INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Georgia beat TCU 65-7 in the College Football Playoff championship game to secure the program’s first unbeaten season since 1980 and a place in history as back-to-back national champions.
By taking care of the Horned Frogs as roughly two-touchdown favorites, the Bulldogs arguably replace Alabama as the dominant figure in the Bowl Subdivision. And in becoming the first program in the playoff era to claim two championships in a row, Georgia establishes a dynasty that shows no sign of slowing under coach Kirby Smart.
The first team in playoff history to score 17 points in the first quarter and ahead 38-7 at halftime, the Bulldogs’ edge in speed and depth were on display from the game’s first snaps. Georgia had 354 yards of offense in the first half, scored points on its first six possessions and didn’t punt until the third quarter.
After watching Michigan try and fail to run right at the TCU defense in the Fiesta Bowl, the offense went sideline to sideline and opened things up for quarterback Stetson Bennett, who completed 18 of 25 attempts for 304 yards and four touchdowns and was named the MVP in the final game of his college career.
Torched by LSU in the SEC championship game and Ohio State in the Peach Bowl, the Bulldogs’ defense bottled up Max Duggan and Horned Frogs, allowing just 188 yards on 3.7 yards per play with three takeaways.
Follow every game: Latest NCAA College Football Scores and Schedules
This was a complete performance to cap a memorable season. Here are three observations from the Bulldogs’ win:
Georgia books a place in college football history
The list of programs with back-to-back unshared national championships since 1957 has a new member: Nebraska in 1994-95, Alabama in 2011-12 and now Georgia in 2021-22.
And unlike those Cornhuskers and Crimson Tide, the Bulldogs did so under the playoff format, requiring wins against two of the best teams in the country in just over a one-week span.
This burgeoning dynasty may not have an expiration date. This year’s group answered questions about Georgia’s staying power after seamlessly replacing a long list of starters from last year’s team, including many of the top contributors on the defensive side.
The third team in the playoff era to go 15-0, Georgia won just two games by single digits — Missouri (26-22) on Oct. 1 and Ohio State (42-41) — and beat five ranked teams, beginning with a 49-3 destruction of the Oregon in the opener that set the tone for a dominant regular season.
Even if not seen as the best individual team under the playoff format, a designation given to 2019 LSU or 2020 Alabama, what the Bulldogs have done across the past two seasons cannot be ignored or overstated.
Next year’s team will likely open the year at No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and be the preseason favorite to return to this stage and win the national championship. This is history in the making, and Georgia isn’t going anywhere.
Offense leads the way and shows that this Georgia team could do it all
Nearly everything went right for the Georgia offense.
Bennett was kept clean in the pocket. TCU failed to manage a tackle for loss or sack. He was a weapon in the running game, adding 39 yards and two scores on 13 yards per carry. The ground attack as a whole imposed its on will on the Frogs, racking up 254 yards on 5.8 yards per carry.
The offense continued to lean on a wealth of skill players. Eight players ran for at least 14 yards, led by Kenny McIntosh’s 50 yards on eight carries, and nine players made at least one reception, topped by tight end Brock Bowers’ seven grabs for 152 yards.
That continued a season-long trend of relying on multiple contributors at running back and wide receiver to take full advantage of Georgia’s overwhelming collection of talent.
Georgia’s defense was outstanding during the regular season, allowing just 11.3 points per game during the 12-0 start and ranking near the top of the FBS in yards allowed per game and per play. But on this stage, the Bulldogs’ offense did much of the heavy lifting against two of the best teams in the FBS.
TCU won’t soon be forgotten
The TK-point loss ends one of the magical runs in FBS history: TCU was picked to finish seventh in the preseason Big 12 poll but came with a win of the championship, in a rags-to-riches run that put the program on the national map.
Just getting to this point breathed life into what had become a predictable playoff race owned by the same power programs from the ACC, SEC and Big Ten. The Frogs’ season brings credibility to the Big 12 and shows the transformative power of the transfer portal — after winning just five games in 2021, TCU added immediate-impact contributors and remade the roster in a single offseason under new coach Sonny Dykes.
The Frogs’ Cinderella story ended with a thud against Georgia, displaying the huge distance separating teams that can compete for the title, such as TCU, and those elite few with the talent, coaching and development to win the whole thing.
But the legacy will last well beyond Monday night. TCU proved that there’s room for an outsider to crash the playoff party. The Frogs showed how being unique on offense and defense — with the Air Raid on one side and an unpredictable 3-3-5 base set on the other — can help overcome gaps in depth and experience.
Most of all, TCU will allow other Power Five teams to dream big. The Frogs went from 5-7 to the doorstep of the national title. If they can do it, so can others.
