Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

ESPN’s Booger McFarland breaks down Orange Bowl, makes final prediction

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Another prediction is in for the Orange Bowl.

On New Year’s Eve, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia will go toe-to-toe in Miami with a trip to the National Championship Game on the line. It’s one of the most anticipated matchups of the postseason because of the similarities between the two programs.

Thursday, a day before the two teams meet at Hard Rock Stadium, ESPN analyst Booger McFarland provided a brief preview of the matchup. He’s not giving Michigan much of a chance.

“Georgia, I think, is going to out-man Michigan,” McFarland said. “It’s going to be a style, make-fight type game. It’s going to be a rugged war. I think it’s going to be low-scoring, Paul, and I think in the end, Georgia pulls away in the fourth quarter.

“But I don’t think it’s because of Stetson Bennett. I think it’s because of a defense that has a lot of pride. I think it’s a running game that will ultimately wear Michigan down. But we’re still going to have the same age-old question that we came into the game with, ‘What do we do with Stetson Bennett?’”

Michigan has played the role of underdog through most of the season. Yet the Wolverines defeated Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa on the path to a B1G title.

Do the Wolverines have enough firepower to pull off another big win? We’ll find out Friday evening.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB