The matchups for the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship are set. No. 1 Georgia will face No. 3 TCU at his SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday. When the defending champion Bulldogs staked the crown against the Horned Frogs, who are considered the greatest long shot of his four teams to reach his CFP this season, It’s a David vs Goliath fight.
Georgia is here thanks to Thrilling 42-41 come-from-behind victory Defeated No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl Semifinals. The Bulldogs went into the fourth quarter, where he lost 38-24, but rallyed three scoring drives together to win. Quarterback Stetson Bennett IV widened his receiver Adonai, who found Mitchell for a 10-yard touchdown he had 54 seconds left to complete his five-play, 72-yard drive. Bennett finished the game with 398 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, with most of his work coming in the 4th quarter. It was the second time the Dawgs were in a one-score game this season.
TCU performed the biggest upset in playoff history to reach the title game.Frogs beat No. 2 Michigan 51-45 as an 8-point underdog In a wild Fiesta Bowl that saw the Frogs’ 18-point lead dwindle to 3 points early in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Max Duggan threw two interceptions and made only 14 of 29 passes for 225 yards, but made enough important plays to give the offense a chance. Quentin Johnston caught six passes for 163 yards and the TCU defense had him two pick sixes. TCU’s win was the first by a Big 12 team in CFP.
Before CBS Sports college football experts provide their first picks for the game, let’s take a look at where each team stands in the way of the CFP National Championship.
No. 1 Georgia (14-0), Peach Bowl Champions
Georgia should be here. The Doges won their first national title since 1980 last year and started the 2022 season as one of the favorites. Even when things looked a little different, they did what was expected of them: Georgia dominated their opponents last season, and many consider him one of the best defenses in college football history. was thought to be one. This year, Dawgs’ defense has been less dominant, though he’s still one of the best in the country.
There was a time this season when Georgia seemed to be playing with food. I was confused in the match with But when it came time to handle the business, Georgia repeated it. It beat rivals Auburn, ended Tennessee’s dream of a perfect season, and beat Florida once more to earn 50 points for LSU in the SEC Championship Game. After defeating Ohio State in the Peach Bowl, Georgia could become the first team to win back-to-back national titles in the CFP era since Alabama State (2010-11).
No.3 TCU (13 wins, 1 loss), won the Fiesta Bowl
Did you know that there are always teams that won multiple conference titles and were favorites this year, but still say, “Nobody believes us”? Believe me when I say, no one believed them. TCU went 5-7 last year and fired longtime coach Gary Patterson. Frogs started his 2022 out of the ranks and with particularly low expectations, as Sonny Dykes took over the program across town from his SMU. They started the season with three straight wins against a lackluster non-conference slate. No respect was given to TCU until he defeated his 19th-ranked Oklahoma 55-24.
TCU debuted at No. 17 in the AP Top 25 the following week and only climbed from there. The win over Oklahoma was the first of four straight victories over ranked opponents. I got it. Frogs was a master of comebacks, routinely bouncing back from being knocked to the mat and continuing to fight until his opponent finally cracked. Duggan started the season as a backup, but an injury to QB Chandler Morris opened the door for Duggan to get his job back – and he never relented. Finishing the season, his resilience perfectly mirrored the entire frog. Teams that started the season unranked and were never supposed to be here now have another chance to shock the world.
Georgia vs TCU Early Picks, Predictions
No. 1 Georgia opens as the 13-point favorite over Los Angeles’ No. 3 TCU, according to the Caesars Sportsbook.
