Georgia Bulldogs try to launch football dynasty at National Championship game
LOS ANGELES - Anticipation is building in Los Angeles as the Georgia Bulldogs and Coach Kirby Smart look to cement their legacy as the first school to repeat as champs in major college football in a decade.
After going through the Crimson Tide last season to win Georgia’s first national title in 41 years, Smart’s top-ranked and undefeated Bulldogs are back in the College Football Playoff championship game Monday night against No. 3 TCU.
Georgia (14-0) could become the first school to repeat as champs in major college football since Alabama a decade ago, and the first to go back-to-back in the nine-year history of the four-team playoff.
Smart has built a program that appears capable of accomplishing the ultimate goal: sustained excellence.
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"A lot of hard work, standard, a belief in the culture within it," Smart said Sunday during a joint news conference with TCU coach Sonny Dykes. Heisman Trophy finalist Stetson Bennett and the Bulldogs have been the No. 1 team in the country in 21 of the last 23 AP Top 25 college football polls, dating back to Oct. 10, 2021.
"It doesn’t start when the season starts. It starts Tuesday when the season ends," Smart said. "And it just continues. I don’t know that you can relax and just say, ‘OK, we’re going to be fine.’ You have to make it happen. And I think each and every year you have a different team."
Smart was going through this drill for the third time, but first without his mentor, Alabama coach Nick Saban, as the opponent. Georgia lost the first of two all-Southeastern Conference CFP title games in overtime in 2018 to Alabama, one of the Tide’s six titles under Saban.
Georgia has dominated differently this season than last. The Bulldogs fielded one of the best defenses in recent college football history in 2021, a unit that produced a record five first-round picks in the NFL draft.
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The Bulldogs have not been quite as stingy this season, but they have picked it up offensively behind Bennett, who is 177 yards passing shy of 4,000 for the season.
For Dykes, this is all new — and kind of hard to believe.
In Dykes’ first season as head coach of the Horned Frogs, TCU has gone from picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 to within a victory of school’s first national championship since 1938.
Facing Georgia marks the culmination of one of the most improbable seasons in college football history. The Frogs went 5-7 last season and saw the most successful coach in program history, Gary Patterson, fired before it even ended.
This season, Heisman runner-up Max Duggan and The Hypnotoads — a nickname borrowed from the animated TV show "Futurama" — have taken their fans on a heart-stopping ride that has included nine victories by 10 points or fewer.
The Frogs are the biggest underdogs in the history of the CFP title game, getting 12 1/2 points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and facing a far more talented team — at least by the recruiting rankings.
"Know it’s going to be a big challenge for us, but our guys have never backed down from challenges and they have a lot of confidence in themselves and our program and what we’re trying to do," Dykes said. "And we’ll go out and play good football Monday night, see what happens."
Under Dykes and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley — both Air Raid offense proteges of the late Mike Leach — TCU has been one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The Frogs have a nation-leading 21 plays of 50 yards or more, including two in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal upset of Michigan.
Stetson Bennett #13 and Christopher Smith #29 of the Georgia Bulldogs celebrate after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Imag
But Georgia, which outlasted Ohio State 42-41 in the Peach Bowl, is fourth in the country in yards per play (7.09). TCU is 11th at 6.85.
For Bennett, a second straight national championship would cap his own unlikely journey from walk-on at Georgia to junior college to a return to Athens and surprising rise to the top of the depth chart.
Since the Bulldogs won their first national title in 1980, led by freshman tailback Herschel Walker, only three teams have won consecutive national titles: Nebraska (1994-95), USC (2003-04) and Alabama (2011-12).
"It’s hard for people to go back and do what got them there, and that’s why it takes great leadership like Coach Smart and the coaching staff because we’re all college kids, and it’s easy for us to lose sight of what’s important or what we’re trying to go do," Bennett said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.