2023 TCU-Georgia National Championship Game Photos

Photos by Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood, California, hosted the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship Game between #1 Georgia and #3 TCU on Monday, January 9, 2023. The Bulldogs won their second consecutive national title by defeating the Horned Frogs 65-7. TCU was trying to win its first national championship in football since 1938.

(photos above and below) Here come the Horned Frogs!

(photos above and below) Here come the Bulldogs!

TCU's captains were (from left to right) Dylan Horton (#98), Quentin Johnston (#1), Dee Winters (#13) and Steve Avila (#79). The Frogs' honorary captain was LaDainian Tomlinson (in cowboy hat). Georgia's captains were (from left to right) Nolan Smith (#4), Stetson Bennett (#13), Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (#63) and Christopher Smith II (#29). The Bulldogs' honorary captain was Matthew Stafford. Georgia's perfect, dominating evening started with the Bulldogs winning the coin toss.

(top and bottom photos) Georgia's aggressive, swarming defense presented challenges for TCU quarterback Max Duggan (#15), who made his 43rd career start and had his worst game of the 2022 season. Duggan, who finished second in the 2022 Heisman Trophy voting, completed 14-of-22 passes for 152 yards. He threw no touchdown passes. He was intercepted twice. He was sacked five times, with a net of minus-38 yards on 10 rushes.

(top and bottom photos) One of two highlights of TCU's offense against Georgia was quarterback Max Duggan's two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. After the extra point, the Frogs trailed 10-7. That is the closest TCU would get to the Bulldogs the remainder of the game. Duggan's touchdown run was his 28th career rushing touchdown, tying him with Jim Swink (1954-56) for sixth all-time at TCU.

(top and bottom photos) The second highlight of TCU's offense against Georgia was receiver Derius Davis' (#11) team-best five receptions for 101 yards. It was his first 100-yard receiving game of the season and the third of his career. A 60-yard completion from quarterback Max Duggan (#15) to Davis was TCU's 22nd play this season of 50-plus yards, tops in the nation.

(top and bottom photos) Playing in his hometown of Inglewood, California, TCU running back Emari Demercado (#3) ran for a team-best 59 yards on 14 carries against the Bulldogs. Under the direction of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, TCU's offense netted 36 rushing yards on 28 carries, an average of 1.3 yards per rush. With 152 passing yards, the Frogs netted 188 total yards.

(top and bottom photos) TCU safety Abe Camara (#14) breaks up a pass intended for Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith (#11). TCU's defense allowed Georgia to roll up 589 total yards of offense. TCU's defense was led by safety Millard Bradford and linebackers Jamoi Hodge and Dee Winters, who each had seven tackles. Linebacker Johnny Hodges and defensive lineman Dylan Horton had tackles for loss.

(top and bottom photos) Against the Horned Frogs, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett (#13) had a career day in leading the Bulldogs to their second consecutive national championship. He is just the third starting quarterback to win consecutive national titles. A.J. McCarron was the starter for both of Alabama’s titles a decade ago and Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier was the Cornhuskers' starter for their 1994 and 1995 national titles. Bennett, who finished fourth in the 2022 Heisman Trophy voting, completed 8-of-25 passes for 304 yards against TCU. He threw four touchdown passes and rushed three times for 39 yards and two touchdowns. Bennett is the third quarterback to rush for multiple touchdowns in either a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) or College Football Playoff national title game. 

(top and bottom photos) Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett's (#13) 21-yard touchdown run less than four minutes into the game started the Bulldogs' scoring onslaught against the Horned Frogs. Bennett added a six-yard scoring run in the second quarter as Georgia built a 24-7 lead. Bennett was named the game's Most Valuable Offensive Player.

(top and bottom photos) Against TCU, Georgia running back Kenny McIntosh (#6) rushed eight times for a team-best 50 yards. Eight Bulldogs rushed 44 times for 254 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per rush.

(top and bottom photos) Georgia tight end Brock Bowers (#19) and wide receiver Ladd McConkey (#84) had little trouble against TCU's defense, including cornerback/Jim Thorpe Award winner Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson (#1) and safety Bud Clark (#26). Bowers caught seven passes for 152 yards and one touchdown. Bowers also rushed two times for 15 yards. Bowers had a 22-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. McConkey caught five passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns. McConkey caught a 37-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and a 14-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Against TCU defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie's porous TCU pass defense, Georgia receivers caught 20 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns.

 

 

 

 

Georgia freshman running back Branson Robinson (#22 on offense) rushed seven times for 42 yards and two touchdowns against TCU. In the fourth quarter, he had a one-yard touchdown run and a 19-yard touchdown run against the worn-down and deflated Horned Frogs.

On its six possessions in the first half against TCU, Georgia scored five touchdowns and one field goal, a 24-yarder by Jack Podlesny (#96). Twenty-year-old Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock (#77, third from the left) and a Georgia football recruiting staff member were killed in a car wreck on Sunday, January 15, hours after the Bulldogs had celebrated their second straight national championship with a parade and ceremony.

(top and bottom photos) Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard (#22 on defense) was a big reason Georgia's defense overwhelmed TCU's offense, including two interceptions by Bullard of passes from TCU quarterback Max Duggan (#15), who was sacked five times by the Bulldogs. Bullard also recovered a fumble by TCU receiver Derius Davis. Bullard was named the game's Most Valuable Defensive Player.

With minutes left in the game and the Bulldogs' second consecutive national championship secured, Georgia starting quarterback Stetson Bennett (#13), who probably played his final game as a Bulldog, exited the game to a standing ovation by Georgia fans and players, including backup quarterback Carson Beck (#15). In his limited playing time, Beck completed two-of-three passes for 30 yards and led Georgia on its final two scoring drives of its 65-7 victory over TCU.