WHEN: Saturday, 8 p.m.

WHERE: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

RECORDS: Georgia 13-0; Ohio State 11-1

TV/RADIO: ESPN (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Laura Rutledge); National Radio (Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, Katie George); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Eric Zeier, D.J. Shockley).

When the season began, many thought that Georgia would be in for another good year.

But would the Bulldogs have the opportunity to defend the national title they won in 2021? There was considerable doubt. But here we are. Saturday night at 8, it’s Georgia and Ohio State with a spot in the national championship at stake.

It should be quite the tussle.

The Bulldogs made it this far by being the bully on the block. Toughness, physicality, endurance—each is a trait that head coach Kirby Smart has ingrained in his program.

Georgia has used a dominant defense, an explosive offense, and solid special teams to place itself two wins away from becoming the first college program to win back-to-back national championships since 2011 and 2012.

Ohio State, meanwhile, boasts a high-powered offense led by quarterback C.J. Stroud. If you believe what the Buckeyes have said all week in Atlanta, they're a team hungry to prove their own detractors wrong.

For Bulldog quarterback Stetson Bennett, it’s another opportunity to etch his name even deeper into Georgia lore.

For Kirby Smart, it’s an opportunity to stamp himself as truly one of the game’s greatest head coaches.

The entire nation will be watching.

This is going to be fun.

OLB Nolan Smith (pec): Out

WR Ladd McConkey (knee) questionable

OL Warren McClendon (knee) questionable

OLB Marvin Jones Jr. (ankle) probable

DB Dan Jackson (stress fracture): Out

OL Earnest Greene (back) Out

RB Andrew Paul (ACL): Out

QB Stetson Bennett—What a year it’s been for the former walk-on who, after leading the Bulldogs past LSU for the SEC Championship, traveled to New York City as one of the four finalists for the Heisman Trophy. He comes into the game having completed 269 of 395 passes for 3,425 yards and 20 touchdowns, while rushing 47 times for 184 yards and seven scores. In two games this year at Mercedes-Benz, Bennett has completed 48 of 60 passes for 642 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions.

RB Kenny McIntosh—McIntosh has rushed for a team-best 709 yards on 137 carries and 10 touchdowns while catching 37 passes for 449 yards and one score.

RB Daijun Edwards—Edwards has 127 carries for 681 yards and seven touchdowns.

TE Brock Bowers—Bowers is the only player in the country this season with a rushing touchdown of 75 yards and a receiving touchdown of at least 75 yards. He has 52 catches for 726 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing six times for 93 yards and three scores.

TE Darnell Washington—A devastating blocker, Washington has 26 catches for 417 yards and one touchdown.

WR Ladd McConkey—Currently nursing a minor knee injury, McConkey leads all Georgia wide receivers with 51 catches for 675 yards and five touchdowns. He also has run the ball six times for 120 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown at Mississippi State.

Defense

LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson—Anchors the defense at middle linebacker with 64 tackles, including eight for 23 yards of lost yardage and three sacks. He also has 21 quarterback pressures.

LB Smael Mondon—Tied with Dumas-Johnson for the team lead in tackles with 64, including 6.5 for losses of 23 yards.

CB Kelee Ringo—Sophomore cornerback has two interceptions to go with six pass breakups, and figures to be challenged by Ohio State’s talented wide receiver corps.

S Christopher Smith—Veteran is the eyes and ears of the secondary and leads the players with three interceptions. Also returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown against LSU.

S Malaki Starks—The true freshman is third on the team with 63 tackles and has two interceptions

DE Mykel Williams—Freshman leads the Bulldogs with 27 quarterback hurries.

DL Jalen Carter—Finally 100 percent, after being slowed most of the season with various injuries. Carter is making a huge impact on the defensive line. His 25 quarterback hurries are second on the team, and he's forced two fumbles (against Tennessee), which leads the team.

