Updated:
Jan 13, 2023
After what many people described as the greatest day of college football ever, it has all come down to this. The National Championship game between the undefeated and reigning champions the Georgia Bulldogs and this seasons suprise package the TCU Horned Frogs. Both teams semi finals were very close affairs, and while TCU were massive underdogs for the title, they have shown themselves this season to be able to pull of suprise upsets when they need to. On the other hand, Georgia have been playing strong football all season, and were hoping to be the first team since Alabama in 2011-12 to go back to back and retain their title.
So, who would win the National Championship in the City of Angels?
The Horned Frogs had the first possession of the game, but could not do anything with it, and quickly punted the ball away. Georgia however, had no problem in moving the ball. The drive ended when Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett ran the ball in for a 21 yard rushing touchdown.
Things got even better for Georgia on the games next drive, when TCU fumbled the ball, which was scooped up by the Bulldogs defense at around the Horned Frogs 33 yard line, giving them a good field position. A posiitve for TCU is that Georgia did not turn this into a touchdown, but a 24 yard field goal.
The Horned Frogs would get on the scoreboard in their next drive. TCU quarterback Max Duggan and company drovethe ball down to the Bulldogs 2 yard line. Then, Duggan ran the ball in for a 2 yard rushing touchdown to make the score 10-7.
Georgia quickly replied to this score with a score of their own, with Bennett throwing a 37 yard touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey to restore the 10 point lead. The lead become bigger on their next drive, which started on the Bulldogs 8 yard line. Bennett drove the ball down to the Horned Frogs 6 yard line, and then ran it in for the rushing touchdown.
It was already looking like TCU were not going to win this game. The best they could do was not to concede any points or make mistakes with their offense to allow the Bulldogs to easily score. Unfortunately, this is what happened. Duggan was intercepted in the Horned Frogs own territory. This lead to another Bulldogs touchdown, this time a one yard rushing touchdown from Kendall Milton. On their next posession, Duggan was intercepted again, which lead to another Georgia touchdown just before halftime.
All this scoring meant that at halftime, the Georgia Bulldogs had a 38-7 lead over the TCU Horned Frogs at halftime. Baring a massive comeback, the National Championship was headed back to Athens, Georgia.
The opening two drives of the second half ended in punts. But then, Georgia were back to their old ways. Bennett threw a 22 yard touchdown pass to Brock Bowers, followed by another 14 yard touchdown pass to McConkey.
TCU did finally get the ball into the Bulldogs half on the field at the beginning of the fourth quarter. But this was short lived, as they were turned over on down, ending any chances of points being scored. The Bulldogs would score another on the back heels of this drive.This time, it was Branson Robinson, who scored a one yard rushing touchdown. Robinson would score the final touchdown in the game, a 19 yard rushing touchdown, to put the final nail in the coffin for TCU.
When the final whistle was blown, the Georgia Bulldogs had beaten the TCU Horned Frogs 65-7. This is the biggest margin of victory ever in a bowl game, and showed us who powerful this Georgia side is. TCU could not keep up, and where blown out in the process.
Georgia end the season unbeaten with a 15-0 record, while TCU end the season with a 13-2 record, with both of those losses coming in championship games (Big 12 Championship Game and the National Championship Game)
Congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs, the 2023 College Fottball National Champions
