Biscuits Bowl Bonanza previews part VII: For all the glory
Georgia looks to add to their trophy display with their second championship in as many years and their fourth overall.
By: Bossman Slim, The Hammer, The Waco Kid
It’s finally here. The national championship game, the one game that all teams work towards making from the start of spring ball all the way to now. Two teams have made it this far, Georgia and TCU. No one expected the Horned Frogs to be here, while many expected the Bulldogs to be back in this position. Can Sonny Dykes and the Horned Frogs pull off the biggest upset of the year on the biggest stage?
The only one even sniffing .500 ATS is Waco. The trend continues from the regular season with our straight-up picks going relatively well, while we are just dreadful against Vegas. We have work to do in the offseason, something’s gotta give.
Let’s get into our natty picks.
AT&T National Championship Game, Monday 1/9
#1 Georgia vs #3 TCU - 7:30 ET on ESPN (UGA -12.5)
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
Bossman Slim: Time to get down to business. So many great storylines in this one. Can Stetson “Tombstone” Bennett become the most accomplished QB in Georgia history? Can Max Duggan crash another party and spoil Georgia’s back-to-back championship aspirations? And a final question, how in the world is TCU in the national championship game? Pretty incredible. A TCU win would upend Bud Elliott’s Blue Chip Ratio, which has been a solid predictor of who actually has a shot to win the national championship since he created it in 2013. TCU did not meet the threshold of a team that could make it, for good reason. They’ve come out of nowhere to make an epic run to the sports final spectacle. As for the game…TCU shouldn’t be here. They played a great game against Michigan, but Michigan left 21 to 28 points on the field and frankly should have blown out the Horned Frogs if not for two pick-sixes from JJ McCarthy. Georgia also escaped by the skin of their teeth against Ohio State, but their offense came to the rescue as Stetson Bennett is just nails, man. The kid has “it.” Ice in his veins. I have seen lighting strike twice this year after predicting it wouldn’t (South Carolina fans remember), but that doesn’t mean lightning will strike twice, TWICE. Stetson doesn’t throw many INTs and I expect him to be able to lead this Georgia offense up and down the field against the Horned Frogs. TCU will be able to score on this Georgia defense as Ohio State did (Ohio State has the 9th-best offense in the country, TCU sits a few spots behind at 13th), but they don’t have enough to get it done in the end and Georgia adds another natty to the trophy case.
Georgia 48
TCU 31
The Hammer: Who in their right mind had TCU vs Georgia squaring off for the national championship in 2022? No one. Sure, Georgia is no surprise and many pundits thought they would be here. But TCU is a real Cinderella story. Not simply because they have won some incredibly close, wild games throughout the year, but more the context surrounding it. TCU has played excellent football all year long and deserves to be in this spot. There are no “flukes” in football. But this team was 5-7 a year ago. Their legendary coach Gary Patterson was fired midseason and they welcomed Sonny Dykes as their new head coach. In modern college football, turnarounds like this are unprecedented, even more so at a school like TCU. Enough about the storylines though, how is this game actually going to play out? Given the point spread, it’s clear Vegas has little faith in the Horned Frogs as Georgia is a heavy favorite. Like Herb Brooks says to his USA hockey team ahead of playing the Soviet Union in 1980, “if we play this team 10 times, they might win 9. But not tonight.” I think that's about where we are in this game. Georgia is favored for a reason and would win an overwhelming majority of games they play against TCU, but the Horned Frogs absolutely have a chance. Max Duggan is a baller. TCU just ran for 263 yards on Michigan. Maybe Michigan’s defense isn't quite as good as the Dawgs, but they were damn good all year. There is just something about TCU. They play hard as hell, never quit, and are incredibly opportunistic (re: two pick 6s in the semis). Since I’m heaping praise on TCU, it may seem like I’m picking them to win the whole damn thing. Not quite. I’m picking the Frogs to cover, but lose a good, competitive game. In the end, I just don't see TCU winning this one. Stetson Bennet is the main reason. He’s not going to throw two pick-sixes like McCarthy did in the semifinal. Bennett has been playing lights out, and with the weapons around him, including AD Mitchell, who missed most of the regular season with injury, it will be too much for TCU to keep up with. I do think TCU will find ways to score points, just not enough in the end.
Georgia 34
TCU 27
The Waco Kid: The SEC had a slow start to the bowl season, going just 1-4 in the first five games the conference competed in. Luckily for us, it was mainly the East division that has struggled facing outside competition. The West has gone 4-1, while the East sits at 2-4 meaning the power balance still sits left of the mason dixon. The East does have the upper hand in one category though and that is the fact they are playing in the National Championship game against the TCU Horned Frogs. Who would have suspected at the beginning of the season that the mighty black and red would be pitted against the purple and white of a Big 12 team. If you say you knew, you either one go to TCU or two are full of crap. The Toads have not seen this much success since another red rifle was in the saddle and that was good ol Andy Dalton back in 2010. The Ft. Worth team surprised a lot of fans last weekend, including me, by knocking off Michigan. Everyone thought it would be a walk in the park for the Wolverines who were playing a team that had just lost their conference championship to the same Kansas State team that Alabama took the shed in the Sugar Bowl. So expectations were not high. But Max Duggan proved he was this year’s college football Mr. Superman. He did it all on offense while TCU’s defense didn’t look too shabby itself. Hell their defense scored as many points as the Texas Longhorns’ offense did in the Valero Alamo Bowl. It was an impressive victory all around to say the least. And then Georgia, Wow. We knew what this team could be but even though they were down 38-24 going into the fourth they never gave up. And against what was supposed to be one of the best teams in the nation both offensively and defensively. Not only did they play their football, they rallied back from being down more points than they had been all season and showed that a good team with some resiliency, can be great. TCU vs UGA will be one for the ages. I think it has the potential to come down to the wire but with the two defenses and offenses that are playing, it will be as entertaining as you can possibly get. Big play potential on both sides of the ball for both squads. With the TEs Georgia has and now a healthier receiving corps, their pass game could be dynamic. For the Frogs, Max Duggan and Quinton Johnson are as electric as college football can get. Home run potential every time the ball is in either of their hands. So as much of an exhilarating game as this may be I still will be leaning towards Kirby Smart’s squad. Not because they are heavily favored, I think that actually works better for Sonny Dykes’ crew, but because they have been there before. And if there is one thing we know about college football, it is that Superman does not win championships, teams do. Manziel, Ehlinger, and RGIII may have been the best on the field but always bore too much responsibility and the weight of the world on their shoulders made it impossible for these larger-than-life personas to succeed at the highest possible level. I’m not saying there’s no chance Duggan cannot provide a W, I’m just saying a national championship may be too much for one mortal being to handle.
Georgia 45
TCU 34