The 2023 College Football National Championship is set, and the season’s ultimate prize will be awarded on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. After two exciting College Football Playoff matchups, which two teams will fight for the right to be called national champions?
Who Are the National Championship 2023 Teams?
TCU Horned Frogs
Dispatching the Michigan Wolverines in the VRBO Fiesta Bowl, the TCU Horned Frogs won the first playoff matchup of Semifinal Saturday on New Year’s Eve, 51-46. In their first CFP appearance, the Horned Frogs rode their offense, led by QB Max Duggan to a tight victory.
The victory for TCU also marked the first win for the Big 12 conference in the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma was the only team from the conference to make the playoffs before TCU’s entrance this year, but the Sooners had dropped all four of their semifinal appearances.
TCU’s season record improved to 13-1 with the victory against Michigan, as their lone loss came at Kansas State’s hands in the Big 12 Championship Game. TCU’s Heisman Trophy finalist Duggan finished the Fiesta Bowl with 225 passing yards and four total touchdowns.
The TCU offensive line deserved a ton of credit — as did LB Dee Winters — for their play against Michigan. While the offense gained well over six yards per carry on the ground, TCU running backs were hardly contacted by defenders until they were well past the line of scrimmage.
For Winters, he made his presence felt from the opening series. Winters made play after play and even had an interception returned for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Head coach Sonny Dykes leads his Horned Frogs to the national championship in his first year as the leader of the program, hoping to capitalize on one of the most memorable first-year head coaching seasons in the history of the sport.
TCU Season Résumé:
- Yards per game: 474.1 (13th)
- Points per game: 41.1 (T-3rd)
- Yards allowed per game: 385.1 (74th)
- Points allowed per game: 25.0 (T-56th)
Georgia Bulldogs
Entering the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed for the first time in three tries and for the first time as defending champions, the bar was set very high for the Georgia Bulldogs. And yet, that didn’t matter against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes gave Georgia all they could handle in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Georgia needed an 18-point fourth quarter and a shanked field goal from OSU to emerge victorious.
Georgia lit up the scoreboard offensively and struggled defensively, completely shifting the narrative of their dominant 2022 season. Improving to 14-0 on the back of QB Stetson Bennett, Georgia earned their place in the national championship and now look to become the first-ever back-to-back champions in the playoff era.
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Bennett threw for 398 yards and had four total touchdowns, averaging 11.7 yards per pass against an Ohio State defense that entered the 2022 season with such high hopes.
Down late to Ohio State, the Dawgs showed their resolve and tenacity to come from behind, coming from as far back as 14 points in the late stages of the third quarter and down six points with just under three minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs were aided by questionable play-calling from Ohio State on their game-winning drive as well as a missed 50-yard field goal with just three seconds remaining, but as the saying goes, “a win is a win,” and they’ve moved on to preparing for TCU.
Georgia Season Résumé:
- Yards per game: 494.9 (8th)
- Points per game: 39.4 (9th)
- Yards allowed per game: 292.1 (9th)
- Points allowed per game: 12.8 (2nd)
