What at one point seemed like a good matchup between a premier defense in Georgia and a high-powered offense in TCU, Heisman finalists Max Duggan and Stetson Bennett were poised to face off in the College Football National Championship after impressive semifinal wins. Georgia beat another Heisman finalist in CJ Stroud and Ohio State by one point, staging an exciting fourth-quarter comeback. TCU cruised past #2 ranked Michigan after completely dominating in the first half and holding off Michigan’s late-game attempts at a comeback. TCU’s win over an elite defense seemed to bode well for their chances against the very formidable Georgia defense, as TCU’s offense really seemed to find a rhythm and keep the pressure on early in the game. Unfortunately, this did not end up being the case.

Georgia’s defense gave the TCU offense more than they could handle, and their offense was a clear mismatch against the TCU defense from the start of the game. To say Max Duggan didn’t have his best game would be an understatement, but this, of course, was his toughest test of the season. He put up a measly 152 yards on his fourteen completions with twenty-two passing attempts and two interceptions. He threw no passing touchdowns but did score TCU’s only touchdown of the game on a two-yard rush. TCU’s running back Emari Demercado had a pretty decent game averaging 4.2 yards per carry on his fourteen carries for fifty-nine yards. Still, the run game seemed pretty ineffective, given the lack of a passing game and the general struggles of the offense to get things going. TCU’s star receiver Quentin Johnson had a quiet game grabbing only one reception for three yards, which is unsurprising considering the poor passing offense throughout the game. However, another TCU receiver Derius Davis had two-thirds of the team’s total receiving yards, with 101 yards on five receptions.

Defensively TCU did what they could, but they were just outgunned against the stacked Georgia roster. Georgia QB Stetson Bennett, on the other hand, put up a very impressive six touchdowns (two rushing) and 304 yards on eighteen completions and twenty-five attempts with no interceptions. Georgia star receiver Brock Bowers hauled in seven catches for 152 yards and a touchdown, and Ladd McConkey had five receptions for eighty-eight yards and two touchdowns. The Georgia backfield saw a wide cast of running backs, with seven different backs taking carries and the team totaling over 250 yards rushing. Georgia’s defense had a field day, with a number of players having stand-out performances. Javon Bullard had both interceptions on Max Duggan and also recovered a fumble. The rest of the Georgia defense was able to amass five sacks on Max Duggan and had nine tackles for loss to TCU’s two tackles for loss, no sacks, and no turnovers.

Overall, the game was surprisingly disappointing and boring after the first quarter. The social media reactions and the crazy stories about missed sports bets were more entertaining than what was happening in what appears to be one of the least competitive games of the whole year. 

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