INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Stetson Bennet chuckled wryly as he walked off the field, stopping to hug trainer Kirby Smart as the crowd roared.
In the fourth quarter of college football’s most lopsided title game, it was all cheers and appetizers.
With a resolute and stunning feat, Georgia became the first team to repeat the college football playoff national championship and left no doubt that the Dougies were the new hooligans in the area.
Bennett threw two touchdown passes and scored two goals — in the first half — as No. 1 Georgia thrashed No. 3 TCU 65-7 on Monday night.
The Bulldogs (15-0) became the first multiple champions in major college football since Alabama back-to-back a decade ago. It appears that a new dynasty has emerged from the Southeastern Conference.
“We wanted our kids to play without fear,” Smart said. “I’ve been telling them all year, I’ve been saying, ‘We’re not being hunted, guys, we’re being hunted, and the hunting season is almost over. We only have one more chance to hunt, and we hunted tonight.”
TCU (13-2), the first Cinderella team of the playoff era, never stood a chance against the Georgia juggernaut. Unlike Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl semi-finals, the Bulldogs did not succumb to the Hypnotoads spell.
Georgia turned into one of the all-time beatdowns in the big game, reminiscent of Nebraska beating Florida 38 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, USC’s 36-point rout of Oklahoma in the 2005 Orange Bowl, and Alabama’s BCS 28-point run over Notre. lady in 2013.
But it was worse.
Too many talents. Trains too well. Two consecutive titles for the Dawgs.
No team has ever scored more points in a national championship game since BCS in 1998.
With 13:25 left in the fourth quarter, Smart called a mid-attack timeout to allow Bennett to walk away to the cheering of the heroes in the last game of his devious college career.
“That was special,” said Bennett, who finished 18 of 25 for 304 yards and four touchdown passes. “I will remember this for the rest of my life.
The Georgia linebackers munched on chicken wings on the touchline as the game drew to a close. Then, for the second year in a row, the Bulldogs were showered with confetti and presented with a championship trophy.
“I love this team, I love these fans, I love our band. I love everyone,” Bennett said during the presentation ceremony. “Back to back, baby. Back to back.”
Smart is now 81-15 in his first seven seasons in Georgia with two national titles. His mentor, Alabama coach Nick Saban, was 79-15 with three titles in his first seven seasons with the Tide.
The Bulldogs have dominated differently this season after losing 15 NFL draft picks to the 2021 team: they’re not as stingy on defense but more explosive on offense.
“Last year’s team probably had more talent,” Smart said. “But this year the team was different, like they had this eye of the tiger. They weren’t going to lose.”
Previously, when Smart was at his alma mater, Georgia fans were worried about whether former defensive coordinator Saban could build an offense to match this high-scoring era of college football.
Under the guidance of third year coordinator Todd Monken, the Bulldogs became productive, creative and offensively varied. They dismantled the TCU 3-3-5 protection from all sides.
All-around tight end Brock Bowers had seven catches for 152 yards. Receiver Ladd McConkie caught two TDs. Georgia rushed for 254 yards, seven players scored at least 10.
The Bulldogs scored all six times they touched the ball in the first half. Twice Bennett ran it over to himself; the former striker, who became a two-time national champion, barely touched two goalkeepers-defenders.
He hit a wide-open McConkey for 34 yards in the first quarter, a perfectly executed play from a tucked formation that had TCU defensemen in disarray. Bennett’s 22-yard scoring to Adonai Mitchell was more of a challenge than the quarterback, who had tight cover.
It was very similar to the Bennett-Mitchell touchdown that gave Georgia a fourth-quarter lead that it would not lose to Alabama in last year’s CFP title game.
Georgia defeated Tide to end a 41-year national title drought last season while avenging their only regular season loss.
There was no such drama against the upstart Horned Frogs.
“The trip was great. This is something I will never forget,” said TCU running back Emari Demercado. “Of course it didn’t end the way we wanted, but in the end it was something wonderful.”
These bulldogs never had to worry about Alabama. They made it through the SEC, outlasted Ohio State in a classic CFP semi-final, and then ended a perfect season with a historic flop.
“Do I have to suffer losses in order to learn?” Smart said. – I mean why?
Bennett hit Bowers with 22 yards with 10:52 left in the third quarter to make it 45-7. A sophomore from Northern California signaled to land from the ground at Sophie Stadium. Bennett smiled as he tapped the helmets of one of his linemen.
“He has GOAT status and will forever remain in Athens, Georgia,” Smart said.
Georgia UGA’s famous bulldog mascot couldn’t make the cross-country tour to cheer for his team, but it still felt a bit like Sanford Stadium in Southern California.
Many TCU fans pulled out with more than half of the fourth quarter left, choosing to head out on a rainy and cold night rather than watch more of a massive mismatch.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t make the show better tonight because it’s not a measure of who we are. But we will look back – I assure you it will be some time before the sting passes – but we will look back at the season and build it from here,” freshman coach Sonny Dykes said.
Heisman Trophy runner-up Max Duggan threw two first-half interceptions in the last roller coaster game of his TCU career. A four-year-old starter who had never bowled before this season, Duggan led TCU to one of the most incredible runs in college football history.
Retired after a losing 2021 season and ranked seventh in the Big 12, the Frogs have won nine games by 10 points or less. They were one step away from winning the program’s first national title since 1938.
But they faced a monster.
“As long as you don’t qualify for the program, you still have a chance,” Smart said. – We don’t have that now.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com
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