Ohio St. ‘cool’ with underdog status vs. Georgia

ATLANTA – Ohio State isn’t frequently an underdog when it takes the field, and the Buckeyes appear to be welcoming the fact that defending national champion Georgia is a wagering preferred to beat them in Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Bowl.The No. 1 Bulldogs opened as 6 1/2 -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 considering that a 52-24 loss to Alabama in the CFP Championship Game after the 2020 season. The Buckeyes were 9 1/2-point underdogs in that game however then were preferred in each of their 25 contests considering that.2 Associated”I do feel like people are counting us out, but that’s

fine,”Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud stated during a news conference on Tuesday.”We have actually been suspended lots of times … This isn’t absolutely nothing new. I definitely believe this is the path that God wanted us on and I’m just rocking with that. If that implies we’re the underdog, I’m cool with it. “The Buckeyes were 9-point favorites in their last game– an unsightly 45-23 loss to competing Michigan in the house at the Horseshoe on Nov. 26. Georgia, which won its very first championship game in 41 years in 2021, went 13-0 this season and has actually won 31 of its past 32 games. The Bulldogs must likewise be crowd favorites in Saturday’s game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App), which has to do with 70 miles from the UGA campus.” I always believed it was ‘Ohio Against the World, ‘even prior to this game, “Buckeyes receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. said.”I’m thankful we can play them in Atlanta, in kind of their home arena. Type of constantly like being the villain and underdog entering into the game, so it’s amazing to be able to do that. “The Buckeyes will not need to recall too far in their history to find motivation. In the very first edition of the CFP

in 2014, the No. 4 Buckeyes, behind backup quarterback Cardale Jones, who was making his 2nd career start, shocked 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 previous 10 games as underdogs, consisting of 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 group did, “Buckeyes receiver Emeka Egbuka

said.”At the end of the day, Georgia is a phenomenal team and they’re the No. 1-ranked group today. I can’t speak for everyone, but me personally, I do not feel like we’re underdogs.”I feel like with the self-confidence we have as a group and in our ability, we’re just going to go out there Saturday and play football like we understand how to play football.”