The 2022 college football regular season concludes Monday night, with the TCU Horned Frogs aiming to conclude its Cinderella tale with its first national title in more than eight decades, and the Georgia Bulldogs determined to give their 2021 national championship trophy a buddy.

How TCU Got Here

by Andrew Dutkievic

One of the biggest underdog stories of the College Football Playoff era. When the season started, not a single person batted an eye on TCU to make any noise in 2022. Not in the College Football Playoff race, not in the Big 12, not on any scale. In fact, the Horned Frogs were predicted to finish SEVENTH in the conference in the preseason Big 12 media poll and didn’t receive a single vote in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. 

The quarterback who would go on to be a Heisman finalist in New York in December wasn’t even the starter in their season opener at Colorado, conceding that duty to Chandler Morris, who would leave the game with a knee injury. 

This was the first season in Fort Worth for head coach Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, having previously worked together across I-30 at SMU. First-year coaching staff, quarterback questions, none of this screams playoff contenders. 

After expected victories over Colorado and Tarleton State, the Horned Frogs would then play their local rivals, the SMU Mustangs — Dykes’ former employers. 

In a game that saw Max Duggan and Derius Davis light up the SMU secondary, this game also saw the emergence of one of college football’s elite players in 2022 — running back Kendre Miller. 

Rushing for 100+ rushing yards in seven of TCU’s next eight games, it was a situation of ‘no Zach Evans, no problem’ for the Horned Frogs. Miller would even outrush Texas’ Bijan Robinson by over 100 yards during their matchup in Austin on Nov. 12. 

While crashing the undefeated Kansas Jayhawks’ party and defeating Oklahoma State in 2OT, the Horned Frogs were not free from trouble whatsoever. Falling behind against West Virginia in Morgantown, Texas Tech at home, and even against Baylor in Waco, there were many times college football fans felt their magical run was ending. 

But when you have players like a resurgent Max Duggan and Quentin Johnston, the magic never dies. 

While an overtime loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship stung for Dykes’ crew, there was very little doubt that they were indeed one of college football’s four best teams in the country, especially with their victory over the Wildcats in the regular season. 

But it still felt like people weren’t respecting the TCU Horned Frogs, as evidenced by Michigan being an eight-point favorite in the Fiesta Bowl. And they took that personally. 

The Horned Frogs started fast and never looked back. Johnston left Michigan defenders looking hopeless, defenseless, and even lost. And even with Miller being the workhorse for the Horned Frogs all season, Emari Demercado would take the load of the run game, rushing for 150 yards on 17 attempts.

After what was the highest-scoring semifinal in CFP history, TCU’s offense is red hot and looks ready to go against a Georgia defense that has had its leaks against LSU and Ohio State. 

TCU is the first team from the state of Texas to reach the College Football Playoff and the first team from the Big 12 to reach the CFP final. With all the preseason doubt, a TCU victory would send shockwaves in the college football world and make everyone think twice on how we judge teams in the preseason.

How Georgia Got Here:

by Brian Olson

The Georgia Bulldogs have been an absolute juggernaut the past few seasons. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, UGA has been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll in 21 of 31 total weeks, as well as in 10 of the 12 College Football Playoff rankings. The Dawgs have gone 28-1 the past two seasons with only three of those wins being single digits.  It’s safe to say the Georgia Bulldogs have been tough to beat. 

One of those single-digit victories came last weekend, in the CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl. Georgia found itself on the brink of seeing its undefeated season come to an end. Down 38-24 in the fourth quarter against Ohio State, UGA needed to put together one of the biggest comebacks in CFP history if it wanted a chance to repeat as national champion. A key timeout mere seconds before a fake punt attempt by the Buckeyes late in the game gave Heisman Trophy finalist Stetson Bennett IV a chance. And he sure took advantage of it. 
Before we could blink, Bennett went 11-of-13 for 207 yards and two touchdowns to give the Dawgs a 42-41 lead with under a minute to play, putting the game in the hands of the defense to seal the comeback. Fellow Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud led a masterful drive to put Ohio State in field goal range. With three seconds remaining, kicker Noah Ruggles missed a game-winning 50-yard field goal, cementing Georgia’s place in the National Championship Game and a chance to become the first team to repeat as champion in the CFP era.

