Georgia’s wide receiver room entered the Peach Bowl with a collective chip on its shoulder. The Bulldogs heard all the hype for Ohio State’s pass-catchers and sought to make a statement in Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal.

Kirby Smart credited wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon with delivering a motivating message:

“I thought B-Mac did a good job selling to our team. We had several coaches stand up and speak on Friday, and he talked about the personal respect level that he has for the attention their receivers are getting, and they certainly deserve that. They’re really good, really talented.

“But we’ve got some good wideouts too, and they have a chip on their shoulder, and they want to make plays. They have a quarterback that can get them the ball. A lot of those guys have been able to come back. It’s really been my committee when you look at it. You see Arian (Smith), A.D. (Mitchell), Ladd (McConkey), all those guys making plays for us in the passing game. Marcus (Rosemy-Jacksaint) has made big plays.”

Smith led all receivers in the game in receiving yards with 129 on 3 catches. OSU’s Emeka Egbuka finished with a game-high 8 receptions (112 yards, TD). Both quarterbacks completed 23 passes. Bulldog pass-catchers, including running backs and tight ends, bested their Buckeye counterparts 398-348 in receiving yards.