A classic David versus Goliath matchup takes place tonight at 6:30 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California as the No.3 TCU Horned Frogs and their improbable journey continues one more time and this time its for the biggest prize of them all aw they face the No.1 Georgia Bulldogs in the National Championship Game.

Can Max Duggan and the underdog Horned Frogs make one more giant leap into the college football history books or will the winning machine that is the Georgia Bulldogs cement their status as the premier program in college football today?

Here’s my preview and prediction for tonight’s contest.

Record through all bowl games

Straight up, 16-11, Overall, 172-71, 71%

ATS, 9-17, 122-117, 51%

No.1 Georgia (14-0) vs. No.3 TCU (13-1)

SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA. 70,240

6:30 PM CT

ESPN

Chris, Kirk, Holly, Molly

Officials, ACC, Jeff Heaser

Dawgs by 12 1/2

Max Duggan and the Horned Frogs love the underdog role. It ignites them. Duggan, who finished second in the Heisman voting to Caleb Williams of USC, has completed 253-of-397 passes, 64%, for 3,546 yards, 32 TDs against 6 ints. He’s also rushed for 461 yards and 8 TDs. He wasn’t even the starter when the season started under Sonny Dykes and a new coaching staff. The fourth year senior could have mailed it in and transferred, but he stuck it out and when starter Chandler Morris was injured in the first game, Duggan took over and never looked back. He’s the premiere underdog story and one fine quarterback. His running game is led by Kendre Miller, who rushed for 1,399 yards and 17 TDs, but is questionable tonight with a sprained MCL in his knee suffered in the semifinal victory over Michigan, a 51-45 epic. Miller is 50-50 to play. If he can’t play, Emari Demercado will get the start and he’s highly capable. Demercado rushed for 622 yards and 6 TDs this season as a backup. But when Miller got hurt against Michigan, he came in and rushed for 150 yards and a TD. Quentin Johnston is the big 6’4” 215 pound target on the perimeter for the Frogs. He’s caught 59 passes for 1,066 yards and 6 TDs. He’s a force the Georgia secondary will have to reckon with. Taye Barber is a speedy target. Barber has caught 36 passes for 605 yards and 5 TDs. Derius Davis has 37 receptions for 430 yards and 5 TDs as well. He’s also a key man in the return game. He’s taken two punts back to the house. Savion Willams is another big target for the Horned Frogs at 6’5”, 215, and has 29 receptions for 392 yards and 4 TDs. And 6’7”, 255 tight end Jared Wiley has 22 receptions for 231 yards and 4 TDs.

On defense, the key guys to look for are 6’4”, 275 defensive end Dylan Horton, 6’1”, 230 pound linebacker Dee Winters, and 6’2”, 190 pound safety Bud Clark. Inside linebacker, 6’2”, 240 Navy transfer Johnny Hodges is another. Horton leads the defense in sacks with 10 for -73 yards and has added 13 1/2 tackles for loss of -77 yards. Winters leads the team in TFLs with 14 1/2 for -59 yards and adds 7 1/2 sacks for -40 yards. Winters had a key pick six against Michigan last Saturday in the Fiesta Bowl. Hodges leads the defense in tackles with 81 and has added 8 1/2 tackles for loss of -34 yards. Clark leads the defense in interceptions with 5 for 83 yards including a pick six last Saturday against Michigan as well. TCU has 16 ints on the season. They are averaging 41 points on the year and giving up 26.

The No.1 Bulldogs have been a bulldozer a lot of the season, though they have had their tricky moments. But after last Saturday’s 14 point 4th quarter comeback against No.4 Ohio State, a 42-41 Bulldogs victory, Georgia is one win away from going back to back as national champions. The Crimson Tide was the last team to do that in 2011 and 2012. Only seven teams have accomplished that feat and the last team to do it legitimately before the Tide was Nebraska in 1994 and 1995. USC did it in 2003 and 2004 but the ‘04 championship was vacated later due to NCAA violations by the Trojans under Pete Carroll amidst Reggie Bush’s house that he was awarded for playing at USC. Bush’s Heisman was later vacated.