Pressure C.J. Stroud: Although he’s capable, Stroud typically doesn’t scramble as he prefers to stay in the pocket. It’s no wonder. Ohio State has allowed just eight sacks all season and that’s given Stroud plenty of time to pick apart opposing secondaries with one of the best groups of wide receivers in the country. Where Stroud struggles sometimes, is when he gets pressure up the middle. So, keep an eye on Jalen Carter along with middle linebackers Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon to shoot some inside gaps in an attempt to throw Stroud off his game.

No turnovers: This qualifies as one of those no-kidding analyses in games of this importance and magnitude. Ohio State’s offense is too potent to be given extra opportunities. Quarterback Stetson Bennett has yet to turn the ball over in his two games at the Benz, and will need to keep that streak alive to give the Bulldogs their best chance to win.

Better communication on the back end: LSU threw for over 500 yards, but a lot of that was due to some miscommunication on the back end between cornerback Kelee Ringo and safety Malaki Starks. One would think those specific issues will have been worked out in a month between the game, but don’t be surprised to see the Buckeyes try to duplicate some of those same mistakes to see if any lessons have been learned.

Ohio State’s offense, under the direction of head coach Ryan Day, is performing at a balanced clip of 294.2 passing yards per game, 198.5 rushing yards per game, and 492.7 total yards per game. Ohio State ranks nationally 14th, 28th, and 6th, in those three categories, respectively.

The Buckeye offense is scoring 44.5 points per game, 2nd nationally, and has scored 55 of 58 times in the red zone for the second-highest percentage in the country (.948). Impressive is the rate of red zone TDs for Ohio State: 44 with a balance of 22 passing and 22 rushing scores. Ohio State is tied for 4th nationally with 44 red zone touchdowns. Georgia is No. 1 with 48.

Ohio State’s offense is powered by team captain and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud, who ranks first in the nation in passing efficiency (176.3) and is tied for first in touchdown passes (37). Stroud distributes his passes evenly: three players have caught a pass in all 12 games, and a fourth has caught a pass in all nine games he’s played. Stroud enters the Peach Bowl with 3,340 passing yards and top-five rankings in five different statistical categories: TDs (T-1st, 37), pass efficiency (1st, 176.3), yards per attempt (3rd, 9.4), completions of 30+ yards (2nd, 29) and yards per completion (5th, 14.21).

A unanimous first-team All-American, Marvin Harrison Jr.’s season has been as good as anyone's in the country. The true sophomore leads the Buckeyes in receptions (72), yards (1,157) and touchdowns (12). He is No. 4 nationally in TDs, 9th in yards per game, and 20th in receptions. Against one of the top secondary units in the country at Penn State, Harrison Jr. hauled in a career-best 10 catches for a career-best 185 yards with all 10 catches for first downs. He had three first-down receptions on 3rd & 10 plays and a fourth on a 4th & 7 play. Harrison Jr. has caught 15 TD passes in the past 13 games, including 12 this year, which is fourth-most nationally. Fifty-five of Harrison’s 72 receptions this season (76 percent) have resulted in first downs.

Ohio State has 76 plays of 20 or more yards this season, which is the most of any team in the Big Ten, and ranks No. 16 nationally. Forty of those 76 plays have gone for 30-plus yards, which ranks fifth in the country. Tight end Cade Stover has three receptions of 30-plus yards, the second-most among Big Ten tight ends. The Buckeyes lead the nation with an average of 7.60 yards per play.

Georgia is playing with a lot of confidence after rolling through the regular season and winning the program’s first SEC title since 2017. With apologies to Tennessee, Ohio State is the most explosive team the Bulldogs have faced this year. Georgia had its way with the Vols in Athens, and while some like to compare Tennessee to Ohio State offensively, their schemes really are not that similar. Both teams will have success moving the ball, meaning whichever team makes the fewest mistakes will come away with the win. Prediction: Georgia 38, Ohio State 30.