ATLANTA – There’s certainly a lot of familiarity between Georgia and the site of Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal game against Ohio State.
The Bulldogs will make the same 79-mile trip that they’ve made to Mercedes-Benz twice already this year.
Once there, players will gaze around, no doubt fondly, considering Georgia has defeated Oregon (49-3) and LSU (50-30) already there this year.
So, will that familiarity help UGA when the two teams kick off Saturday night (8 p.m., ESPN)? Head coach Kirby Smart isn’t too sure. He only sees one possible advantage.
“Probably that you know where the scoreboard, the clocks, and all the different stuff is the biggest thing,” Smart said. “Otherwise, the field's the same.”
Bulldog center Sedrick Van Pran feels the same way.
While there’s something to be said for knowing how the field plays, ultimately the winner is going to come down to which team executes its game plan the best.
“That's a good question. But honestly, I don't think I want to kind of dive too much into the advantage,” Van Pran said. “Just being honest, I think every stadium ... I guess I want to say unique for the simple fact of you just have to go out and play your style of ball. I don't think you can get too caught up in the advantages of the stadium or anything like that.”
Smart certainly is not.
By the time the game kicks, both teams will have had three opportunities to work out at Mercedes-Benz and have a very good idea of what to expect come game time.
“There's not a lot of difference in terms of the diameter and width of the field, but I think it's more about the familiarity of the quarterback knowing the shot clock and the ribbons and the different things,” Smart said. “The biggest difference is both teams are going to practice in there, so they'll be familiar with it by the time the game starts.”
Van Pran agreed.
“At the end of the day, this is a playoff game. Ohio State is going to go out there and give it everything they have,” Van Pran said. “So, at the end of the day, those things start to even out, and it's all going to come down to who can actually get the ball the most.”
