5 points per game and scored 40 or more points in 9 of 12 competitions.
Plus, the Bulldogs are coming off arguably their worst defensive outing of the season, giving up a season-high 549 yards — 502 passes — and 30 points to an LSU team that was averaging 32.3 and playing with a quarterback. -full-back replacing half the game.
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“In its entirety,” Kelly said of what decided the LSU-Georgia game, “you’re talking about five or six games where, look, could have, should have, right?”
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And, before the idea kicked in that LSU’s offense didn’t resume until Georgia opened up a big second-half lead, it should be noted that the Tigers beat the Bulldogs 158-99. in the first quarter.
Indeed, things could have been very different had Nazir Stackhouse not blocked the Tigers field goal attempt that All-American Chris Smith recovered and returned from 96 yards for a growth-changing touchdown.
Day is probably aware that scoring in the 30s probably won’t be enough if the game turns into the shootout that many expect.
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Indeed, the last team to beat Georgia was Alabama, claiming a 41-24 victory in last year’s SEC Championship Game.
And the previous Bulldogs loss before that? Yes, over 40 points again – 44-28 at the hands of Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators in 2020. And before that? You guessed it, 41-24, Alabama at Tuscaloosa during this 2020 season.
Kirby Smart is 56-1 in Georgia when the Dawgs score 30 or more points, its only loss coming to a Butch Jones-coached Tennessee team that connected on a Josh Dobbs Hail Mary in 2017.
Question 1: What do you consider to be the most important thing the Buckeyes need to beat Georgia?
Nathan Baird: The easy answer would be to simply drown out the defensive lapses that allowed Michigan to score five explosive touchdowns. But there was already a random quality there that Georgia might not be able to replicate.
Really, OSU needs to do what it does best – be effective on offense. He needs to stay ahead of the chains with his running game, but he also needs to get the ball in the hands of his best playmakers.
When he does that, there is perhaps no offense in the country that puts more pressure on the opposing offense to play near-perfect, non-wasted records. Ohio State wasted too many against Michigan.
Day has already said that OSU probably needs to score 40 goals to win, and the buildup for this game has centered around that goal.
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