MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – It had been 61 years since Georgia played in the Orange Bowl. Based on Friday’s experience, the Bulldogs might not want to stay away as long next time.
The No. 3 Bulldogs (13-1) won in the College Football Playoff for the second time under coach Kirby Smart on Friday. Georgia knocked off Big Ten champion Michigan, 34-11, before 66,839 at Hard Rock Stadium.
With the win over the No. 2 Wolverines (12-2), the Bulldogs will advance to the CFP Championship game for the second time in four years. And, once again, it will be Alabama that awaits them there, this time in Indianapolis on Jan. 10 (8 p.m., ESPN).
Georgia and Bama met in the 2017 CFP Championship game on Jan. 8, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Crimson Tide prevailed, 26-23, in overtime.
Alabama (13-1) defeated then-No. 1 Georgia, 41-24, four weeks ago in the SEC Championship game. Now the playoffs’ top-seeded team, the Crimson Tide dispatched of No. 4 Cincinnati, 27-6, in Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, earlier in the day Friday.
This one was decided fairly quickly for the Bulldogs. They jumped on the Big Ten champions, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions of the game and on five of their six before the first-half clock ran out on them at midfield.
It was a particularly satisfying game for Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett (20-for-30 passing, 310 yards, three touchdowns). The fifth-year senior, heavily criticized since the loss to Alabama four weeks ago, came out of the chute firing. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters. His scoring tosses went to Jermaine Burton for 57 yards and to Brock Bowers for nine yards. He also had 53- and 35-yard completions in the opening half. Bennett added a key 20-yard run in the first quarter in which he evaded the pressure of Heisman Trophy finalist Aidan Hutchinson from the left and went around right end.
Bennett’s most satisfying moment may have come at the 11:11 mark of the game. That’s when he hit James Cook for his third touchdown pass of the game, a 39-yarder that put the score out of reach at 34-3. It also put Bennett over 300 yards for the game.
Fittingly, Bennett was named the Orange Bowl’s most outstanding offensive player. Cornerback Derion Kendrick won the defensive award.
It was a pretty good night for Cook as well. The senior running back who grew up seven miles south of Hard Rock Stadium, had 99 yards receiving and 131 total yards on the night.
Also, Michigan, one of the best pass-rushing teams in the country, finished with zero sacks.
Leading 27-3 at halftime, the Bulldogs avoided Michigan’s biggest bullet on the Wolverines’ first possession of the third quarter. Kendrick picked up his second interception of the game when he picked off Michigan’s Cade McNamara in the Georgia end zone at the 9:57 mark. That would be the Wolverines’ last meaningful threat.
It was another great night for Georgia’s defense, which was left with some doubts with the loss to Alabama in Atlanta. The Bulldogs stopped Michigan short on fourth-and-goal from their 6 with seven minutes to play. It was the third time on the night that Georgia’s offense was able to take over on downs.
Averaging 452 yards and 37.7 points a game, the Wolverines had 290 yards and three points, respectively, when Georgia sent its starting defenders to the sideline. Almost immediately, Michigan scored its first touchdown of the game on a 35-yard TD pass to Andrei Anthony with 4:25 to play. The Wolverines got a 2-point conversion as well to make it 34-11.
Georgia’s win ties the school record for wins in a season. The Bulldogs also had 13 victories in 2017 (13-2) and 2002.
It was just the fourth Orange Bowl appearance for Georgia and the third matchup in history with Michigan. The Bulldogs are now 2-1 against the Wolverines, playing them for the first time since 1965. They’re now 3-1 in the Orange Bowl, with the last win coming against Missouri in 1960 (14-0).
In their last CFP appearance, the Bulldogs’ defeated No. 2-ranked Oklahoma, 54-48, in double overtime of the 2017 Rose Bowl. Georgia lost to Alabama a week later in the national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Michigan was making its first appearance in the playoffs. The Wolverines (12-2) won their first Big Ten championship since 2004 this season.
Smart and Harbaugh both were attempting to become the first coaches since Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer in 1998 to win a national champion for their alma mater. Only Smart still has that opportunity.
