TCU Horned Frogs vs Georgia Bulldogs Match Player Stats On Jan 09, 2023

Stetson Bennett was once told by the Georgia coaching staff that he wasn't good enough to play quarterback for the Bulldogs.

Turned out he was pretty good and the resume of the former walk-on will show a 29-3 record as a starter and two national championships.

Bennett capped his college career in style on Monday night as he passed for four touchdowns and rushed for two as top-ranked Georgia won its second straight national title by steamrolling No. 3 TCU 65-7 in the College Football Playoff championship game at Inglewood, Calif.

Bennett completed 18 of 25 passes for 304 yards as the Bulldogs (15-0) trampled the Horned Frogs (13-2) from the outset. Bennett's six total touchdowns match the mark set by LSU's Joe Burrow in 2020 for most during the nine-season CFP era.

"Brutal cold execution, that's what that was," Bennett said of the Georgia assault. "Stone-cold killer mentality."

At one point in time, Georgia kept bringing in other quarterbacks. Bennett even departed for a junior college in Mississippi after the 2017 season before returning to Athens a year later.

But eventually, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart committed to Bennett and the 25-year-old again made it pay off by being named Offensive MVP for the second straight national title game.

"He's meant a lot to me personally because of what he's gone through and what he's put up with from the outside noise," Smart said. "But to this university, for a kid who was told he wasn't good enough to come back and win two national championships, he's really phenomenal."

Brock Bowers caught seven passes for 152 yards and one touchdown and Ladd McConkey had five receptions for 88 yards and two scores for Georgia. Adonai Mitchell had a touchdown grab for the Bulldogs, who outgained TCU 589-188.

In addition to his touchdown passes, Bennett scored on runs of 21 and 6 yards.

"We knew with their defense that my legs were going to be a part of it," Bennett said. "They made blocks. I didn't get touched on both ones."

Defensive MVP Javon Bullard had three takeaways before intermission with two interceptions and one fumble recovery before missing the second half with a shoulder injury.

Heisman Trophy runner-up Max Duggan was 14-of-22 passing for 152 yards and two interceptions for TCU, which was unable to match up with the Bulldogs.

"Tonight did not go the way we wanted it to," Duggan said. "I'm disappointed in that aspect. Tonight is not going to take away from this season and what we were able to do as a program."

Standout Horned Frogs running back Kendre Miller (knee) missed the game after being injured during the CFP semifinal win over Michigan on Dec. 31. Derius Davis caught five passes for 101 yards.

TCU coach Sonny Dykes readily admitted that it was a dreadful performance by his squad.

"Obviously, you got to give Georgia a ton of credit," Dykes said. "They showed what kind of football program they have.

"Obviously, we didn't do a great job getting our guys prepared. We've been on a heck of a run and it seemed like we ran out of steam a little bit tonight."

The Bulldogs wasted no time asserting themselves as Bennett ran 21 yards for a touchdown less than four minutes into the game and Jack Podlesny added a 24-yard field goal with 6:51 left in the opening period.

TCU showed life when Duggan scored on a 2-yard run with 4:45 remaining before Georgia scored the final 55 points of the contest.

Bennett drilled a 37-yard scoring pass to McConkey with 2:43 left in the first quarter, and ran 6 yards for another score to make it 24-7 with 8:30 left in the half.

The next two Bulldogs' touchdowns followed interceptions by Bullard. The first set up Kendall Milton's 1-yard run with 1:19 left and the other came two plays before Bennett hit Mitchell for a 22-yard score with 26 seconds remaining for a 38-7 halftime lead.

Bennett connected on a 22-yard touchdown pass to Bowers with 10:52 remaining in the third quarter. He added a 14-yard scoring pass to McConkey with 2:17 left in the period and Branson Robinson later added two scoring runs.

Smart called timeout with 13:25 remaining in the contest to remove Bennett and give him a curtain call from the Georgia faithful.

"That was special. I will remember that for the rest of my life," said Bennett, who finished fourth in the Heisman balloting this season.

The Bulldogs defeated Alabama 33-18 in last season's title game.

--Field Level Media