The 2021 Peach Bowl should be a good one. We will see #9 Georgia (7-2) and #8 Cincinnati (9-0), square off on New Years Day.
How They Got Here: Georgia
Georgia was the #4 ranked team in the country to start the season. The Bulldogs came out hot, winning their first three games by convincing margins. Then came Alabama. The Crimson Tide absolutely rolled over Georgia in mid-October. After the tough 41-24 loss, Georgia began to spiral a little bit. They only beat Kentucky 14-3, and then gave up 44 points to the high powered Florida offense in a loss. The loss to Florida was their last loss of the season, as they won their remaining 3 games, and stayed in the Top 10.
It felt as if Georgia was one of those teams that was a Quarterback away from being serious contenders. After losing Jake Fromm in the 2020 NFL Draft, they were tasked with finding his replacement. To start the year, they went with Junior Quarterback, Stetson Bennett. Bennett was disappointing, throwing for 1,167 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions in his 6 starts with the team. After only throwing for 78 yards against Florida, they decided to make JT Daniels the starting Quarterback. The Sophomore Quarterback played very well in his 3 starts, throwing for 839 yards, 9 touchdowns and only 1 interception. The offense also features Sophomore running back, Zamir White, who carried the ball 133 times for 740 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
The Georgia defense played very well this season, as they were the best team in the Country against the run. The unit only gave up 69.3 yards a game on the ground, and 250 through the air. LB Nakobe Dean is the anchor of that Bulldog defense, leading the team in total tackles with 64. Sophomore edge rusher, Azeez Ojulari, also had himself a pretty nice season. He totaled 5.5 sacks, 27 total tackles and 2 forced fumbles.
How They Got Here: Cincinnati
Cincinnati was one of the big surprises from the 2020 season. The Bearcats only played one game all season that was within 10 points, which came against UCF. With an undefeated record, they were disappointed they didn’t find themselves in the CFP.
Cincinnati is very solid on both sides of the ball. The Spencer Ridder led offense averages 467.2 yards per game, while the defense held their opponents to 310.8 yards per game.
The Cincinnati offense is very run heavy, averaging 225 yards on the ground per game. The rushing attack was led by Senior running back, Gerrid Doaks, and Freshman, Jerome Ford. The two running backs combined for 1,059 yards and 14 touchdowns. Quarterback, Spencer Ridder also contributed 609 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. The receiving core was led by Sophomore tight end, Josh Whyle. He caught 25 passes for 318 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Betting Card/Predictions
I believe as if 7 is too high of a spread for the Bulldogs, but that does not mean I believe Cincinnati will cover that. Despite both teams stellar defenses, I believe this will be a relatively high scoring, entertaining game.
Prediction: Georgia – 34, Cincinnati – 28
Bets: Over 50
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