Ohio State is in.
As the No. 4 seed in this year's College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes are set to face No. 1 Georgia in the CFP semifinals. The teams will battle on Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
In the other semifinal, second-ranked Michigan will face third-ranked TCU at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, setting up the possibility of an Ohio State vs. Michigan rematch in the national championship game if the Buckeyes and Wolverines can both win their semifinals.
Georgia earns the No. 1 seed after an undefeated regular season and a 50-30 win over then-No. 14 LSU in the SEC Championship. At a perfect 13-0, the Bulldogs also have a 49-3 victory against then-No. 11 Oregon in its season opener and a 27-13 win over then-No. 1 Tennessee in Week 10.
Entering the CFP, Georgia ranks No. 7 in total offense and No. 13 in scoring offense with 491.9 yards gained and 39.2 points scored per game. It’s ranked No. 9 and No. 2 nationally in the same categories defensively, allowing 292.0 yards and 12.8 points per contest to its opponents.
Meanwhile, Ohio State earns the No. 4 seed after USC lost to then-No. 11 Utah, 47-24, in the Pac-12 Championship on Friday. TCU also fell in its final game – a 31-28 overtime loss to then-No. 10 Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship – but the committee believed the Horned Frogs’ résumé to be strong enough that they still warranted the No. 3 seed in the CFP.
Ohio State and Georgia have only played each other once before in the 1993 Citrus Bowl. The Bulldogs won that game, 21-14, despite a big day from Robert Smith in which he rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns and added 49 yards through the air.
The Buckeyes will have the opportunity to even the series with Georgia as they make their first-ever appearance in the Peach Bowl.
Ohio State is making its fifth College Football Playoff appearance in nine years. The Buckeyes have gone 2-2 in the semifinals in their first four appearances, winning the national championship in the inaugural CFP in 2014 but losing to Alabama in the national championship game in 2020.
Georgia is making its third CFP appearance and its second in a row as the Bulldogs look to become the first repeat national champions in the playoff era.
