- The defending champions Georgia Bulldogs have opened as a 13-point spread favorite to beat the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football national championship game.
- Georgia rallied from a two-TD deficit to beat Ohio State in the Peach Bowl.
- TCU meanwhile, pulled off the biggest upset in CFP history when it defeated the no. 2 Michigan Wolverines as 8-point spread underdogs.
Defending champions Georgia has opened as a massive betting favorite to beat TCU in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday, January 9, 2023, at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Bulldogs are currently listed at -500 odds on the BetOnline App to beat the Horned Frogs. TCU opened at +385 odds and is now at +395 in the latest betting boards. Georgia is also a 13-point spread favorite to win back-to-back national titles.
Largest Upset in CFP History
BREAKING: TCU pulls off largest upset in CFP history with win over Michigan in Fiesta Bowl https://t.co/ISoVWh0nIk
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 1, 2023
The Horned Frogs pulled off the largest upset in CFP history when they defeated the no. 2 Michigan Wolverines 51-45 as 8-point spread underdogs at the Fiesta Bowl. The win surpasses Ohio State’s 2014 upset of then-no. 1 Alabama as 7-point spread betting underdogs.
TCU was the private school that was left out of the Big 12 when the Southwest Conference folded in 1996. They had to work from the bottom and fight to return to relevancy before finally earning a Big 12 spot in 2012. Now they have the opportunity to be the first unranked team in the preseason AP Polls to win the National Title since Georgia in 1990.
They did it after going 5-7 SU last year and behind a first-year coach in Sonny Dykes who went 19-30 and got fired at Cal in his only Power 5 experience. The Horned Frogs also won despite losing starting running back Kendre Miller to a knee injury with five minutes left in the first half
TCU also did it with a starter in Max Duggan who was a preseason backup and who never played in a bowl game before in his TCU career. Duggan finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting and is now the first player in college football history with multiple passing and rushing TDs in a College Football playoff game. Now they face more odds.
Georgia Advances to 2nd Straight National Championship Game
WIDE LEFT 😱
Georgia beats Ohio State and will advance to its 2nd straight national championship game 🏈pic.twitter.com/O7AXoNizGP
— 247Sports (@247Sports) January 1, 2023
Top-ranked Georgia defeated no. 4 Ohio State 42-41 to advance to its 2nd straight national championship game. The Bulldogs defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 33-18 as -2.5 point favorites last year to win their first national football title in 41 years. With CFP title game MVP Stetson Bennett returning for his final season, the Bulldogs opened as +200 co-favorite with Alabama to win the Natty.
It wasn’t easy though. Georgia rallied from two-touchdown deficits in each half to beat Ohio State. Bennett capped his team’s comeback with a 10-yard scoring pass to Adonai Mitchell in the final minute. Bennett completed 23 out of 34 passes for 398 passing yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT. He also had a 3-yard scoring run.
Bennett’s story from a walk-on in 2017 to last season’s National Championship MVP is well-documented. However, his story is not yet finished. With little to nothing left to prove, the recent Heisman Trophy runner-up enters the national championship game with a 28-3 SU record as a starter. He will look to give Georgia the first back-to-back titles in school history.
Georgia had little trouble getting to the Peach Bowl. They won 12 games this season via a double-digit margin and have one of the nation’s top defensive units. Although they were not able to cover the 5-point betting spread against Ohio State, they showed the poise, grit, and heart of a champion.
