Georgia vs. TCU: Complete Guide to the 2023 National Title Game

No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 TCU will meet in Los Angeles on Monday night for the national championship. Georgia will be looking to repeat as national champs, whereas TCU will be playing in its first-ever title game.

TCU shocked the college football world by upsetting Michigan 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl. Previously, the most points the Wolverines had given up all season was 23 to Ohio State. TCU led 21-6 at halftime, but the game erupted from there. Both teams scored 62 points combined in the first 20 minutes of the second half. Michigan's touchdown with 3:18 left cut TCU's lead to six. But the Wolverines couldn't convert on its last possession, despite a targeting call that would have kept Michigan alive, if it wasn't overturned.

Georgia, meanwhile, survived a thriller against Ohio State in the Peach Bowl. The Dawgs trailed at various points in this game, trailing by 14 twice. But a brilliant drive in the final minute of the game capped off by a Stetson Bennett 10-yard touchdown pass to A.D. Mitchell gave the Bulldogs a 42-41 lead. OSU missed a 50-yard field goal attempt that would have been a game-winner.

Let's preview the national title game between TCU and Georgia on Monday night.

When: Monday, Jan. 9

Where: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles

TV: ESPN

Live stream: WatchESPN

Spread: (via DraftKings): Georgia -12.5

Over/Under: 62.5

The Georgia Bulldogs opened the season as defending national champions against the Oregon Ducks, which was ranked 11th in the preseason AP poll. Georgia beat Oregon 49-3, which should have been a sign that the Dawgs were going to dominate every team on their schedule.

The closest wins Georgia had were a 26-22 win over Missouri on Oct. 1, and Georgia's 16-10 road win over Kentucky. Georgia clinched the SEC East with a 45-19 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 12, and beat LSU 50-30 in the SEC championship to enter the playoff 13-0.

Georgia QB Stetson Bennett has put up the best numbers of his Dawgs career this season. He's thrown for 3,823 yards and 23 touchdowns with seven interceptions. The Heisman finalist rushed for eight touchdowns, too.

Bennett's receiving corps has been quite productive this season. Tight end Brock Bowers leads the unit with 790 yards receiving and six touchdowns. Receiver Ladd McConkey has accounted for 674 yards receiving with five touchdowns. Running back Kenny McIntosh is third on the team in receiving, with 505 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

Despite the Dawgs losing eight starters on defense to the NFL draft, the Bulldogs' defense had absolutely no issues reloading. Georgia entered the semifinals ranked second in scoring defense, allowing 12.8 points per game. It has the nation's No. 1 rushing defense, too, allowing just 79.93 yards on the ground per game.

But Georgia's defense looked quite vulnerable against Ohio State in the Peach Bowl semifinal. The Dawgs allowed the Buckeyes to put up 41 points and 467 total yards of offense. The biggest issue was Georgia's secondary, which allowed CJ Stroud to throw for 348 yards passing with four touchdowns.

Georgia had to come from behind to beat the Buckeyes. The Dawgs trailed 21-7 with 10:56 left in the second quarter and trailed 38-24 heading into the fourth. The Dawgs' defense held Ohio State to just a field goal in the final quarter, and Georgia's offense scored 18 points, including the last touchdown scored in the final minute.

After a 5-7 season in 2021, TCU has bounced back tremendously under new head coach Sonny Dykes. The Horned Frogs had 200-1 odds to reach the playoff at the start of the season, so TCU making it to the semifinal makes them the biggest longshot to make it to the semifinals in playoff history.

The Horned Frogs made it to Week 8 undefeated, including three straight wins over ranked opponents in Oklahoma, Kansas and Oklahoma State in October. The Horned Frogs beat West Virginia and Texas Tech before a pair of big road tests against Texas and Baylor in mid-November. TCU passed them both, beating Texas 17-10 and Baylor 29-28, thanks to a last-second 40-yard field goal from kicker Griffin Kell.

TCU defeated Iowa State 62-14 to make it to the Big 12 title game unbeaten. Unfortunately the Horned Frogs fell to Kansas State, which TCU beat 38-28 earlier in the season, 31-28 in overtime. Since it was TCU's first loss of the year, it wasn't enough to knock the Horned Frogs out of the playoff.

TCU QB Max Duggan is the heart and soul of this Horned Frogs team. The Heisman runner-up has thrown for 3,546 yards and 32 touchdowns with six interceptions. He's third on the team in rushing, with 461 yards and eight touchdowns. After the loss to Kansas State, Duggan was visibly emotional on the field and when talking to the media afterwards.

Duggan has some talented weapons around him, too. TCU's receiving corps is led by Quentin Johnston, who has 1,066 yards with six touchdowns and averages 18.1 yards per catch. Johnston had a 76-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter against Michigan. At running back, it'll either be Kendre Miller or Emari Demercado on Monday night. Miller was injured in the semifinal against Michigan, but Demercado finished with 150 yards and a touchdown.

TCU shocked everyone in the semifinal against Michigan. The Horned Frogs entered as an underdog, but led the Wolverines 21-6 at halftime. Michigan stormed back in the second half, and trailed by just a score twice in the final two quarters, but it wasn't enough.

The Horned Frogs' offense managed to put up 38 points on a Michigan defense that came in allowing just 13.1 points per game on the night. Duggan finished with 225 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions, both of which bounced off his receivers' hands first.

TCU

WR Quentin Johnston

Walter Football projects TCU's Quentin Johnston to go No. 9 overall to the Carolina Panthers in the 2023 NFL draft. He's currently the No. 10 ranked player overall, per Bleacher Report.

