The University of Georgia Bulldogs once again showed why they are the top team in college football. Georgia dominated TCU in the national championship game, winning 65-7 to finish undefeated and repeat as national champions.
Georgia’s 65 points are the most ever scored in a (BCS/College Football Playoff) championship game.
TCU was a massive underdog, and they had no answer for Georgia. Following the kickoff, Georgia stalled TCU’s first drive before scoring first on a 21-yard rushing touchdown by senior quarterback Stetson Bennett. In fewer than three minutes, the Bulldogs marched down the field, tearing through TCU’s defense.
It was a foreshadowing of things to come
On the Horned Frogs’ second offensive attempt, UGA forced a fumble, which resulted in another Georgia score – a 24-yard field goal to put Georgia up 10-0 midway through the first quarter.
TCU rated third and responded on the next drive. Max Duggan led the Horned Frogs 75 yards for a touchdown. Duggan, like Georgia’s quarterback, raced for a score to trim the Bulldog lead to 10-7. It was TCU’s sole point of the game.
Georgia immediately replied with a 37-yard Bennett touchdown pass to increase the lead to 17-7. TCU was stopped on its following series, and Georgia marched 92 yards for another Stetson Bennett rushing touchdown to take a 24-7 lead in the second quarter.
Before halftime, another Bulldog touchdown was set up by a Duggan interception.
Georgia simply dominated to take a 38-7 lead into halftime, scoring on all six of its drives (the first team to do that in the playoffs). In the first half, the Bulldogs racked up 354 yards of offense and averaged 9 yards per play.
TCU began the second half on a high note, forcing a Georgia punt. The Horned Frog attack was thwarted once more, and the Bulldogs picked up right where they left off, with another touchdown pass from Bennett to extend the advantage to 45-7.
The game was effectively finished with 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Bulldog quarterback Stetson Bennett scored six touchdowns (two rushing and four throwings) before leaving the game 95 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Georgia entered the game undefeated (14-0) and defending national champs. Georgia dominated the Southeastern Conference, the strongest conference in college football, led by Bennett (a former walk-on QB). For most of the season, Georgia was rated first.
TCU is a private university in Fort Worth, Texas, with approximately 12,000 students
TCU is a private university in Fort Worth, Texas, with approximately 12,000 students. It entered the championship game with a 13-1 record and as the Big 12 Conference champions. TCU was expected to finish seventh in the conference and was a 200-to-1 longshot to win the national championship before the season began. But the Horned Frogs’ propensity to win astonished thousands of football fans all season. They couldn’t get past Georgia in the most critical game of the year, however.
The Southeastern Conference has dominated the NCAA Division I FBS playoffs. Since the CFP’s inception in 2014, an SEC club has won the championship six times. In the CFP era before Georgia, no team had repeated as national champions.
One noteworthy Bulldog did not see the victory. Uga X, Georgia’s famed mascot, did not go to southern California for the championship game. The bulldog is a regular sight at Georgia games, dressed in a UGA uniform and relaxing in an air-conditioned doghouse on the sidelines. According to his owners, the cross-country flight would have been too difficult for the 9-year-old bulldog.
Uga X will undoubtedly love the approaching victory celebration in Athens, Georgia.