No. 1 Georgia to face No. 4 Ohio State in Peach Bowl playoff game

ATLANTA — The Georgia Bulldogs won’t have to travel far for their semifinal playoff game.

UGA will face off against No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on New Year’s Eve. The other semifinal features No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

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On Saturday, UGA dismantled LSU in the SEC Championship at Mercedes Benz Stadium, 50-30, helping secure the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State finished this season 11-1, only losing their final game of the season to rival No. 2 Michigan.

College Football Playoff Selection Committee chair Boo Corrigan says there wasn’t much debate on where to place Georgia and Michigan.

“We go through the same process every week and just make sure that we’re thorough and talk about it. At the end of it, Georgia has got those five wins over ranked teams that really kind of led us down that road, the way they played in the championship game against LSU. Michigan played really well, as well, but there was nothing in our mind that was really much of flipping the two,” Corrigan said.

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This will be Georgia’s third game of the season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Saturday’s win against LSU and their season-opening blowout against Oregon.

UGA head coach Kirby Smart says the team is thankful for the opportunity to play close to home again.

“To be one of the four teams in the Playoff is a goal for every team, coach, player, and fan.  We are honored and I’m so proud of our team.  And playing close to home presents a great opportunity for our fans who have been so supportive of our team throughout the season at home and on the road.  At the same time it’s also a challenge to play at team like Ohio State which has proven to be one of college football’s most storied and accomplished programs,” Smart said.

The game between the Bulldogs and Buckeyes will kickoff at 8 p.m.

Georgia looks to become the first team to repeat as champions in the playoff era. Ohio State is making its fifth playoff appearance. The Buckeyes won their last national title as the four seed in 2014.

The national championship game is set for Jan. 9 at Sofi Stadium in California.

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