CB Noah Daniels

TCU cornerback has missed six games this season because of injury, and he's dealt with injuries throughout his career in Fort Worth. Still, CBS Sports ranks Daniels as 2023's No. 11 cornerback.

QB Max Duggan

Duggan has already announced that after his season is over, he is heading to the NFL draft. He is currently projected as a fringe quarterback, expected to go late in Day Three or even falling as an undrafted free agent. We'll see if a big performance in the title game changes that.

Georgia

DL Jalen Carter

Carter is expected to be one of the first few names called in next year's NFL draft—a few mock drafts have him going No. 2 overall to the Chicago Bears. He's the leader of this Georgia defense, and has 30 total tackles with three sacks and two forced fumbles heading into this game. Carter is Bleacher Report's No. 2 overall prospect for 2023.

CB Kelee Ringo

Bleacher Report ranks Ringo as the best in zone coverage corner on its big board for 2023. A former 5-star recruiting prospect, Ringo has 75 total tackles and four interceptions during his Georgia career so far. He's projected in some mocks to go as high as No. 6 overall to the Detroit Lions.

QB Stetson Bennett

Like Duggan, Bennett is not one of the bigger quarterback names for next year's draft. At 5,11'', 190 pounds, his size gives him a disadvantage. CBS Sports doesn't even list Bennett in its QB rankings, and he's not listed on Walter Football's QB list, either. We'll see if Bennett can land a back-up role somewhere at the next level.

See a full 2023 NFL draft projections of CFP title game stars by clicking here.

There are some key injuries for Georgia entering this game. Tight end Darnell Washington, who is averaging 15.8 yards per reception, left the Ohio State game with an ankle injury. He is listed as day to day for Monday night's game. Edge rusher Mykel Williams left with a lower-body injury, and receiver Ladd McConkey has been dealing with knee soreness late in the season. Against Ohio State, he had just two receptions for negative yardage. It sounds like there's a chance Washington might be able to play:

Georgia starting LB Chaz Chambliss also left the Peach Bowl with a knee injury, and Smart is "hopeful" to have him back. Starting offensive lineman Warren McClendon did not play against Ohio State, as he is dealing with a knee injury.

For TCU, the biggest concern is the status of running back Kendre Miller. The Horned Frogs starting tailback leads the team in rushing with 1,399 yards and 17 touchdowns. Miller left TCU's semifinal game in the second half with an apparent knee injury. Head coach Sonny Dykes said his team is hopeful to get Miller back:

Miller being able to play will be critical for TCU's offense.

Georgia: Clean up your secondary, and get after the quarterback

The Bulldogs' secondary was completely exploited in Georgia's semifinal win over Ohio State. CJ Stroud finished with 348 passing yards and four touchdowns. Ohio State's two leading receivers, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, both had over 100 receiving yards and combined for three touchdowns.

Not only did Ohio State have plenty of guys open in the secondary, but Georgia's pass rush was virtually nonexistent against Ohio State's offensive line. Stroud was sacked four times, but otherwise the QB had plenty of time to throw. Duggan can take off and run if he needs to, and he's had plenty of big runs this year. Keeping an eye on Duggan when he takes off will be key for the Dawgs defense.

Duggan has had five games this season with over 300 passing yards. If the QB can have time to find receivers Quentin Johnston and Taye Barber down the field, it could be another long day for Georgia's defense.

TCU: Take care of the football, and shut down Georgia's offense

TCU is obviously the underdog in this one, despite upsetting Michigan. Georgia will be the toughest team the Horned Frogs have faced.

The first key for TCU will be taking care of the football. The Horned Frogs had three turnovers against Michigan, and you can't afford to turn the ball over against this Georgia offense. Giving the Dawgs a short field could put this game out of reach in a hurry.

We saw what Ohio State was able to do against Georgia's secondary. If TCU can do that, the Horned Frogs will be in a great place. But TCU also has to shut down Georgia's offense, especially down the stretch if this is a close game. Stopping Georgia's run game will be key in doing so.

TCU held Michigan to just 186 yards on the ground. The Horned Frogs' unique 3-3-5 defense might seem easy to run on, given that there are just three lineman on the line of scrimmage. But in a recent piece from David Ubben of The Athletic, some coordinators, who remained anonymous, praised how TCU defends the run:

"I had a feeling they'd hold down Michigan in the run game better than people thought," a coordinator said. "TCU is more physical than people think and do things with angles and alignments that make it more difficult than it initially appears."

"That style of defense is like an optical illusion. You see the size of their players and the structure of the alignment and everything tells you: Run the football between the tackles," a coordinator said. "But that's what they want you to do."

If the Horned Frogs can make Georgia one-dimensional, they could win this thing.

Most people, outside of Georgia fans, will be rooting for TCU. No one expected the Horned Frogs to be here at the start of the year. It's a remarkable story for the small private school in Fort Worth that has an enrollment of 12,273 students to be playing in its first-ever national title game.

But that story won't have a fairy-tale ending.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is a master at correcting the things that went wrong in big games. Last year, Alabama torched Georgia's secondary in the SEC Championship Game as QB Bryce Young threw for 421 yards and three touchdowns. In the rematch, Young still had a big day, finishing with 369 yards and a touchdown, but he had two interceptions and Alabama scored just 18 points.

I think Georgia will correct its issues in the secondary and keep TCU's offense from getting hot. I hope the Horned Frogs prove me wrong, however.

Prediction: Georgia 40, TCU 30