Georgia Caps Magical Season With College Football National Championship

The Georgia Bulldogs ended a uprecendented two-year run with a convincing win over the TCU Horned Frogs 65-7 to win their second consecutive College Football National Championship. The game on Monday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Los Angeles’ Sofi Stadium was a fitting conclusion for the Dawgs, who field a team full of NFL-caliber players.

The Dawgs jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, putting up 38 points in the first half over the outmanned Horned Frogs. TCU quarterback Max Duggan never found his footing as he found himself on the ground several times as the Georgia defense repeatedly caved in on him.

Georgia Wins Second Straight College Football Title

Georgia scored 42 straight points after TCU cut their early lead to 3 points,10-7.

Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart said the game plan was just to take it to TCU.

“A really aggressive plan. Not holding back anything,” he said after the contest. “We wanted our kids to play without fear, and all year, I told them, ‘We ain’t getting hunted, guys. We’re doing the hunting. And hunting season is almost over. We only got one more chance to hunt.’ And we hunted tonight.”

UGA quarterback Stetson Bennett threw for six touchdowns, tying a college football championship record held by former LSU signal caller Joe Burrow.

 

The senior signal caller said it was a cool moment when he was given a curtain call ovation from adoring fans and the Georgia sideline.

“I told all the guys, ‘What are we doing? Why don’t we have a play?'” Bennett said. “I was, like, they’re letting me walk out of here.”

“Stetson speaks for himself, the way he leads and prepares,” Smart told reporters. “His mental makeup is such of a quarterback that believes he can make every throw, and what he did tonight was truly amazing. Probably had his best game of his career, in my opinion, with some of the checks he made, some of the decisions he made, just really elite.”

Bennett, who started his Georgia career unsure of his place, finishes the season as a Heisman finalist and an intriguing NFL prospect.

Georgia began the season with the daunting task of running through the always-tough SEC, including a resurgent Tennessee team and inspired play from other SEC East teams. Here’s how the season played out.

Did Smart think the 2022 squad could repeat as champions?

“I’m kind of thinking, ‘Well, that would be nice, but we lost 15 draft picks,'” Smart told media after the game. “Might not be that easy this time.” But Bennett believed Georgia would be good enough again. “He had full conviction that he wanted to come back and go opposite of the mainstream,” Smart said. “He said, ‘I want to go play. I want to go play football and prove to people this is no fluke. We can do this.’ And he did everything that he said he was going to do.”

How Georgia Repeated As College Football National Champs

OpponentDateTime & LocationScores / Ticket Information
Oregon DucksSept. 33:30 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga.49-3 W
SamfordSept. 104 p.m. in Athens, Ga.33-0 W
At South Carolina GamecocksSept. 17Noon at Columbia, South Carolina48-7 W
Kent StateSept. 24Noon in Athens, Ga.39-22 W
At Missouri TigersOct. 1Columbia, Missouri26-22 W
Auburn TigersOct. 8Athens, Ga.42-10 W
Vanderbilt Commodores (Homecoming)Oct. 15Athens, Ga.55-0 W
ByeOct. 22
Florida GatorsOct. 283:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, Florida42-20 W
Tennessee VolunteersNov. 5Athens, Ga.27-13 W
At Mississippi StateNov. 12Starkville, Mississippi45-19 W
At Kentucky WildcatsNov. 19Lexington, Kentucky16-6 W
Georgia TechNov. 26Athens, Ga.37-14 W
SEC Championship vs. LSUDec. 34 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga.50-30 W
College Football Playoff: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs. Ohio StateDec. 318 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga.42-41 W

Georgia 49 – Oregon 3

The Chick-fil-A Classic in downtown Atlanta, Georgia had no problem disposing of the Oregon Ducks in the first game of the season.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett ran for one touchdown and three for two others as the Dawgs jumped out to an early lead and coasted through the second half of the game.

Here are some highlights:

 

Week 2: Georgia 33 Samford 0

The #2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs shut out Samford Bulldogs 33 to 0 on Saturday in Athens. Because of the threat of stormy weather, both teams in the agreed to shorten the fourth quarter to 12 minutes.

Here are the highlights:

Having solved the Alabama curse, this Georgia squad is expecting to run the table again, if injuries can be minimized.

Week 3: Georgia 39, Kent State 22

Georgia started off sluggish in their Saturday afternoon game with Kent State. The Bulldogs turned the ball over three times and its special teams unit was fooled by a fake punt, but in the second half UGA regained control.

Let’s watch the highlights:

 

Week 4: Georgia 26, Missouri 22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcEPuvd5a3E
 
The Georgia Bulldogs came from behind to beat the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022 in Athens. Even though the Dawgs won, the team dropped to No. 2 in the latest AP poll. Alabama was named No. 1.

Week 5: Georgia 42, Auburn 10

It was total domination on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022 as Georgia ran over and through the Auburn Tigers on a beautiful fall day.
Here are the highlights:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CfAmZqTZVo
 

Week 6: Georgia 55, Vanderbilt 0

It was too much defense, too strong, all day as the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs ran over and through the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. The 55-0 game was the Bulldogs’ second shutout of the season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-DOoL759S4

Week 9: Bye Week

Week 8: Georgia 42, Florida 20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QWerVAu5JQ
 
On Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022 in Gainesville, Georgia jumped out to a big lead in the first half, but the third quarter saw the Gators score consecutive touchdowns to pull within one score. But that’s as close as Florida got, as the Dawgs regained their composure and score two touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

Week 9: Georgia 27, Tennessee 13

On a balmy afternoon in Athens, it was all Georgia early and often as the Bulldogs ran through the #1-ranked Tennessee Volunteers 27-13 on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.
 
Here are the highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZt-HTuJvp0

Week 10: Georgia 45, Mississippi State 19

Georgia used a stifling defense and a rejuvenated run game to power past the Mississippi State, 45 to 19 on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. The win put the Bulldogs back into the SEC Championship Game for the third year in a row.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKYzn92Oes
 

Week 11: Georgia 16, Kentucky 6

The Bulldogs (11-0, 8-0 SEC, No. 1 CFP) did just enough to get past the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, November 19, 2022. The win allowed the Dawgs to clinch the Eastern Division title and go undefeated in the SEC for the second year in a row.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eazZaOPOBKs

Week 12: Georgia 37, Georgia Tech 14

https://youtu.be/UTZuk_jxoQs
The Bulldogs finished an undefeated season for the second consecutive season as Georgia beat Georgia Tech 37-14 on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. Georgia out scored Tech 27-7 in the second half.
 

Week 13: Georgia 50, LSU 30

The Dawgs put up 50 points against the LSU Tigers on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 in downtown Atlanta. Georgia punted on their first drive, but ran a blocked punt back for a touchdown after catching the Tigers off guard. UGA never looked back after that.
Let’s look at the highlights:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6whKHczl3s

Week 14: Georgia 42, Ohio State 41

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett shook off a bad third quarter to lead the Bulldogs to three scores in the fourth quarter to slip past Ohio State 41-41 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

After game UGA Head Coach Kirby Smart credited his players with keeping their composure.

Great resiliency, a never-say-die attitude and great toughness,” Smart said in his postgame interview. “At the end of the day, we didn’t play real well. Ohio State probably deserved to win the game. But we never quit.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIrAsMmlQzg
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