The stage is now set. The Georgia Bulldogs will take on the TCU Horned Frogs on Monday at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles and are looking to be the first back-to-back champions of the CFP era.
Naturally, the 14-0 Bulldogs are overwhelming favorites, with the line opening with them as 13-point favorites, but don't think that TCU doesn't have any advantages that they could exploit. Don't let the 13-1 record fool you, the Horned Frogs are quite familiar with the underdog label. Entering the season, they were 250-1 odds to win a national championship, were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 after struggling to a 5-7 record in 2021, and then had to brave five second-half comebacks to scrape their way to this game.
This is an impressive bunch that should not be taken lightly.
ESPN and WJOX's college football analyst, Cole Cubelic, joined College Football Gametime to discuss what advantages they bring into Monday's matchup with the Bulldogs.
Cubelic sees the Horned Frogs' advantages as two-fold. He provided one on offense, and then another on defense.
"I think from a receiver standpoint, you have multiple body types that are quality receivers," he told College Football Gametime on Saturday afternoon. "You have guys in the slot [that are] quicker, faster. You have [Quentin] Johnston on the outside, he's a big physical receiver that can post you up."
Quentin Johnston has turned in a remarkable year for the Horned Frogs. The junior receiver sits atop many of the NFL big boards ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, and for good reason. He stands at an impressive 6-4 and has the big play acumen to match.
For as dominant as the Georgia defense has been in 2022, they have proved susceptible to being hurt by talented quarterbacks like Max Duggan and talented wideouts like Quentin Johnston.
"You can go back and look at what LSU did in the second half [of the SEC Championship Game], go look at what Ohio State did," Cubelic continued. "If you have any sort of a passing attack, you're going to have some advantages against this Georgia defense. They've shown that they have [been susceptible] to give up some yards there. Now, you’ve got to protect, you’ve got to give your quarterback time. So, I think that's where the big challenge for TCU comes in this game."
Defensively, says Cubelic, the Horned Frogs present issues for their opponents due to the unique nature of their front.
"I think defensively, too, I go back to that structure: they play that 3-3-5 in a different way than a lot of other people do," he said. "So, you just don't see it very often and it can be confusing from the standpoint of identification, as far as the ‘mike’ linebacker -- your point linebacker setting the defense -- it could be confusing from the front as far as you know who has who and assignment standpoint in pass [protection] and in the run game, so that's a big advantage [for TCU]. They do have players who can play on that side of the ball, but also just the structure of that defense, in and of itself, gives TCU an advantage."
Georgia is, and deserves to be, the favorite in the national championship game, but don't believe that conquering the Horned Frogs will be a simple feat. They should win, but stranger things have happened in college football.