In what is the least likely matchup for this season’s College Football Playoff National Championship, No. 1 Georgia meets No. 3 TCU on Monday. Georgia went 41 years without winning a national championship until coach Kirby Smart led the program out of the wilderness in 2021. Already, the Bulldogs are back with a chance to become the first team of the College Football Playoff era to win back-to-back national championships. Georgia has shown it can win games with either its offense or its defense, but the Bulldogs have an unstoppable trump card in potential top-five NFL Draft pick Jalen Carter on the defensive line.
So far, the Bulldogs seem destined to capture that second straight national title as they hold a 17-7 lead over the Horned Frogs at the end of the first quarter in Los Angeles. The scoring was led by Stetson Bennett who started things off with an early scoring run, while Ladd McConkey added a touchdown of his own late in the period. Max Duggan ran for his score as he looks to keep his team competitive with the defending national champions.
CBS Sports will be with you Monday night with live coverage of Georgia vs. TCU in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Follow for score updates, analysis and highlights from the national championship game.
How to watch the 2023 national championship
Game: 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship
Data: Monday, January 9 | Time: 7:30 pm ET
Location: SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, California
TV: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV (Try free)
Georgia vs. TCU: Alternate viewing options
- Field Pass with Pat McAfee Show — ESPN2, fuboTV (Try free)
- Command Center — ESPNU, fuboTV (Try free)
- Skycast — ESPNEWS, fuboTV (Try free)
- Hometown Radio (Georgia) — SEC Network, fuboTV (Try Free)
- All-22, TCU hometown radio, halftime band shows and more available through the ESPN app
Georgia vs. TCU stories
Georgia: The Bulldogs enter the game with a chance to stake its claim as the dominant program in college football. Georgia compiled a 28-1 record over the past two seasons, avenging its lone loss to Alabama in the 2021 SEC Championship Game in last year’s national championship.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett IV transformed himself from a walk-on to a national champion, but back-to-back crowns put a player like him in rarefied air. In the 21st Century, only Alabama QB AJ McCarron and USC QB Matt Leinart can boast that feat. However, Bennett will have to play one of his best games against a TCU defense that gave Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy fits.
TCU: The Frogs are the biggest Cinderella story since college football introduced national championship games in 1998. TCU hasn’t won a national championship since 1938 – when QB Davey O’Brien led the program to an 11-0 record. However, going undefeated through the Big 12 and beating Big Ten champions Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl is a much more difficult road.
TCU is a nearly two-touchdown underdog heading into SoFi Stadium, but the Horned Frogs are comfortable being overlooked. This will be a showcase game for Heisman runner-up quarterback Max Duggan and future first-round wide receiver Quentin Johnston. TCU needs to stay on schedule against Georgia’s physical defense, and its defense needs to find answers for Georgia’s terrific pair of tight ends Darnell Washington and Brock Bowers (as long as Washington is 100%). TCU has made it this far against all odds — Monday will be a game for the ages.
