Peach Bowl: Revved up Georgia offense big challenge for rebuilding Buckeye defense

For the Buckeyes, the reviews are mixed.

Georgia is 11th in the country in scoring at 39.2 points per game. The Bulldogs are seventh in the nation at 6.9 yards per play, and they are seventh in total offense (491.9 yards per game) thanks to the No. 18 rushing offense (207 ypg.) and No. 19 passing game (284.9).

Quarterback Stetson Bennett IV was a Heisman Trophy finalist this season after throwing for 3,425 yards and 20 touchdowns. He is 26th in the nation in passing yards per game (263.5) after finishing 71st last year with 204.4.

Bennett spreads the ball around with five players having caught at least 26 passes. The leader is tight end Brock Bowers, who has 52 catches for 726 yards and six touchdowns.

The Bulldogs spend most of their time in what’s known as 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends and two receivers) with 6-foot-7, 265-pound Darnell Washington joining the 6-4, 230-pound Bowers and a pair of receivers on the field along with a rotating cast of running backs.

The tight ends move around the formation quite a bit, lining up on the the line next to a tackle one play and split wide or in the slot the next.

That versatility creates a challenge for defensive game-planners like Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

“Because of the versatility, the fact that they can lineup tight to the formation and wide, you have to prepare for those to be two-tight end sets,” Knowles said. “And you know you’re not going to get that all the time, but if you’re not prepared for that, they can do damage from the line of scrimmage. And then you make the adjustments when they move out, but they’re certainly dangerous wherever they line up.”

The Georgia offensive line is regarded as one of the best in the country and boasts All-SEC first-team tackle Warren McClendon and second-team center Sedrick Van Pran, but the Bulldogs rank 21st nationally in average line yards, a tool developed by FootballOutsiders.com to measure run-blocking efficiency. Georgia is 66th in power rating (short-yardage situations on third and fourth downs) but has excelled in pass protection, ranking third in sack rate.

With Knowles hired to revamp a unit that had fallen on hard times, Ohio State is 13th in the nation in points allowed per game (19.2) and 11th in total defense (303.9 yards per game).

The Buckeyes are 25th in the country against the run (119.9 ypg.) and 16th against the pass (184) while checking in 42nd in pass efficiency defense. The Buckeyes are 17th in the nation allowing 4.9 yards per play, but they allowed a school-record 8.83 yards per play against Michigan their last time out.

The Wolverines gained 530 total yards, by far the most this season by an Ohio State opponent, leaving questions about just how much Knowles’ unit has really improved from the previous season.

“I think it just comes down to doing your job and just trusting the guy next to you that whatever his assignment is, he is going to get it done,” linebacker Steele Chambers said. “Yes, Stetson Bennett is a great player. He’s got this weird little dead leg thing he does, that’s annoying, whenever he is out in open space, but he’s a great player, and I think it’s going to take 11 guys to really stop him and stop that entire offense.”

The Ohio State defensive line is 31st in the nation in sacks (2.6 per game) and 23rd in tackles for loss (6.8) while ranking 16th in defensive line yards and 12th in short-yardage situations.

The Buckeyes are 27th nationally in sack rate but much better on standard downs (first) than passing downs (61st).

“First of all, they have really good players and they execute their system,” Bennett said. “They try to cause havoc. They can come from a lot of different places. They do their assignment, and in order for us to be successful, we have to do ours.”

If there is a glaring difference on the stat sheet, it can be found in the red zone.

The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the nation in red zone offense (though just 34th in touchdown percentage, 67.6) while Ohio State is No. 122 overall (91.3 percent) in the red zone and 70th in touchdown rate (60.9).

SATURDAY’S GAME

Ohio State vs. Georgia, 8 p.m., ESPN, 1410