Keys to the Game for TCU:

by Dylan Reubenking

Play Your Game:

We’ve seen it all too often that a team that is new to this stage shies away from what it does best. But we never saw that from TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, so I’m confident that this shouldn’t be much of an issue in the National Championship Game. Still, TCU likes to attack teams vertically, which is where Georgia has looked vulnerable in the back end of its defense. The Horned Frogs have come too far to depart from what got them here. This doesn’t just apply to the offense, though. The defense has often made huge stops deep in the red zone, including against Michigan. No one was more efficient in the red zone than Georgia, scoring on all but two of its 77 red zone trips.

Special Teams:

TCU has one of the most dangerous returners in college football in Derius Davis. Technically, Georgia has the third-worst punt return defense in the country, but the Bulldogs have only allowed six returns on punts all season, with one of them going for a 63-yard touchdown against Mississippi State. If Georgia’s defense proves to be stingier than we’ve seen in recent weeks, Davis and the Horned Frogs special teams unit will need to be at its best and fastest to give them short fields.

Keys to the Game for Georgia:

by Doug

Trench Play:

Georgia was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, as it finished behind Michigan. Georgia is a great pass protecting unit, only allowing nine sacks the entire year. Stetson Bennett is also best at operating in a clean pocket. TCU is at its best generating pressure. Quoting one Jason Starrett from The Athletic: TCU suffers greatly when it cannot pressure the quarterback, as its pass defense will drop off. TCU and Georgia are similar in the sense that neither team is great at finishing sacks, but they are both great at applying pressure to the quarterback. 

Speaking of the Bulldogs, Georgia has a problem of applying pressure to the quarterback. While this has been apparent on the back half of the season, this was especially apparent vs. Ohio State. C.J. Stroud was frequently able to break from the pressure and either throw the ball down field or run for a decent amount of yardage. This was especially apparent during the last drive before the missed field goal. Max Duggan, while arguably the more prolific runner of the two, is not as dangerous as Stroud is. Georgia will definitely have more contain to prevent him from running and picking up first downs with his legs. The Bulldogs will have to generate pressure to force him into ill-advised throws, something that the team didn’t do in the Ohio State game. 

Adapt to Tempo:

Ohio State clearly watched film from the LSU game. TCU will clearly watch film from the Ohio State and LSU games. Both teams played with more tempo that what they are used to. TCU plays with tempo. Georgia will have to adjust to tempo and get used to being subbed out less if the Horned Frogs have the ball. This may be the equalizer for some teams. The Bulldogs like to rotate a lot during the game, but this might be the one time that they don’t.

Dave’s Betting Corner — Bets of the Game:

by David Patalano

If you don’t really have a rooting interest in the National Championship Game and want to win some money while watching, you’re in the right place. I went 22-12-2 during bowl season, and I have three more picks that’ll hopefully boost your bank account. 

Max Duggan anytime touchdown scorer (+105)

Max Duggan and this TCU squad have been one of the best stories in college football in a long time. If Duggan can’t find any open receivers, he’s known for putting his head down and trying to run defenders over for extra yards. Duggan is also really, really good at QB sneaks. He had a rushing TD against Kansas State in the Big 12 title game and two rushing scores last week against Michigan. I expect Duggan to run wild in this game and find the end zone on his own at least once. 

Stetson Bennett over 272.5 passing yards (-115)

In the National Semifinal against Ohio State, Bennett shook off some rust and went crazy in the second half, finishing the game with 398 yards. TCU let up far too many big plays against Michigan and J.J. McCarthy finished the game with 343 yards. I think Bennett throws for 300+ yards in another shootout, putting him well over the number of 272.5. 

TCU +12 (-110)

This line opened up with TCU being a 14.5-point underdog and the public moved it to 12. Even though it’s a 2.5-point swing in a week, I still like the Horned Frogs in this spot. TCU is the biggest underdog in the National Championship Game since 1988 and I think that’s right where the Horned Frogs want to be. “Experts” thought they had no shot against Michigan and now once again against Georgia. Don’t get me wrong, Georgia is an incredible football team but Ohio State exposed the Bulldogs and proved they can be beaten. I’m not saying the Frogs will win this game, but take them with the points and root for the fiesta underdogs.

