NCAAF: Who is the better team at No. 3? Georgia or Ohio State?

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields rushes during game action against Cincinnati on September 7. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire)

Ashley Anderson

October 10th, 2019

The latest AP college football poll revealed a top five that remained mostly intact from the week before, with Alabama at No. 1, Clemson in second and LSU fifth. The only difference was that the Ohio State Buckeyes moved from fourth into a tie for third with the Georgia Bulldogs.

The last time a tie occurred in the top three of the AP poll was September 20, 2015, when TCU and Ole Miss both ranked third. That season neither team ended up making it to the College Football Playoff, which was eventually won by Alabama, 45-40, over Clemson.

This season both Ohio State and Georgia look primed for a spot in college football's postseason tournament. But which team is actually better?

POLL ALERT: Ohio State and Georgia now tied at No. 3 in Top 25 poll presented by @askRegions. Florida climbs to No. 7, Penn State into top 10; Baylor, Memphis, Cincinnati in.

Full poll: https://t.co/DWCBw9xytP

More AP college football: https://t.co/lyS9Elfx0c pic.twitter.com/cVh1arPz6m
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 6, 2019

Let's compare the Buckeyes and Bulldogs to determine which school has the best chance to return to the College Football Playoff and possibly win it all.

Offense

Team	Passing YPG	Rushing YPG	PPG	Eff

Georgia	262.2 (47th)	250.0 (13th)	37.8 (15th)	88.2 (5th)
Ohio State	246.0 (67th)	288.5 (3rd)	49.3 (3rd)	96.4 (3rd)

The 6-0 Buckeyes own the advantage on offense over 5-0 Georgia. The Bulldogs are a bit more efficient through the air, but Ohio State averages more total yards per game, with 535 (seventh in the nation). Georgia isn't far behind—the Bulldogs rank 10th with 512 total yards per contest—but is converting that yardage into fewer points.

CFB RUSHING OFFENSE YPC

1 Oklahoma 7.84
2 Louisiana 7.34
3 Georgia 6.68
4 Houston 6.21
5 Ohio State 6.18
6 Clemson 6.15
7 South Carolina 6.07
8 Tulane 6.06
9 Baylor 5.81
10 Appalachian State 5.79#CFB150
— CFB Focus 🏈 (@cffmwachsman) October 6, 2019

Defense

Team	Passing YPG	Rushing YPG	PPG	Eff

Georgia	262.2 (47th)	250.0 (13th)	37.8 (15th)	88.2 (5th)
Ohio State	246.0 (67th)	288.5 (3rd)	49.3 (3rd)	96.4 (3rd)

Once again Ohio State edges out Georgia in this statistical comparison. The Buckeyes allow the fifth-fewest passing yards, while Georgia has allowed 219.0 per game (62nd in the country). Georgia is slightly better at defending the run, however, and has allowed opposing offenses just one more point per game than Ohio State.

Georgia is now the only school in the nation that has not allowed a rushing touchdown.
The rushing defense is giving up just 2.3yds per carry and 59yds per game through 5 games, both first among SEC teams
📷 via @GPoole_BI pic.twitter.com/mK1CYMBql1
— Dawgsontop (@dawgsontop2017) October 6, 2019

The Buckeyes defense averages 1.3 interceptions (17th) and two forced fumbles per game (18th), while the Bulldogs tally one interception (47th) and force 1.2 fumbles (70th) on average.

Position battles

Quarterback comparison

Team	Passing YPG	Rushing YPG	PPG	Eff

Georgia	262.2 (47th)	250.0 (13th)	37.8 (15th)	88.2 (5th)
Ohio State	246.0 (67th)	288.5 (3rd)	49.3 (3rd)	96.4 (3rd)

The most interesting comparison to draw between these two schools is the performance at quarterback. Junior Jake Fromm is putting up the best numbers of his career. He has completed 77.5% of his passes and is averaging 9.7 yards per throw. Fromm has yet to toss an interception and has found the end zone eight times.

While Fromm has been impressive, his former Georgia teammate, Justin Fields, is having an even better season. The sophomore has thrown for 1,298 yards and 18 touchdown passes, with another eight scores on the ground. Fields is also the fourth-favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, behind Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa (+125), LSU's Joe Burrow (+300) and Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts (+400).

After 3 TD on Saturday vs MSU, Justin Fields is responsible for 26 TD this season, tied for the most by a @B1Gfootball player through 6 games over the last 15 seasons.

Fields is the only Big Ten player over the last 20 seasons with a pass and rush TD in 6 straight games. pic.twitter.com/vwoQ5YZ93y
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 6, 2019

Fromm is listed at +2000 to claim the Heisman, but his stats just don't compare to Fields' at the moment.

Ohio State and Georgia each boast a star running back, as well—J.K. Dobbins and D'Andre Swift (both +4000 longshots to claim the Heisman). Georgia's Swift has carried the ball 66 times for 460 yards and four touchdowns, while Dobbins has turned 116 attempts into 826 yards and six scores.

Breaking it down further

Overall efficiency

Georgia 92.3 (fifth) vs. Ohio State 98.0 (first)

Average scoring margin

Georgia 28.5 (seventh) vs. Ohio State 40.5 (first)

Team penalties per game

Georgia 8.0 (117th) vs. Ohio State 5.3 (31st)

Best win

Georgia: No. 7 Notre Dame 23-17 Ohio State: No. 25 Michigan State 34-10

Best road win

Georgia: at Vanderbilt, 30-6 Ohio State: at Nebraska, 48-7

The Buckeyes and Bulldogs have enjoyed a fairly easy start to the season. Both have faced just one ranked opponent, and it came on their home turf. Ohio State defeated No. 25 Michigan State, 34-10, the first weekend of October, and Georgia held off Notre Dame, 23-17, in late September.

Ohio State has beaten its opposition by an average margin of 40.5 points per game, tops in the nation, while Georgia is winning by 28.5 points.

#CFB Week 7: Top 5 Teams - Relative Scoring Offense

1. #OhioState ..…187.9%
2. #Alabama …….182.0%
3. #IowaState …..178.0%
4. #Auburn ……...172.1%
5. #Wisconsin ….171.2%

“Relative Scoring” is the % of points a team scores vs what they typically allow.
— SportSource Analytics (@SportSourceA) October 8, 2019

The schedule will get much tougher from here, however. Ohio State is set to face three ranked opponents from the end of October through November, including No. 8 Wisconsin at home Oct. 26 and No. 10 Penn State and No. 16 Michigan on the road.

Georgia will travel to Jacksonville to play No. 7 Florida, then will visit No. 12 Auburn and host No. 24 Texas A&M, all in November.

Both the Buckeyes and Bulldogs have a chance to go undefeated in 2019 and to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. Georgia coach Kirby Smart has experienced national-championship glory as a coordinator at Alabama, and first-year Ohio State coach Ryan Day comes from the coaching trees of Chip Kelly and Urban Meyer.

It's clear Ohio State and Georgia both have the makeup of winning teams. But when it comes down to the stats, Ohio State is the better team and maybe even the best in all of college football.

Bet the college football national champion and Heisman winner at BetAmerica.

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