ATLANTA – Ohio State isn’t often an underdog when it takes the field, and the Buckeyes seem to be embracing the fact that defending national champion Georgia is a betting favorite to beat them in Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
The No. 1 Bulldogs opened as 6 ½-point favorites, according to Caesars Sportsbook, and the line hasn’t budged. It’s the first time No. 4 Ohio State has been an underdog since a 52-24 loss to Alabama in the CFP National Championship after the 2020 season. The Buckeyes were 9 ½-point underdogs in that game but then were favored in each of their 25 contests since.
“I do feel like people are counting us out, but that’s fine,” Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud said during a news conference on Tuesday. “We’ve been counted out plenty of times … This isn’t nothing new. I definitely think this is the path that God wanted us on and I’m just rocking with that. If that means we’re the underdog, I’m cool with it.”
The Buckeyes were 9-point favorites in their last game — an ugly 45-23 loss to rival Michigan at home at the Horseshoe on Nov. 26.
Georgia, which won its first national championship in 41 years in 2021, went 13-0 this season and has won 31 of its past 32 games. The Bulldogs should also be crowd favorites in Saturday’s game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App), which is about 70 miles from the UGA campus.
“I always thought it was ‘Ohio Against the World,’ even before this game,” Buckeyes receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. said. “I’m glad we can play them in Atlanta, in kind of their home arena. Kind of always like being the villain and underdog going into the game, so it’s exciting to be able to do that.”
The Buckeyes won’t have to look back too far in their history to find inspiration. In the first edition of the CFP in 2014, the No. 4 Buckeyes, behind backup quarterback Cardale Jones, who was making his second career start, stunned No. 1 Alabama 42-35 in a semifinal. Ohio State defeated Oregon 42-20 to win a national championship.
The Buckeyes are 8-2 in their past 10 games as underdogs, including 3-2 in the CFP.
“You look at the rankings and see that we’re No. 4, then you look in the past and see what the past No. 4 Ohio State team did,” Buckeyes receiver Emeka Egbuka said. “At the end of the day, Georgia is a phenomenal team and they’re the No. 1-ranked team right now. I can’t speak for everyone, but me personally, I don’t feel like we’re underdogs.
“I feel like with the confidence we have as a team and in our ability, we’re just going to go out there Saturday and play football like we know how to play football.”