The Bulldogs averaged 39 points this season and gave up 14.79. Stetson Bennett was stellar completing 292-of-429 passes, 68%, for 3,823 yards, with 23 TDs against 7 ints. He was a force in the fourth quarter last Saturday against Ohio State lifting his team on his shoulders and throwing a 76 yard perfectly placed deep ball for a TD to Arian Smith and then throwing the game winner, a 10 yard TD pass to Adonai Mitchell with 1:49 left in the game, though the Dawgs had to sweat out a last second 50 yard field goal attempt by Ohio State that was hooked to the left. Bennett is surrounded by an arsenal of weapons. Kenny McIntosh has rushed for 779 yards and 10 TDs. Daijun Edwards has posted 739 yards and 7 TDs. And Kendall Milton, who has really come on recently, has rushed for 559 yards and 7 TDs. The unstoppable tight end Brock Bowers, 6’4”, 230, has 50 receptions for 790 yards and 6 TDs. Maybe not as prolific as last season, but he plays like a Sherman Tank, and is a force that will really challenge the Horned Frogs defense. Ladd McConkey has 53 receptions for 674 yards and 5 TDs. He’s been playing hurt recently but toughing it out for his team. He’s a weapon if he’s healthy enough to be a factor. He’s definitely playing tonight. McIntosh has caught 42 passes for 505 yards and 2 TDs out of the backfield. And Smith, 6 receptions for 195 yards in 10 games, and Mitchell, 8 receptions for 112 yards and 2 TDs in just 5 games, he’s been injured most of the season, are game breakers on the perimeter. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter, 6’3”, 300, is a force in the middle. A’Shawn Robinson, formerly of the Crimson Tide and now the LA Rams, totally stuffed the Cincinnati Bengals running game in Super Bowl 56 last year in SoFi and that’s what Carter can do. He also has 7 TFLs for -27 yards and 3 1/2 sacks for -17. He’s considered a top 3 draft pick in late April along with Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. It’s unknown the order in which those guys will be picked. Experts are going back and forth. The Chicago Bears have the No.1 pick and while they have Justin Fields, Young may be too good to pass up. It’ll be an interesting draft. Linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, 6’1”, 245, leads the Dawgs with 9 tackles for loss of -35 yards, and also leads them in sacks with 4. Safety Christopher Smith leads Georgia in interceptions with 3. Cornerback Kelee Ringo returned the game winning int against Alabama in the 2021 national championship game. He’s a pretty good cover guy, though he was a bit exposed by Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. last Saturday. Harrison Jr. caught 5 passes for 106 yards and 2 TDs before getting knocked out of the game in what should have been a targeting call. Georgia also was fortunate that the side judge granted Kirby Smart a time out right as Ohio State was running a successful fake punt. I thought Smart got the timeout in too late. Looked to be right as the play had started. He shouldn’t have been allowed that TO. If Ohio State is allowed to run that play. They would have been up 38-27 with 8 minutes left and looking good, Billy Ray. The Georgia defense has 10 ints on the season, 87 tackles for loss and 31 sacks. TCU has 84 TFLs and 30 sacks.

Both offensive lines will be tested tonight. Both are very good lines. Georgia’s is a little better. Will he a real interesting matchup for both O lines against attacking defenses.

Decision

Is there any way that TCU can slay this behemoth that is the Georgia Bulldogs? Georgia has 4 and 5 star recruits all over their depth chart, and while TCU has recruited pretty well, it’s not on the Bulldogs level. A lot of people are picking Georgia to win handily.

But I’m not one of them. Max Duggan and his Horned Frogs slay the giant. David did it with a sling shot, and I like the Frogs to do the same with several sling shots, Duggan, Johnson, Demercado, Winters, Horton and Clark for starters. Give me my daughter’s Horned Frogs to capture their first national championship in 85 years. 1938 to be exact. Should be an epic.

TCU 42, Georgia 41