MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — They’ve taken different paths to get to South Florida and the College Football Playoff semifinals, but Michigan and Georgia are actually similar.
They both pride themselves on good hard physical football and in Jim Harbaugh and Kirby Smart, they’re led by two men who are coaching at their alma mater.
However, most “experts" believe the Bulldogs have the edge into Friday’s matchup in the Orange Bowl. They have an 8.5 point favorite but it is worth noting that they have history on their side as well.
In SEC Big ten matchups in the college football playoff, the SEC is 1 and 2. Not a big difference but those losses were ugly blowouts for the Big Ten.
In addition, the SEC also owns an over 60% percent advantage in bowl games between the two conferences However in a conference call Friday morning, ESPN’s David Pollack isn’t buying talk of another one-sided game. He thinks Michigan has what it takes to do it.
“I think it’s funny,” the former Georgia star says. “This talk happens a lot. I can tell you though, we don’t really care about that. I’m not a big fan of history.
Former Michigan star and fellow ESPN commentator Desmond Howard agreed.
“To me, it’s not really SEC domination, it’s more Alabama (in the CFP),” he added.
The Orange Bowl starts at 7:30 in Miami Friday. The winner takes on either Alabama or Cincinnati in the title game on Jan. 10.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.