This was the third meeting between the programs; they had last met in 1965 in a game won by Georgia, 15–7. The series was tied 1–1. After the game, Georgia leads the series 2–1.
Georgia Bulldogs Led by sixth-year head coach
Kirby Smart, the fifth-ranked Bulldogs began their season with a matchup against No. 3
Clemson in the
Duke's Mayo Classic. The game, which hosted
College GameDay earlier that morning, played out to a low-scoring 10–3 Georgia win, putting them in the No. 2 spot in the rankings just one week into the season. The Bulldogs put on a dominant performance in their home opener the next week, as they scored eight touchdowns and allowed just one in a victory over
UAB, and soundly defeated
South Carolina the following week to open SEC play. Back-to-back shutouts followed, as the Bulldogs kept both
Vanderbilt and No. 8
Arkansas off the scoreboard, while scoring 62 and 37 points of their own, respectively. Georgia continued their form with two more wins against ranked opponents, as they defeated No. 18
Auburn on the road and No. 11
Kentucky at home; the former game saw Georgia play as the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time this season following
Texas A&M's upset of then-No. 1 Alabama, and the latter game was the first in which Georgia allowed more than one touchdown. The Bulldogs returned to neutral site play when they faced
Florida following a
bye week; they defeated the Gators 34–7, with their three touchdowns in just over three minutes at the end of the game's second quarter contributing to the win. This was also the week that Georgia clinched the SEC East's berth in the championship game, as a result of Kentucky's loss to
Mississippi State. The Bulldogs finished their conference season in much the same style as the games before; they defeated
Missouri 43–6, and allowed a season-high 17 points to
Tennessee, though still managed to win by three possessions. Georgia finished the regular season with a pair of non-conference games, as they routed the
Charleston Southern Buccaneers by seven scores and their
rivals Georgia Tech by the same number, concluding Georgia's first undefeated regular season since
1982. The Bulldogs would lose their first game of the season in a 41–24 loss to
Alabama in the
SEC Championship Game, bumping them down to No. 3. They entered the game with a record of 12–1 and a 8–0 mark in conference play.
Michigan Wolverines Seventh-year head coach
Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines began their 2021 season with a series of four straight home games at
Michigan Stadium. The first, against
Western Michigan, saw the Wolverines defeat the Broncos by nearly five touchdowns, before defeating
Washington in a game that drew considerably less hype after the Huskies' upset loss to
Montana the week prior. The Wolverines earned a spot at No. 25 in the
AP Poll entering their third game, a matchup with
Northern Illinois, which they won handily. Michigan then claimed a close decision against
Rutgers on
homecoming, improving the Wolverines to 4–0 and placing them into the top 15. Entering October, the Wolverines faced their first road conference games; they first faced
Wisconsin, whom they defeated by three touchdowns, and then took down
Nebraska, though only by three points, thanks to a
Jake Moody field goal with under two minutes remaining. This set up the Wolverines for one of the most anticipated matchups of the season so far, a
rivalry faceoff between No. 6 Michigan and No. 8
Michigan State, marking the first time since
1964 that the teams had met while each in the top ten. After a back-and-forth game, the Spartans prevailed with a four-point win, handing Michigan their first loss of the season. The Wolverines were able to bounce back, as they began November with a win over
Indiana, and followed it up with a road win in
State College against the
Penn State Nittany Lions. In their season's final road game, Michigan routed
Maryland, winning by 41 points. This win put the Wolverines at the No. 5 spot in the College Football Playoff poll entering their home finale against
archrivals No. 2
Ohio State. For the first time ever under Harbaugh, and the first time since
2011, the Wolverines defeated the Buckeyes and, with the victory, clinched its spot in the conference championship game with a 8–1 conference record and a head-to-head tiebreaker against Ohio State. As a result of the win, Michigan rose to No. 2 in the College Football Playoff poll entering the Big Ten Championship, behind only No. 1
Georgia. The Wolverines then defeated
Iowa in the
Big Ten Football Championship Game, and entered the Orange Bowl with a 12–1 record and ranked second in all major polls. ==Game summary==