3 historic feats on the line in CFP national title game
Nobody in the college football world is surprised to see Georgia in the national championship game yet again, but underdog TCU's inclusion brings some added intrigue to the contest in Los Angeles.
The Horned Frogs will be looking for their first national championship in 84 years, while the Bulldogs are attempting to join rare company as back-to-back champions.
Here are three feats of historical significance at stake in Monday's title game.
Dykes could join exclusive 1st-year list
In 116 years of TCU football prior to 2022, the Horned Frogs won 10 or more games in a season 15 times. Gary Patterson was responsible for 11 of those campaigns. Patterson's run at the Fort Worth school was so successful that the university honored him with a statue unveiled in 2016. That's the type of figure Sonny Dykes was replacing when he took the job 13 months ago.
Somehow, that didn't faze Dykes. The 53-year-old has turned in the program's finest season of the modern era in his first on campus - placing the Horned Frogs on the cusp of their first national title since 1938. Should TCU close the deal Monday, Dykes would join Bennie Oosterbaan at Michigan in 1948, Dennis Erickson at Miami in 1989, and Larry Coker at Miami in 2001 as the only coaches in the poll era to win a national title in their first year with a program.
The victory would also mark the first national title for a program from the Big 12 conference since Texas won the championship in 2005.
Smart's chance to stand alongside Saban
Some viewed Kirby Smart's hire by Georgia following the 2015 season as controversial, with the first-time head coach taking over for Mark Richt and his impressive 145-51 overall record with the program. Richt had no problem compiling wins, but his lack of championships forced the Bulldogs to make the move. Smart has delivered from the jump.
The former Alabama defensive coordinator is an outrageous 80-15 in his first head coaching gig and now has three appearances in the national title game in the last six years. The excitable Georgia alum turned his alma mater into an absolute juggernaut and now sits on the cusp of history heading into Monday's game.
Only Nick Saban and Bear Bryant at Alabama, Tom Osborne at Nebraska, and Pete Carroll at USC have won back-to-back championships in the last 50 years - with Saban's 2011 and 2012 crowns the last time it happened. It'd be fitting if Smart joined his former boss on that list by the end of Monday's contest.
Bennett aims to cap career with 2 titles
Stetson Bennett could add yet another borderline unbelievable achievement to his astonishing college resume in his final game Monday. With a victory over TCU, the former walk-on could become the first quarterback with back-to-back national titles since Alabama's A.J. McCarron in 2011 and '12. Nebraska's Tommie Frazier is the only other man to accomplish that feat in the last 30 years.
Bennett held just one scholarship offer, from Middle Tennessee, out of high school and wasn't even initially on Georgia's radar. The 25-year-old was 247 Sports' 74th-ranked pocket-passing quarterback in the class of 2017 - well back of players like third-year NFL passer Tua Tagovailoa.
After a brief stop at Jones County, Bennett returned to Georgia in 2019 and spent time behind Jake Fromm. Heading into 2020, he found himself on the depth chart behind transfer Jamie Newman, JT Daniels, and D'Wan Mathis. After Newman opted out and Daniels suffered a knee injury, Mathis got the nod but struggled as starter. Smart turned to Bennett and never looked back.
Since then, Bennett has thrown for 6,685 yards and 52 touchdowns over two seasons. He was honored with a trip to New York this season as a Heisman finalist and showed just how clutch he can be with 190 yards passing in the fourth quarter alone during a comeback semifinal win over Ohio State.
With one more strong performance, Bennett will graduate from Georgia legend to someone who deserves to be recognized in the history of college football.