Bulldogs barrel their way to second straight CFP title

INGLEWOOD, Calif.– There was no epic comeback and no incredible finish because there was no possibility– not when the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs asserted their sheer dominance from the start and sucked the storybook ending right out from under No. 3 TCU with a 65-7 win in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at SoFi Arena on Monday night.In a game that included 2 Heisman Trophy finalist quarterbacks, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett piled onto his legacy, leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back nationwide titles for the first time because Alabama achieved the task in 2011-12. And they made it look so easy.With 13:25 left in the game and Georgia sitting conveniently with a 52-7 lead, Bennett unhooked his chin strap, pulled off his helmet with a smile and went to the sideline, where he was greeted with hugs and high-fives from coaches and colleagues for topping his career with the sport’s greatest prize. Bennett accounted for six total touchdowns in the triumph, four rushing and 2 passing.Georgia beat this scrappy however skilled TCU group every which way, using its powerful tight ends for

huge plays in the passing game, finding holes for long bursts in the running game, and pushing through the Horned Frogs’offensive line to pressure TCU quarterback Max Duggan into expensive mistakes. He threw two interceptions in the very first half, consisting of one with 36 seconds staying that resulted in another Bennett goal pass 2 plays later, and a definite 38-7 halftime lead for Georgia. It was the largest halftime lead in a national championship game since the 2002 BCS, when Miami led Nebraska 34-0.2 Associated Georgia, having the experience of winning everything just a year back, looked comfortable and calm, while the

Frogs, who

completed 5-7 a year ago and were chosen to end up seventh in the Huge 12, appeared wide-eyed and out of sorts under first-year coach Sonny Dykes.”You need to provide Georgia a lots of credit, they did a tremendous task of getting their group all set to play, “Dykes stated.

“Those guys came out and played incredibly well, they’ve got a very good football group, truly skilled.”Georgia closed as a 13.5-point preferred, the biggest favorite in a nationwide title game considering that 1998, but TCU, which defied the odds on a weekly basis, had won 5 games when trailing after halftime this season while capturing the nation’s attention with its cool Hypnotoad and underdog status along the way.Not this time.This wasn’t about a fairy tale ending. No, this had to do with what’s starting at Georgia under Kirby Smart.

“A great deal of grit.

A great deal of toughness. The word we use around our location is connection,”Smart stated on the champion podium.

“Every one of our men understands we stay linked, we’re hard to beat.” Given that 1990, the just other schools to win back-to-back nationwide titles are Nebraska (1994-95)and USC( 2003-04 ). The comparisons in between where Georgia is heading and what Alabama has done began last season, when the Bulldogs defeated the Tide to win their first nationwide title in 41 years. Now that Georgia has won successive champions, there’s an undeniable tilt in the balance of power in between the 2 programs. The debate will heighten on whether Georgia already has actually usurped the Crimson Tide, who have won 6 nationwide titles in 12 seasons under Nick Saban, as the most elite program in the SEC.Smart, who spent 9 seasons as Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama before he was hired at Georgia, took Saban’s championship plan with him to Athens. He has actually now won 5 SEC East titles, two SEC champions and two national titles. He has actually drawn in seven top-three finalizing classes and they were on complete display screen Monday night.For much of the very first half, Bennett was throwing to open receivers without a protector in arm’s reach. He tossed only 4 incompletions and represented two passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns in the half.Georgia outgained TCU by 233 backyards in the first half, the biggest margin in any half of a championship game game because at least the 2004 season. The Bulldogs were shattering championship game records left and right. It was an utter crisis for the Frogs

, who were trying to win the program’s very first nationwide title considering that 1938.” Really aggressive playing, not holding back anything, we wanted our kids to play without fear,”Smart stated.”And all year I informed them, I stated’We ain’t getting hunted men. … We’re doing the searching. And open season’s practically over. We only got another chance to hunt, and we hunted tonight.'”When TCU knocked off No. 2 Michigan in the CFP semifinal at the Vrbo Feast Bowl, it continued to convert critics into believers. It only took one half for Georgia to make it clear, however, that the gap between the SEC’s most elite program and TCU was as large as ball game indicated.Midway through the 3rd quarter, Georgia had actually run as numerous plays (45 )as it had points, which discusses why the team’s fans in SoFi Arena appeared as comfortable as the lead they were staring at. Just about whatever collapsed for TCU, including its defense in the very first half, which allowed its most points in a first half since giving up 38 to Oklahoma in 2017. Going into the 2nd quarter, Georgia’s players were waving their arms on the field and their white towels on the sideline, gesturing to the fans to get into the game. They did it again at the start of the 2nd half. Georgia’s 17 points were the most scored in the first quarter by a team in a BCS or CFP championship game game.

Even with the resounding start, though, there was still a sense that TCU would argue like it constantly does, and the first quarter was far too early to cross out the Frogs. That happened in the 2nd quarter.TCU carved its identity this season through its relentless capability to find ways to win, however it was an overwhelming job against a program that has forged its identity as the very best group in the country.Again.