Cover photo taken from Sports Illustrated.
After months of tremendous games, countless storylines, and the best College Football Playoff of all time, it’s time to crown a national champion. Tonight in Los Angeles, the top-seeded Georgia Bulldogs look to become the first back-to-back champs in over a decade as they take on the unlikely underdogs from Fort Worth: the 3rd ranked TCU Horned Frogs.
For UGA, this is just another game. They have only lost one game in the last two years, and despite having to pull off an improbable comeback against Ohio State in a 42-41 Peach Bowl win, there was little to no doubt that they would make it to the title game. Their typically elite defense struggled mightily with the star-studded Buckeyes offense, but QB Stetson Bennett and the Dawgs’ own offense went to work and were scorching hot in the passing game to help get them to this game. But that’s not a position that Georgia wants to be in. They pride themselves on their defensive greatness, and if they bend like that, they might just break. They got away with a lot last Saturday and could have lost the game by all means. Their offense bailed them out, but that’s not guaranteed to repeat itself, especially against a better TCU defense that excels at getting after the passer and forcing turnovers. It’s safe to say that Kirby Smart will have his guys ready to play a much sharper game on Monday night.
TCU, on the other hand, has had one of the more improbable runs to the title game. They weren’t even ranked to begin the season before going 12-0 in the regular season. Despite losing the Big 12 title game, they reached the Playoff and erased any and all doubt about their legitimacy as a contender by outlasting Michigan in an absolutely electrifying 51-48 Fiesta Bowl victory. The defense scored two touchdowns and forced plenty more turnovers to make life easy for Max Duggan and the offense, who did what they had to do as well. The performance helped bring light to the fact that TCU isn’t just any old underdog. They are a real team that can compete with, and perhaps beat, any team in the country on any given day. They have the grit and the identity that every college football program yearns for. The only question that remains is: can that get them on top of the mountain? TCU is still being disrespected by everyone; not many folks are giving them a chance in this game. The 12.5-point spread is the largest I think I’ve ever seen in a title game. This team deserves more respect than that. We’ll see if they can go out and take it.
My Pick
Georgia 38-27 TCU 
Monday, 7:30 PM EST, ESPN
Some Davids aren’t meant to slay Goliath. While I think TCU has one of the best shots to become an underdog that wins a title, this feels like too steep of a mountain to climb. However, unlike many, I think they’ll be competitive from start to finish. They have the talent on both sides of the ball to compete with Georgia and their 5-star players. Their offense is operating at an extremely high level with their exquisite run game, and their defense swarms to the ball to force turnover after turnover. The Dawgs looked pretty vulnerable the last time we saw them, and I think Sonny Dykes and the Frogs can exploit a lot of the flaws in their game, especially attacking their defense. It wouldn’t shock me if we saw TCU control this game for a while. But the superior talent and coaching of Georgia will prevail in the end. They’ll likely have a similar 4th quarter to the one they had against Ohio State to pull out a late win. Maybe this is a bit too large of a point differential, but I can see UGA pulling away late to make it look more convincing than it actually was. To me, it’s a matter of attrition with these two defenses. If TCU’s defense can hold throughout the game, they’ll have a great chance to win it. But if they slowly fold like they did against Michigan, Georgia will take advantage. If the Dawgs defense plays like they did on New Year’s Eve, they will be in deep trouble. But if they return to their status quo, then Stetson Bennett and the offense can do their thing. I see the latter being much more likely, and I see Georgia lifting the trophy when it’s all said and done to become the first repeat champions since Alabama ten years ago to continue proving themselves as the new perennial power in college football.
All stats taken from ESPN.
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