Michigan Football: Measuring Georgia’s Offense By the Numbers

Rushing Offense

Georgia has a stout rushing offense as well as it enters the CFP Semifinal ranked 32nd nationally averaging 194.9 rushing yards per game.

Against their best five defenses this season the Georgia rushing attack averaged 151.2 yards per game on the ground compared to 255.9 yards per game against the worst seven defenses they faced.

Another massive disparity which shows that this run game has been bottled up at times by the better run defenses it has seen.

The two best rush defenses Georgia has faced this season were Alabama (4th) and Clemson (8th) where Georgia registered 230 total rushing yards and 3.77 yards per carry.

Conversely, the two best rushing defenses Michigan football faced this year were Wisconsin (1st) and Iowa (13th) where the Wolverines racked up 323 yards on the ground averaging 4.14 yards per carry.

Both teams are committed to running the football and have done so effectively against some of the elite run defenses in the country this season.

Entering the Orange Bowl, Michigan football has the 21st best rush defense in the country and Georgia owns the 3rd best rushing defense.

Conclusion

Georgia’s offense is similarly constructed to the Michigan offense.

Both teams love to pound the football down their opponents’ throats and then surprise the defense with a play-action shot here and there to keep the defense honest.

Both teams have “game-managers” at quarterback, and both have a wide array of targets to throw to, but no true number one target on the outside.

In my opinion, this game will come down to two things: game script and turnovers.

For game script, I think the team that jumps out to an early lead, especially if they can get it to two scores or more, has a massive advantage in this game because of the shared tendency and ability to run the ball for four quarters.

As far as turnovers go, while Stetson Bennett has been much more turnover-prone than Cade McNamara, the Michigan defense hasn’t been as prone to causing turnovers as the Georgia defense has.

So the turnover aspect is hard to predict because both sides almost cancel each other out.

At the end of the day, I expect a very close game that could go down as one of the best finishes in College Football Playoff history if we are lucky.

For some predictions, betting odds, an in-depth preview, and an update on Daxton Hill’s availability for the semifinal game check these out.