CFP National Championship Odds: Defending Champion Georgia, Double-Digit Favorite

Will It Be Georgia or Texas Christian Crowned National Champion?

Spencer Rattler, Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels, Ryan Hilinski, Graham Mertz and Sam Howell were all ranked ahead of Georgia’s Stetson Bennett and Max Duggan of TCU in the 247sports.com quarterback rankings in the Class of 2019. All of them would gladly change places with the starting quarterbacks in Monday’s national title game with Bennett’s Bulldogs favored according to the CFP National Championship odds.

Duggan has thrown for 3,546 yards with 32 touchdowns for TCU while Bennett had 3,823 passing yards with 23 TD passes. They were front and center in a wild pair of national semifinals that highlighted the college football bowl scores.

Texas Christian, unranked at the start of the season, never trailed in a wild 51-45 win over favored Michigan in the first national semifinal while Georgia had to hold on as Ohio State’s late field goal was no good in a 42-41 win.

Georgia has a chance to become the first NCAAF team to win back-to-back national titles since the start of the College Football Playoff format in 2014. The 2011 and 2012 Alabama teams were voted as the national champions in the major national polls before a playoff system was in place.

TCU said it felt disrespected going into the game against Michigan and there could be a similar feeling as the college football playoff odds list Georgia as a 13-point favorite. When looking at the college football standings, Georgia is the last undefeated team at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.

Game Information

TCU returned two interceptions for touchdowns as the Horned Frogs’ remarkable season continued with an upset of Michigan. Now they are a heavy underdog according to the CFP National Championship odds.

When top rusher Kendre Miller was knocked out of the game, Emari Demercado tore through Michigan’s defense for 150 yards on 17 carries while Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan had a pair of TD runs.

Quentin Johnston looked every bit like the player expected to be the first receiver selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. A 76-yard touchdown reception with 13:07 left provided what proved to be the winning points for TCU. Johnston had 163 yards on six catches.

What a first season it has been for Dykes at TCU. After leading Southern Methodist to a 25-10 record over the previous three seasons, the former Cal head coach got another chance to be a head coach for a Power-5 program and he has made the most of it.

Miller (1,399 rushing yards) and receiver Quentin Johnston (59 catches, 1,066 yards) join Duggan as TCU’s other offensive stars for a team that is tied for fourth nationally in scoring offense.

Dylan Horton had four tackles for loss against Michigan while Dee Winters (14.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks) and Bud Clark (five interceptions) are key players for a defense that went from allowing 462 yards per game to 395.

TCU has covered against the college football odds in six of its last eight games.

Georgia’s defense paved the way to a run to the national title a season ago. With five players off that unit selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, this is a much different unit. Still, the CFP National Championship odds favor the Bulldogs.

Georgia still leads the country in rushing defense, allowing 79.9 yards per game. The Bulldogs do allow 224.6 passing yards per game and their passing rating of 117.64 is tied for 17th nationally.

The defense has allowed 850 passing yards and seven touchdown passes in the last two games.

Kenny McIntosh, Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton have shared the rushing load. McIntosh is also a threat in the passing game to go along with tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Ladd McConkey. It was uncertain if McConkey would be able to play against Ohio State and he wasn’t much of a factor with two catches on his six targets.

Arian Smith led the Bulldogs with 129 yards on three catches while Adonai Mitchell caught the pass that put Georgia ahead with 54 seconds left to play.

The defense took a hit with the loss of Nolan Smith. Six of the top seven tacklers are either freshmen or sophomores with Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Smael Mondon Jr. and Malaki Starks leading the way.

Four of Georgia’s last five games went over the college football betting lines total.

Injury Concerns

Tight ends Arik Gilbert and Darnell Washington as well as offensive lineman Earnest Greene (leg) are questionable to play for Georgia and the Bulldogs are already without Smith and defensive back Dan Jackson.

For TCU, leading rusher Kendre Miller was knocked out of the Michigan game with a knee injury, but said he will be ready to face Georgia.

Road to the CFP

The matchup against Dykes’ former SMU team was the most challenging of the non-conference games for TCU. The Horned Frogs’ 55-24 win over Oklahoma in the conference opener was a sign of things to come.

‘TCU beat Kansas by seven points, Oklahoma State by three in overtime, Texas by seven and Baylor by one. The four wins over ranked teams were enough for the Horned Frogs to absorb a loss in the Big 12 title game and still earn a spot in the playoff field.’

Other than a narrow escape against Missouri, it was business as usual for Georgia, which takes a 16-game winning streak into the national-title game of CFP National Championship. During the regular season, Georgia won three games against ranked teams by an average of 28.3 points per game and that included a season-opening 49-3 win over Oregon.
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