Underdog Ohio State seeks to be 'violent' against Georgia in College Football Playoff semifinal

ATLANTA – All year, Ryan Day has preached toughness as a daily mantra for his Ohio State football team.

It will be tested as never before in Saturday's College Football Playoff semifinal against top-ranked Georgia at the Peach Bowl.

The Bulldogs (13-0) are the defending national champions. Even after losing five first-round draft picks, they have a beastly defense that mostly overwhelmed SEC rivals. They don't just tackle. They punish.

Georgia's offense is based on wearing down opponents, usually using multiple gifted tight ends.

The Bulldogs' physicality is the biggest reason they are a touchdown favorite to beat the Buckeyes. Don't think Ohio State isn't aware of that, or the inference from it.

STAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter now!

"When somebody talks about another man's toughness, they're really questioning your toughness," OSU defensive end Jack Sawyer said. "When we hear people talking about how physical they are, we really know what that means. They're trying to say we're not that physical. We can't really say anything because of what happened the last game."

Oh, that last game. Ohio State hasn't played since losing to Michigan 45-23 on Nov. 26. Unlike in 2021 when the Wolverines bullied the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor, this year's loss was caused by costly defensive breakdowns and an offense that managed only a field goal in the second half.

"If you really turn on that tape, you'll see how physical we played that whole game," Sawyer said.

Ohio State did shut down Michigan's run game for most of that contest until late 75- and 85-yard touchdowns added the exclamation point and left a terrible final impression that the Buckeyes had cracked.

Even before it was granted a second chance for the CFP because of Southern California's loss to Utah in the Pac-12 title game, they had a new determination to change that narrative when they got back to practice.

"This whole month, we're just ready to get out there and prove everybody wrong," Sawyer said. "That's been the motto."

Even the vocabulary has become heightened. On Thursday, Day twice said the Buckeyes need to be "violent" against Georgia.

He elaborated on it Friday.

“When you're playing in the CFP, certainly it's going to be the most physical game you've played all season,” Day said. “The SEC and the Big Ten are coming together, and for years are two of the most physical conferences out there.

"So it's everybody on the field. You've got the perimeter game. You've got special teams. You have the game in the trenches. You have to win your one-on-one battles. That's what this game is all about. It's about running around hitting people. That's to be expected in a game like this."

Day believes the week of misery and uncertainty after the Michigan loss might serve his team well. He said the team has gotten an "injection of energy" from the second chance at a national title when all seemed lost. He has said repeatedly that his team has practiced with an edge in the past month.

"We've had really physical practices," Day said. "When you have something taken away from you, it does give you a little bit more appreciation for what it is. We'll see how we play, but it has been a great month."

The Buckeyes haven't been underdogs since they lost to Alabama in the CFP championship game two years ago. They played against Michigan as if they felt the weight of the world on their shoulders. Ohio State seems to be reveling in this unfamiliar role. It almost feels liberating.

Georgia will be playing for the third time this year in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is little more than an hour from its campus in Athens, so the Buckeyes are treating this like a road game.

"Nobody really gives us a chance to win this game anyway so we're going to let it all out," Day said. "We're going to play as hard as we possibly can and look up after four quarters and see where we're at."

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State eager to prove toughness against Georgia in CFP semifinal