Contrasting approaches define Georgia-FSU matchup in Orange Bowl

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Orange Bowl’s opposing coaches held a joint press conference here at the Le Meridien Dania Beach hotel Friday and spent a lot of time answering questions about why they weren’t somewhere else.

That’s a particularly poignant point for the Florida State Seminoles (13-0), who became the first undefeated, Power 5 conference champion in the College Football Playoff era to get passed over by the selection committee. The Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) have a bone to pick on that front as well. They were dropped from No. 1 to No. 6 after suffering their first defeat in 30 games in losing by three points to an Alabama team deemed by that same committee as good enough to participate in the playoffs.

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“There will always be feelings about that,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “I’ll never say that’s not real because I will always have those feelings about that decision. … I’ve seen the effect on players. There are guys that are not playing in this game, that have played their last game as Florida State Seminoles, and they gave everything they had. There’s some hurt that they experienced and we experienced to not get the opportunity to show what we believe we had the opportunity to achieve.”

The Bulldogs have many of the same sentiments, but it has been their contrasting reaction to their snub that has framed the competition that will be waged Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium (4 p.m., ESPN). Generally, Georgia is all-in.

Like FSU, the Bulldogs had a lot of players leave the program in the four-week window between the last game and this one. Georgia’s number in the transfer portal stood at 19 one day before the game. The Seminoles are up to 24, according to published reports. But the difference is the roles those absentees played.

Officially, Georgia will be missing zero starters, though the availability of three-time All-American tight end Brock Bowers remains a closely guarded secret. “We’ll see,” was coach Kirby Smart’s vague reply to that question Friday morning.

Such gamesmanship highlights the competitive spirit with which the Bulldogs are approaching Saturday’s contest. Smart credits Georgia’s players for that.

“The leaders of the team have spearheaded that,” he said. “I stay out of it. I meet with players that are draft eligible, seniors that have draft grades and just speak with them and try to be very honest, then they make the decision. They want to go out on top. They don’t want their last Georgia outing to be the SEC Championship (game loss). So they put their minds to it and it became almost contagious.”

Senior running back Kendall Milton is among the Bulldogs who are taking somewhat of a risk playing in this game. Dogged by injuries this season and throughout his career, he’ll play Saturday’s game in a knee brace and both hamstrings wrapped.

“I don’t really see a reason not to play in this game, to be honest,” Milton said. “This is an opportunity to play against a great team. The season didn’t turn out how we wanted it to, but it’s still an opportunity to play a really good team that was undefeated the whole season. That’s really exciting.”

As for the Seminoles, seemingly everybody who was anybody on their team either opted out or is out for another reason. Already missing their star quarterback, Jordan Travis, because of a broken leg, backup Tate Rodemaker announced Christmas Day he was skipping out. With fellow reserve A.J. Duffy already in the transfer portal, that left freshman third-stringer Brock Glenn to start.

Glenn will face the two-time defending national-champion Bulldogs without the team’s leading rusher (running back Trey Benson), top three receivers (wideouts Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson and tight end Jaheim Bell), sacks leader (defensive end Jared Verse) and the team’s career tackles leader (safety Akeem Dent).

About that, the Seminoles are doing their best to put on a happy face.

“It’s an opportunity to play football,” FSU offensive lineman Darius Washington said. “... You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt, play the game and just go from there. This is not the playoff. You can’t get that back. But let’s keep moving forward and just keep moving with the people that we have.”

As for all the opt-outs, Washington parroted the line the Seminoles have utilized all week: “I really can’t speak for their decisions.”

Said Norvell: “It was hard. A lot of them are hurt. Decisions were made, and some things were out of their control. But ultimately, I believe in where we’re continuing to build to from this experience.”

Opt-outs aren’t the only distraction for FSU. The school just filed suit against ACC in an attempt to leave the league in search of a more lucrative association.

In contrast, the Bulldogs seem laser-focused. Junior quarterback Carson Beck, who announced two weeks ago his intention of playing in this bowl as well as returning for another season, said he hasn’t wanted to participate in the bowl’s organized activities because they interfere with his film study and game preparation.

“I waited three years to play,” Beck said. “It’s fun. It’s a lot more fun to be on the field than not be on the field. So knowing that I get another opportunity and chance to come back and play another year at the University of Georgia that’s been a lot of fun and enjoyable.”

Las Vegas handicappers recognize the competitive disparity. Betting lines that opened with Georgia as less than a two-touchdown favorite had grown to as much as 20.5 points Friday, according to vegasinsider.com. Crazier things have happened in college football, but picking the Bulldogs seems like a safe bet.

Then again, there’s a lot about FSU’s retooled team the Bulldogs don’t know.

“It’s hard to prepare for the unexpected,” Smart said. “That’s what I’ve learned in coaching. When you can’t really prepare for it, you’re better off working on blocking and tackling and getting better at fundamentals. That’s what we’ve tried to do, and we’ll adjust to what we get.”

The Seminoles certainly are not resigned to defeat.

“We’re going to control what we can control,” said Norvell, in his fourth year at the helm of the Seminoles’ program. “Ultimately, we’re excited about this opportunity. You don’t always receive what you earn, but you do control your response and the attitude that you bring. So, I know we’re going to go out there and fight with everything we have and put our best on that field.”