Georgia vs Michigan: Capital One Orange Bowl prediction, College Football Playoff semifinal game preview, how to watch
Georgia vs Michigan: Capital One Orange Bowl, College Football Playoff Semifinal How To Watch
Date: Friday, December 31
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
How To Watch: ESPN, Live stream on ESPN+
Record: Georgia (12-1), Michigan (12-1)
CFN Predictions | Bowl Schedule
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Georgia vs Michigan Capital One Orange Bowl, College Football Playoff Semifinal Preview
– Oh are the respective fan bases ready for this. Georgia hasn’t won a national title since 1980, it came brutally close to close out the 2017 season, and now it’s back and two wins away from finally getting it done.
Michigan hasn’t won a national championship since 1997, and even then it was split with Nebraska.
After years of being hammered for not being able to win a really big game under Jim Harbaugh, the program came up with two in a row with the breakthrough moment against Ohio State and the blowout Big Ten Championship over Iowa, and now it’s a victory away from playing for the national championship.
– Michigan received just 12 votes in the preseason AP Top 25 rankings. No, it wasn’t ranked 12th – it got 12 votes, ranking behind Liberty and just ahead of Northwestern. It wasn’t ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll top 25, either.
With a power style on both sides of the ball – and enough timely downfield passes to get by – this isn’t as flashy team. It wants to get physical.
The program and Harbaugh have earned respect no matter what happens here, but there’s been just one bowl win since taking down Tim Tebow and Florida to end the 2007 season going 1-6 in bowls since then.
– Georgia has won six of its last eight bowl games and is 4-2 under head coach Kirby Smart. There wasn’t any lack of respect from the preseason polls – ranked fifth in each – before becoming the unquestioned No. 1 team right up until it lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship.
The defense is loaded with NFL talent, the offense is loaded with NFL talent, and this game might just become a key moment for Smart and the Bulldogs.
Smart has shown he can get the Dawgs close to being among the elite of the elite, but lose this to close out with two straight defeats, and everything that happened in the amazing 2021 will be soured.
Why Georgia, Michigan Will Win
Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History
Orange Bowl Top Players To Know