SWEET REPEAT
Bulldogs rout TCU for second straight national title
Confetti swept throughout SoFi Stadium, sprinkling the Georgia Bulldogs as they reveled in their 65-7 victory over TCU, their two-year journey that once seemed unfathomable was now complete.
“I told them all year: ‘We ain’t getting hunted, guys. We’re doing the hunting and hunting season is almost over and we only got one more chance to hunt,’” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We hunted tonight.”
Georgia’s win on Monday night was as much about becoming the first team in the College Football Playoff Era — and just the sixth in more than 50 years — to repeat as champion as it was a coronation, the crowning of the sport’s undisputed and undefeated king.
According to ESPN research, Georgia’s 58-point margin of victory is the largest in the history of bowl games, bypassing the 56-point margin set by LSU (2022), Army (2018), Tulsa (2007) and Centre, Ky. (1920).
While the Bulldogs’ title last season was about ending 41 years of frustration, this year’s triumph proved that top-ranked Georgia (15-0) wasn’t a one-hit wonder or a one-off champion, but the sport’s new standard-bearer.
The Bulldogs’ win over the thirdseeded Horned Frogs (13-2) was their 29th in 30 games the past two seasons, tying the college football record for the most in a two-year span. Georgia joined Alabama (2011-12), Southern Cal (2003-04), Nebraska (1994-95), Alabama (1978-79) and Nebraska (1970-71) as the only back-to-back champions in college football’s modern era.
“They had a will to work and didn’t
listen to what everyone said about them,” said Smart, whose team is just one of five schools in major college football history to go 15-0 or better in a season. “Everyone doubted them to start the year and that chip on their shoulder was just big enough to create an edge for our team.”
The Bulldogs’ path to immortality will resonate for generations, having transformed Georgia to college football royalty, with the rest of the sport now looking up to the Bulldogs whose reign will last for at least another year.
Make no mistake, what transpired in California was the Hollywood ending the Bulldogs and their fanbase had been clamoring for since the season’s outset.
Nine days after Georgia survived fourth-ranked Ohio State’s missed field goal in the final seconds to win
its semifinal game, the Bulldogs’ dominated the Horned Frogs from the opening kickoff en route to scoring the most points in a championship game in the BCS/CFP eras dating to 1998.
Stetson Bennett went 18-for-25 passing for 304 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions after being pulled with 13:25 left game.
Smart called a timeout so Bennett could walk off the field for the final time as a Bulldog amid cheers from Georgia’s fans who made the trip west.
Bennett, who was named the Offensive MVP for this fourth consecutive playoff game, also rushed for 39 yards and two scores on three carries to cap a career in which he went from joining Georgia as a walk-on to leading it to back-to-back national championships.
“I didn’t dream this,” said Bennett, whose six total touchdowns tied quarterback Joe Burrow of LSU’s CFP record. “I was just trying to do my job and we ended up here.”
Brock Bowers finished with seven catches for 152 yards and a touchdown, with Ladd McConkey adding five receptions for 88 yards and two scores.
Kenny McIntosh rushed for a game-high 50 yards on eight carries, with Branson Robinson (7 carries, 42 yards, 2 TDs) and Kendall Milton (10 carries, 33 yards, TD) also gashing the Horned Frogs on the ground.
The Bulldogs outgained the
Horned Frogs 589-188, including 254-36 on the ground, and scoring nine touchdowns and a field goal on their 11 possessions before taking a knee on their final drive. The Bulldogs averaged a whopping 8.2 yards per play.
Georgia took a 7-0 lead it wouldn’t relinquish on its first possession following a TCU punt, when Bennett’s 21-yard run up the middle capped a five-play, 57-yard drive with 11:01 left in the first quarter.
After Georgia recovered a TCU fumble, Jack Podlesny’s 24-yard field goal extended the advantage to 10-0 with 6:51 left in the quarter.
TCU pulled to within 10-7 on quarterback Max Duggan’s 2-yard run less than two minutes later. But the Bulldogs scored the
game’s next 58 points, starting with Bennett’s 37-yard touchdown pass to McConkey for a 17-7 lead with 2:43 to go in the quarter.
After a TCU punt, Georgia scored on its fourth straight possession, with Bennett running untouched six yards around the left end for a 24-7 advantage with 8:30 left in the half.
The Bulldogs, following Javon Bullard’s interception, pushed their lead to 31-7 on Milton’s 1-yard run with 1:19 to go in the first half.
Two plays after Bullard’s second interception gave Georgia the ball on TCU’s 22-yard line, Bennett threw a 22-yard scoring strike to Adonai Mitchell with 26 seconds left before halftime.
“We had things go about as bad as they could go in the first
half,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said at halftime. “We turned the ball over three times, we gave up big plays. I think early on our guys were a little wide eyed.”
Georgia’s statistics in the first 30 minutes resembled more of a video game than a national championship game against a TCU squad seeking its first national title since 1938.
Bennett went 14-for-18 passing for 223 yards with two touchdowns and added 39 yards and two rushing scores. The Bulldogs outgained the Horned Frogs 354-121, averaging a whopping 9.3 yards per play, with their 38 points a first-half CFP title game record.
The Bulldogs didn’t let up in the third quarter. Bennett’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Bowers, followed by Podlesny’s extra point,
gave Georgia its 45th point on its 45th play of the game with 10:52 remaining in the quarter.
Bennett threw his fourth touchdown pass with a 14-yard toss to McConkey for a 52-7 lead with 2:17 left in the third quarter.
Branson Robinson’s 1-yard run capped a nine-play, 54-yard drive for a 59-7 advantage with 9:24 left.
Smart called timeout to let Georgia’s veteran players, including defensive back Christopher Smith, tackle Jalen Carter and cornerback Kelee Ringo walk off the field together, the next crop of Bulldogs continued to sack Duggan, who was dropped five times.
Robinson’s 19-yard touchdown run made it 65-7 with 7:23 remaining after the missed extra-point.