Michigan Football: 5 Things to know about Georgia
By Alex Hinton
Breaking down five things you need to know about Michigan football’s Orange Bowl opponent and that’s the Georgia Bulldogs.
Michigan football entered the season unranked, but that did not deter it from putting together a magical season. The Wolverines pulled off wins at Wisconsin and Penn State before running through arch-rival Ohio State and demolishing Iowa in the Big Ten Championship.
In the process, Michigan football secured its first CFP appearance. It will face the Georgia Bulldogs, who spent most of the year ranked No.1. Here are five things to know about Georgia.
Georgia is dealing with covid cases
It appears that Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon. The Omicron variant is the latest strain to sweep the nation and it has made its way to Athens.
Quarterback J.T. Daniels tested positive for Covid-19 and there are conflicting reports about whether wide receiver George Pickens tested positive as well. Either way, Pickens has since tested negative and is expected to play while Daniels has cleared the protocol as well.
Georgia has been without Pickens for most of the season. He missed the first 11 games of the season after suffering a torn ACL in the spring. However, he is arguably the best player on Georgia’s offense and a first-round talent. Pickens has been on a snap count in the two games he has played and he has three catches for 46 yards on the year.
Meanwhile, Daniels began the season as Georgia’s starter but he missed four games with a lat muscle injury. Once he returned, head coach Kirby Smart opted to stick with Stetson Bennett. Bennett’s numbers are impressive with a 64.1% completion rate, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
However, you also have to take into account his supporting cast, and Bennett’s skill set caps the ceiling of Georgia’s offense. Daniels is not as mobile as Bennett but he has more arm talent. After Georgia’s loss to Alabama, there was talk of switching back to JT Daniels. We will have to see if that is the case now that Daniels is out of the protocol.