College Football

College Football Playoff recap: Wild day only adds intrigue to TCU-Georgia final

Updated Jan. 1, 2023 5:15 p.m. ET

It’s Biblical now — David vs. Goliath. That’s the best way to describe the College Football Playoff national title game that will feature No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 TCU.

Georgia, 2022’s Goliath in the sport, will walk into SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Jan. 9 not just as the defending national champion, but a tremendous overdog against the Horned Frogs. It’s been [Rose Dawson voice] 84 years since TCU last won a national title, and it's now a game away from doing just that.

But, to do it, the Frogs will have to beat the benchmark — Georgia.

TCU isn’t just any David either. It’s not just that it began the season unranked in the preseason AP Top 25, but that the Frogs did not receive a single vote in the AP among the 60-plus voters in the weekly poll that has run since 1936.

National championship preview: Georgia vs. TCU

And that underscores how we’ve never seen a team like TCU — the first and only team to begin the season unranked and reach the national title game in the same season.

In Saturday's Fiesta Bowl, No. 2 Michigan boasted 42 players with CFP experience to TCU’s one — transfer Marcel Brooks, who was a member of LSU's 2019 national title team. TCU was overmatched on the roster, too, ranked No. 32 in the 247 Sports Talent Composite, to No. 15 for Michigan.

It gets better — or worse, depending on your point of view — for the Frogs. With Sonny Dykes as head coach in his first year following a legend in Gary Patterson — a man who has a statue on campus — the Frogs were picked to finish seventh out of 10 teams in the Big 12.

And then there’s the quarterback, Max Duggan, a player who lost the job in camp to a former backup at Oklahoma in Chandler Morris. But an injury to Morris opened the door for the best single-season run by a quarterback since Stetson Bennett led the Dawgs to their first national title in four decades.

Now, these teams face each other. The Frogs will go into the national title game expecting to win — as they have every game they’ve played this year. Only once did they fall short in that regard, against Kansas State in the Big 12 championship.

Most folks didn’t expect them to win against Michigan, though, a team that turned every game it played so far this season into a smash fest in which they came out on top. But there was something missing in their lead-up to the Fiesta Bowl, and it was humility.

Heading into their season-ending clash with Ohio State, the Wolverines met every question with humility. It was clear they understood they were playing a talented football team on the road, and they prepared that way.

TCU upsets Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl

Against TCU, they showed signs of hubris. J.J. McCarthy challenged TCU to play its base 3-3-5 defense against a Michigan team that prides itself on running the ball. Linebacker Junior Colson needed to be reminded which conference TCU played in.

These aren’t sins of the highest order, but they were bulletin board material enough that TCU's Dykes and Duggan referenced these facts like slights following their 51-45 upset of the Wolverines.

It behooves Georgia to learn from Michigan’s mistake.

Yes, you’re the defending national champions, UGA. Yes, you’re undefeated and outnumber TCU in both five-star (15-11) and four-star recruits (53-16).

Put another way, Missouri has more talent on its roster than TCU. And you, Georgia, are the epitome of the axiom "stars matter."

But let’s not forget you needed to fight back down 38-24 to barely beat an Ohio State team that Michigan mopped the floor with in what was essentially a home game in Atlanta.

You’re the favorite, sure. But just because you’ve got more stars than them doesn’t mean you can't get your ass kicked. And watch out for that slingshot.

Read more: