The college football season comes down to this: No. 1 seed Georgia will play No. 3 seed TCU in Los Angeles for the national championship on Monday night. Stetson Bennett and the Bulldogs roll in undefeated and seeking their second straight title, having not lost since the 2021 SEC championship game. Max Duggan and TCU, meanwhile, are aiming to complete one of the greatest underdog stories in the sport’s history, going from unranked in the preseason to a national title that no one saw coming.
The Bulldogs are the clear frontrunners on paper and in Vegas; they’re favored to win by 13 points at SI Sportsbook. But the Horned Frogs were also an underdog against Michigan and won that semifinal by six. Can the Hypnotoad-inspired school make stunning history, or will Kirby Smart’s Dawgs cap off an incredible two-season run with more red and white confetti? Sports Illustrated’s college football writers—Pat Forde, Ross Dellenger and Richard Johnson—have made their picks.
Carlos M. Saavedra (Bennett); Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports (Duggan)