Draft-Eligible Prospects to Watch:

by Liam Blutman

#33 Kendre Miller RB — TCU

I know I know… Kendre Miller’s status for the National Championship Game is up in the air, but I’d be kicking myself if I didn’t once again remind people that Kendre Miller is the best pro prospect on this TCU team. The 6-foot, 220-pound back was a big reason why Zach Evans left TCU, and all Miller did was thrive in the RB1 role. In 2022, he has racked up 1,399 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on 224 carries. Kendre wins with exquisite speed, prolific burst, and superb quickness. He’s got stupendous contact balance, and I just love the way he bounces off incoming tacklers. Miller is ridiculously smooth; his sudden cutting is always a joy to watch. I would love to see TCU get him more involved in the receiving game but with just one game left and an injury to boot… that won’t be the case. It’s pivotal that his NFL team sees the receiving talent Miller possesses and gets him extra touches that way in the NFL.

Liam’s Grade: RB2

#1 Quentin Johnston WR — TCU

Now we look at the man who many believe is the best player and pro prospect on TCU. Quentin Johnston had an up and down 2022 season, but he’s got 59 catches for 1,066 receiving yards and six touchdowns. The consistency issues were there and evidenced by a sluggish start that featured just 12 catches for 114 receiving yards in the first four games. He has come up big-time in his last two games by collecting 302 receiving yards and a tuddy on 10 catches. Quentin comes in at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, and he offers an intriguing blend of size and speed paired with solid twitch. My worry comes down to a great measure of inconsistency, a fear of being one-dimensional, and showing to be soft vs. press man on multiple occasions. He’ll turn 22 in September and will be a very trendy prospect for the upcoming draft. Where will he land though? That’s a question that many will be asking for months to come, and I’m positive there will be plenty of differences in everyone’s opinions about this potentially polarizing prospect.

Liam’s Grade: WR8

#6 Jamoi Hodge LB — TCU

It’s only right to go off the popular path once again and highlight a lowkey stud that may not even enter the 2023 NFL Draft. Jamoi Hodge always finds ways to impress. The junior linebacker has compiled 75 total tackles, eight TFL, 4.5 sacks, two PBUs, and an interception this season. Most opt to dissect and rip apart the TCU defense instead of looking closely and seeing some of these ballers on this defensive unit. Hodge started his career at Independence Community College before getting his big opportunity at TCU, and all he’s done is crush it whilst flying under the radar. At 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds, Hodge provides to be a key player against the run with some violent intent. His instincts fly off the screen as he quickly gets all over the field and showcases elite closing speed. Hodge is so good in pass coverage as well, and his footwork is exceptional. I’m not sure when others will see the vision but Jamoi Hodge has a future in the NFL. I’m just not sure when he’ll leave for the pros.

Liam’s Grade: TBD

#63 Sedrick Van Pran C — Georgia

Those who know me knew this was the first dawg I’d talk about. Sedrick Van Pran flies a bit under the radar, but it’s clear as day to knowers of ball that SVP is the best center in college football. My top IOL and C in the 2023 NFL Draft is a 6-foot-4, 310-pound beast that plays a pivotal role in Georgia’s success on the ground. I’m sure you saw a few big runs against Ohio State and throughout the season that were produced thanks to SVP using his stellar upper body strength to set a key block on a defensive tackle. Van Pran is often creating seismic gaps for the Bulldogs backs to burst through with a full head of steam. His nimble footwork plays a key role in his success as well as he gets downfield quite often to help extend big plays for Georgia. Van Pran has been a baller in the SEC and so many big-time games and has done it as a youngster. He’ll be drafted at 21 years old and will instantly provide a positive spark for whichever franchise selects him.

Liam’s Grade: No. 1 Center; Top 20 Player

#5 Kelee Ringo CB — Georgia

Back in early September, I boldly predicted that Kelee Ringo would switch from cornerback to safety in the near future. That take is becoming a bit more popular now that Ringo’s struggles are being seen on the biggest stages. Everyone saw him struggle mightily against the dudes in Ohio State’s receiver room. And there have been concerns with his consistency. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound corner offers a great blend of size, length, and speed. He’s dang good in zone coverage and truthfully has trouble in man. Ringo plays a whole lot better when his eyes are on the QB and he’s reading that dude’s every thought. As you can see by those brief statements, the safety position just benefits his skillset a whole lot more.

