An early look at TCU’s national championship opponent, No. 1 Georgia
As the emotional high from TCU’s incredible 51-45 win over Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl begins to subside, it’s back to business for the Horned Frogs.
There’s one more game and one last team standing TCU’s way of the program’s first national football championship since 1938. The Horned Frogs must go through Georgia, who spent nearly all of the year widely viewed as the best team in college football.
The defending champions have earned that right and have largely rolled through the year. But as their one point win over Ohio State in the other semifinal showed, the Bulldogs aren’t unbeatable.
Although TCU is almost a two-touchdown underdog against Georgia, the Horned Frogs have no doubt in their ability to win the title game and that’s a huge part of the battle.
The other parts will include finding a way to slow down these four aspects that have propelled Georgia to a 14-0 record. Here’s what to know about TCU’s national championship game opponent:
Stetson’s story
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett could’ve gone out on top after leading Georgia to the national championship game, but he returned and has only added to his legacy. Bennett was a Heisman Trophy finalist and has Georgia back in the national championship game.
Bennett is coming off his best game of his career with 398 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Buckeyes. The game-winning drive where he connected with Adonai Mitchell for a score with under a minute remaining will be another all-time moment for him in Georgia lore.
He’s improved this year and has thrown for 3,823 yards and 23 touchdowns. Bennett has evolved from a game manager to a playmaker. He has some similarities to Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy in terms of play style. Forcing Bennett into mistakes will be the key.
The new Gronk?
Georgia’s receiving core is one of the few units that isn’t considered great for the Bulldogs with the exception of tight end Brock Bowers. At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, Bowers is the ultimate matchup nightmare, resembles former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski and would be the top tight end selected in the 2023 NFL draft if he was eligible.
Bowers can catch passes over the middle or take jet sweeps 80 yards to the house at any time. Bowers led Georgia with 790 yards and six touchdowns. He’s added three more rushing touchdowns. How will TCU’s safeties matchup with the size and speed of Bowers is going to be the biggest question for TCU against the pass.
Receiver Ladd McConkey is also productive and the Bulldogs have another athletic marvel at tight end with the 6’7 Darnell Washington. But still, priority No. 1 will be taking away Bowers.
Top 5 pick on the DL?
Most NFL mock drafts have Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter going in the top three in a few months. Carter is an elite run stuffer and he’s posted pass-rush win percentages above 16.0% in each of the past two seasons according to Pro Football Focus.
Carter has three sacks and two forced fumbles, but his impact goes far beyond stats as he’s the key piece to a defense that has the No. 5 scoring defense and is only allowing 80 rushing yards per game. Carter was dealing with an ankle injury and didn’t appear to be 100% against the Buckeyes as he finished with one tackle. His health will be a key storyline to watch along with the matchup against Steve Avila and Alan Ali in the middle of the TCU offensive line.
TCU being able to counter the monster defensive tackle with an All-American quality player of their own improves TCU’s chances of being able to successfully attack Georgia’s defense.
The blueprint
Much of how we viewed Georgia has heavily impacted by their 49-3 win over Oregon in the season opener. It’s understandable because the Ducks were one of the best teams in the Pac-12 and in playoff contention until later in the year. However, Georgia hasn’t been quite as dominant as their opening blitz of Oregon.
There have been a few games this year that show how Georgia can be beaten. Ohio State was able to matchup with the Bulldogs talent for talent and had an advantage with their receivers against the Bulldogs’ defensive backs until Marvin Harrison Jr. was knocked out of the game. C.J. Stroud also made plays with legs against Georgia’s man-to-man defense. That’s an area where Max Duggan and Quentin Johnston could thrive.
Against Missouri, Georgia was lucky to escape with a win. Despite outgaining the Tigers by nearly 200 yards, two turnovers had the Bulldogs on the brink of being upset. We know TCU excels at creating turnovers on defense. The same issue also persisted against Kent State, who only trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs had three turnovers while only forcing one.
Georgia also found itself in a dogfight with Kentucky on the road as the Wildcats held them to 16 points and kept Bennett under 150 yards passing. Kentucky wide receiver Barion Brown was unguardable with 10 catches, 145 yards and a touchdown.
What’s the main takeaway to have from these performances? That if TCU can force turnovers and have another big game from Johnston, then the Horned Frogs will be in this one going into the fourth quarter.
This story was originally published January 2, 2023 at 12:41 PM.
