ATLANTA — Ohio State arrives in Atlanta with a unique shot at immediate redemption.

The Buckeyes lost their final regular season game to rival Michigan by a 45-23 count and many thought that meant Ohio State would miss the playoffs yet again.

But when Southern Cal lost to Utah in the Pac-12 title game six days later, the Buckeyes found themselves dealt back into the College Football Playoff announced on Dec. 4.

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“It’s like we got a second chance at life,” Buckeyes tailback Miyan Williams said in the days leading up to his team’s arrival for the CFP Peach Bowl Semifinal, which takes place at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

“After the (Michigan) game, we felt like we lost everything, but now, we’re back in it. I feel like it just fuels us more to go chase it.”

Georgia coach Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs can relate.

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The 2021 UGA team was motivated by the 41-24 SEC title game shellacking it took at the hands of Alabama.

An angry and determined Bulldogs’ team responded with a dominant 34-11 win over Michigan in the CFP Orange Bowl Semifinal before the defense dug in and limited the Tide in the 33-18 CFP title game win.

Smart has challenged this year’s Georgia team to find an edge after it recorded the school’s first-ever 13-0 mark and won the program’s first SEC title since 2017.

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And, speaking of 2017, that’s the last time a team lost its final regular-season game and won a national championship.

That team was Alabama, and the same Tide team that lost to Auburn 26-14 went on to win the national title by beating Clemson in the CFP Sugar Bowl Semifinal, 24-6, and then Georgia in overtime, 26-23.

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Cleveland.com Ohio State beat writer Nathan Baird shared Coach Ryan Day’s affinity for playing the underdog in our 5-question Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl scouting report series.

Q: What has been the feeling and mood of the Buckeyes leading up to the CFP Peach Bowl Semifinal?

Nathan Baird: “Immediately after the (Michigan) game, the mood was obviously devastation. Ohio State had made avenging that loss the theme of its entire offseason.

Once other losses around the country bumped the Buckeyes back into the playoff, though, this became a team playing with house money to some degree.

At times, Day tries to conjure a fake underdog status. No need for this game. Even before OSU’s playoff spot was finalized, Day was talking about playing looser and more aggressively. Ohio State knows it was fortunate to get a second chance and does not want to blow it.

And, the possibility of getting back on the field with Michigan and avenging that loss has to be in the back of their minds, even if no one will admit it.”

Follow Mike Griffith and Connor Riley on Twitter for more Georgia football bowl coverage from Atlanta.