The 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship is set. No. 1 Georgia will take on No. 3 TCU on Monday, January 9th at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. It’s a battle between David and Goliath as the defending champions Bulldogs put their crown on the line against a team of Horned Frogs for the biggest longshot of the four teams to reach this season’s CFP.
Georgia got here thanks to a thrilling 42-41 comeback win over No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl semifinals. The Bulldogs were 38-24 down early in the fourth quarter but accumulated three goal drives to collect and win. Quarterback Stetson Bennett IV found wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for a 10-yard touchdown to end a 72-yard drive with five games and just 54 seconds left. Bennett finished the game with 398 passing yards and three touchdowns, with most of his work coming in the fourth quarter. It was only the second time this season that the Dawgs were in a one-goal game.
TCU advanced to the title game after delivering the biggest upset in playoff history. The Frogs defeated No. 2 Michigan 51-45 as an eight-point underdog in a wild Fiesta Bowl that narrowed the Frogs’ lead from 18 points early in the fourth quarter to just three. Quarterback Max Duggan threw two interceptions and completed just 14 of his 29 passes for 225 yards, but made enough key plays to give his offense a chance. Wide receiver Quentin Johnston caught six passes for 163 yards and the TCU defense had two pick sixes. TCU’s victory was the first win by a Big 12 team in CFP.
Before our CBS Sports collegiate soccer experts offer their first picks for the game, let’s take a look at where each team stands ahead of the CFP National Championship.
No. 1 Georgia (14-0), Peach Bowl Champion
Georgia should be here. The Dawgs won their first national title since 1980 last year and started the 2022 season as one of the favorites to win the crown again. They did what was expected of them, even if it looked a little different. Last season, Georgia had what many considered to be one of the best defenses in college football history as it dominated its opponents. This year, the Dawgs’ defense is still one of the best in the country, but it hasn’t been nearly as dominant.
There were times this season when it seemed like Georgia was playing with his food. After announcing their return with authority in the season opener with a 49-3 win over Oregon, the Dawgs played around in games against Kent State, Missouri and Kentucky. However, when it came time to do business, Georgia did it repeatedly. it crushed rival Auburn, ended Tennessee’s dreams of a perfect season, thrashed Florida again, and put 50 points over LSU in the SEC championship game. After defeating Ohio State in the Peach Bowl, Georgia has a chance to become the first team to win consecutive national titles since Alabama (2010-11) and the first ever to do so in the CFP era.
No. 3 TCU (13-1), Fiesta Bowl Champion
You know how there’s always that one team that tells you, “No one believed in us,” even though they’ve won multiple conference titles and were the favorite again this year? Well, when the frogs tell you nobody believed in them, believe it. Nobody believed in her. TCU went 5-7 last year and fired longtime coach Gary Patterson. Sonny Dykes traveled across town from SMU to take over the program, and the Frogs entered 2022 unranked with remarkably low expectations. They started the season with three straight wins over a lackluster non-conference table. It wasn’t until TCU defeated No. 19 Oklahoma 55-24 that they got respect.
TCU debuted at No. 17 on the AP Top 25 the following week and did nothing but climb from there. The victory over Oklahoma was the first of four consecutive victories over ranked opponents. TCU added a fifth win over a ranked team when they defeated Texas 17-10 on the road in mid-November. The Frogs were masters of comebacks, routinely being thrown to the mat only to bounce back and keep fighting until their opponents finally collapsed. Duggan started the season as a backup, but an injury to QB Chandler Morris left the door open for Duggan to take the job back – and he never relented. Duggan finished the season as a Heisman Trophy finalist, and his resilience perfectly reflected the Frogs as a whole. Now the team that started the season unranked and shouldn’t be here has a chance to shock the world again.
Georgia vs. TCU early pick, predictions
No. 1 Georgia opens as a 13-point favorite over No. 3 TCU in Los Angeles, according to Caesars Sportsbook.