According to the old saying, “when it rains it pours”, and Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship saw a torrential downpour between Georgia and TCU.
This game was not as close to the traditional title game shootout that many expected. The Bulldogs won their second consecutive title with a score 65-7 by the end of the clock.
TCU’s quarterback Max Duggan was constantly under attack by the Georgia defense, who kept the nation’s fourth-best scorer to just one touchdown. The Heisman runner up was limited to 152 yards of passing, with no touchdowns or interceptions. Although he did manage to score the team’s only touchdown from the ground in the second quarter, that was all they got for the remainder of the game.
Stetson Bennett, Bulldogs’ quarterback, put in a great performance. He scored six touchdowns and was then pulled just before the end of the fourth quarter. Even after starters were removed, Georgia’s backups kept scoring points thanks to Branson Robinson’s freshman running back touchdowns.
Even though the game was out of control by halftime, there were still many lessons to be learned from this historical defeat by the Bulldogs. Let’s now take a look back at the College Football Playoff national championship match.
1.) Georgia will draft a lot of players for the second year in a row
You can find up to seven Georgia prospects among this year’s top 100 draft prospects, depending on which site you go. The Bulldogs are likely to draft 15 players this year, and TCU’s win will make them even more impressive.
It would be amazing to match the 15 players they drafted, but it would also be impressive for them to produce five more first-rounders in their second consecutive draft. It might be obvious that consensus top-20 players are Jalen Carter (defensive tackle), Broderick Jones (offensive tackle), and Kelee Ringo (cornerback), before the draft season officially begins.
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Georgia won their second consecutive title. The SEC now holds the College Football Playoff National Championships in four years and the six first nine CFP titles.
Many believed that 10-2 Alabama should be playing in the playoff against TCU and Ohio State. Both teams finished the regular season with one loss. The two losing teams were certainly worthy of the playoff, all things being equal. However, those who have been following college football for the past 10 years will know that even though they lost two games, a loss by Alabama is better than most other teams, and possibly more undefeated teams.
Let me make it clear, I think the selection did a good job with these four teams. TCU could have put up a better fight than the Bulldogs. This outcome will now be used to undermine future worthy teams that are content to play the same schedule as them.
3.) Stetson Bennett, whether he is an NFL quarterback or not.
Stetson Bennett had four touchdowns in total when the clock expired at halftime. Two rushing and two passing. That was the exact number of incompletes he recorded in the final 30 minutes of regulation (13/of-17, 213 yards).
Bennett had more than 13 minutes to go before he was forced out. He had totaled 304 yards passing, four touchdowns and 39 yards rushing. There were also two additional scores from the ground.
He’s proven enough to be one of the best passers in college history, regardless of whether or not the quarterback thing is working in the NFL. It would not surprise him if he gets the chance to play football again after his college career.
Perhaps a job change could be in the future. It worked for Julian Edelman and Bennett did a great job in open field Monday night. Perhaps he can make a big splash in The Rock’s resurrected XFL.
No matter what he does this year, I will be supporting him.