Liam’s Grade: TBD

#11 Arian Smith WR — Georgia

I’m going way off the board here with a guy who has caught 11 balls in his career. He’s turned those grabs into 383 receiving yards and four touchdowns. A wicked 34.8 yards per catch for a draft-eligible prospect who is in all likelihood returning to school. I just wanted to highlight Arian Smith even though I don’t think he’s leaving for the 2023 NFL Draft. I want to get ahead of the curve here because I believe Smith has a very bright future if he’s given more opportunities. While he hauled in a 47-yard catch in the first half, #11 really popped off the screen early in the fourth quarter vs. Ohio State on just a six-yard reception. I was just instantly impressed by his 6-foot, 185-pound build and his strong, long legs. Arian takes such good strides and helps make a track star even faster than he should be. We saw that on display when he torched the Buckeyes for a critical 76-yard score in the fourth. I so desperately need to see more of this kid. He needs a bigger role, and that’s hard to get for a WR on Georgia’s offense. I think it’s likely that Arian Smith finds a spot in the NFL and proves to be a better pro than college player despite the insane production he’s posted on such little volume. He just has that phenomenal speed, a near perfect build, and reliable hands. Get him the ball and let him cook.

Liam’s Grade: TBD

Young Stars to Watch:

by Adam Coleman

#7 Jordan Hudson WR — TCU

With all the attention on star wide receiver Quentin Johnston, there will be opportunities for others to take the spotlight. Jordan Hudson has showed flashes of what’s to come in the future. There is no better time for the four-star freshman to make his mark in the purple and black.

#26 Bud Clark DB — TCU

The young talented safety from Louisiana has five interceptions this season, none bigger than his pick six last weekend against Michigan. We saw Georgia rely on the pass game early against Ohio State. Clark will be crucial to slowing down superstar tight end Brock Bowers. 

#24 Malaki Starks DB — Georgia

Starks started the season with an incredible interception against Oregon and had another great game against No. 1 Tennessee. Co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has had high praise for the talented five-star freshman who is second in tackles for the Bulldogs with 67. Starks will need to make some big plays against a potent TCU offense that loves to stretch the field. 

#2 Smael Mondon Jr. LB — Georgia

In his first season as a starter, Mondon leads the team in tackles and has stepped up in place of fellow linebacker Nolan Smith. Mondon had another great game against Ohio State where he recorded his first sack of the season. Don’t be surprised to see him getting first-round grades next season.

Score Predictions:

Adam: Whoever has the ball last wins. TCU’s Cinderella story is complete with a Griffin Kell field goal. TCU 33, Georgia 30.

Andrew: TCU’s offense has had to cover for its defense’s gaping holes time and time again this season. I trust Georgia’s defense to get that one crucial stop despite looking lackluster over its last two postseason games. Georgia 42, TCU 38.

Brian: TCU starts fast and takes an early lead, but before you know it, Georgia is up by multiple scores at halftime. TCU makes a valiant effort late but it’s never as close as the score indicates. Georgia 45, TCU 30.

Dave: Max Duggan does the impossible and leads TCU down the field for a championship-winning field goal from Griffin Kell. TCU 30, Georgia 28.

Doug: In the end, I think Georgia has too much talent to fail. The Bulldogs are fundamentally sound, have already faced the 3-3-5 this year, and have the true advantage in the trenches. The depth will wear
down TCU late in the third and the talent will take over. Georgia 42, TCU 34.

Dylan: I think this will be a surprisingly sluggish game after an electric CFP Semifinals slate, but that is the kind of game Georgia can win. Georgia 28, TCU 22.

Liam: I’ll be rooting for the magic of Hypnotoad to pull off one of the most improbable seasons in college football history, but I think Georgia’s work in the trenches will be the deciding factor here. The Bulldogs’ offensive line is full of grown men that create massive gaps and set the edge so well. They get downfield and help turn solid gains into big-time plays. Georgia has the best OL in the nation, and that’s a big reason why I’m so confident the Dawgs get it done once again. Georgia 42, TCU 31.