INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It was over long before it actually ended. But when it did, the Georgia Bulldogs reveled.
Smoke hovered over the field at SoFi Stadium as they lit their celebratory cigars. College Football Playoff-branded confetti trickled onto their shoulders, undeterred by the misty weather. They jumped in each other’s arms, danced with newspapers announcing their second straight title, tossed on-field souvenirs to their families in the stands and began declaring a three-peat future for their budding dynasty.
When history looks back on Georgia’s second consecutive national title win, a 65-7 beatdown over TCU, the offensive brilliance of Stetson Bennett and Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey and the rest of the Bulldogs will tell the story. The 58-point differential will be remembered as the most dominating beatdown ever in a college bowl game, including the national championship. People will joke about Georgia hitting the over all by itself. And rightfully so.
Don’t forget that defense, though. The defense that lost so many key players to the NFL Draft last year. The defense that was perplexingly dominant yet unable to keep some opponents at a distance during Georgia’s perfect 15-0 season.
But defense wins championships, amirite?
So while Georgia’s offensive fireworks broke records Monday night in a game where its talent overwhelmed TCU, the Bulldogs’ defense deserves its moment too.
FUMBLE!
Georgia gets the early takeaway 😱 #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/zU98USEAMo
— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2023
That Georgia defense forced three turnovers, all in the first half, and 25-year-old Bennett and co. quickly capitalized on each takeaway opportunity, including finding Adonai Mitchell for a 22-yard touchdown at the end of the second quarter just 10 seconds after Javon Bullard picked off TCU’s Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan deep in Horned Frogs territory.
It helped that the Bulldogs basically had the mostly dull game locked up at the break with their 38-7 lead — the most points ever scored in a half of a College Football Playoff title game.
“We wanted to be legendary, as a group, and I feel like we were able to do that, man,” said sophomore defensive back Kelee Ringo, who declared for the 2023 NFL Draft after the game. “Just the love throughout this entire locker room definitely helped us throughout the entire time from last year and also this year.”
The back-to-back champs’ smothering defense limited TCU to converting just two out of 11 total third-down opportunities and zero fourth downs. It held the Horned Frogs — who entered the title game averaging 474.1 yards per game — to a measly 188 total yards. 188. Duggan threw for more than that in all but two games, including Monday, he started this season.
The Dawgs are DOMINATING 😤#NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/1oWi2zUeXy
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 10, 2023
This was not the same defense we saw barely a week earlier that gave up 41 points and 467 yards to a talented Ohio State team in a nail-biter that almost swung the other way. This was the championship-caliber defense with bright spots throughout the undefeated season that showed up and shut down almost anything the Horned Frogs tried to get away with.
“Every single time something’s went wrong, no matter where it is — the secondary, inside the box or anything like that — we’ve answered the bell and next play or whenever the time came that we needed to answer that,” Ringo said. “Just how we faced adversity this entire year as a defense, and also an offense, man, it’s been great.”
Since their one-point win over the Buckeyes in the semifinal game, the defense amped up its aggression, Ringo added, and things like in-practice turnover competitions certainly helped.
Let them Dawgs eat 🍽
📺: @espn #GoDawgs | #NationalChampionship
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) January 10, 2023
Although Ringo said he’s won that contest in practice a couple times, Bullard ultimately won the final turnover competition of the season, intercepting Duggan twice in the first half.
“As a kid, you know, you always dream of moments like this,” the sophomore defensive back said. “And just to see those moments and accomplishments and things like that come true, it’s just a surreal feeling.”
As much as the Bulldogs put on a stunner and ran up the score so much it had TCU fans leaving at halftime, or not long after it, their defense put on an impressive clinic, relentlessly suffocating TCU at every turn. Duggan took five sacks, tying a season-high, from five different Georgia players.
Georgia piling it on before halftime‼️#NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/CA71Blpqhr
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 10, 2023
Even the Horned Frogs’ lone score of the game was a short little run into the end zone in the first quarter — though it came on the heels of a stunning 60-yard reception from Derius Davis — and that was it. They barely made it into Georgia territory for the rest of the game.
It seemed like if one Georgia defender went in for a tackle, there were five. If TCU made it past the line of scrimmage, one blink and the whole front seven practically was dog-piled on the ball-carrier. They made it impossible for TCU to ignite anything, holding the Horned Frogs to just four plays of 10 yards or more and keeping them scoreless in a half for the first time this season.
“We just wanted to play for each other,” said defensive back Kamari Lassiter, who finished with three tackles. “We made it personal for each other, and we became powerful, and we just wanted to knock guys out with a bang.”
By the time the title game was almost over — in a literal sense because it was over by halftime — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was subbing out players on both sides of the ball, eliciting a mock-senior day vibe after a less-than-competitive game.
Jalen Carter out here making tackles on the perimeter 😳#NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/1aJWIXyVXP
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 10, 2023
And with several key members of this championship roster expected to enter the 2023 NFL Draft, Georgia will again have to make adjustments if it wants to pull off a three-peat. But Monday, it was all about the seniors and those who played their last game as a Bulldog.
“You win it for each other, you fight for your brothers,” said defensive back JaCorey Thomas, who’s already looking forward. “We don’t replace; we reload. We just keep reloading next year, next year, next year, so hopefully we’ll go back to back to back.”
