2023 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T
9th College Football Playoff National Championship
TCU Horned Frogs Georgia Bulldogs (13–1) (14–0) Big 12 SEC 7 65 Head coach:  Sonny Dykes Head coach:  Kirby Smart AP Coaches CFP 3 4 3 AP Coaches CFP 1 1 1
1 2 3 4 Total TCU 7 0 0 0 7 Georgia 17 21 14 13 65
Date	January 9, 2023
Season	2022
Stadium	SoFi Stadium
Location	Inglewood, California
MVP	Stetson Bennett (QB, Georgia) Javon Bullard (S, Georgia)
Favorite	Georgia by 13½
National anthem	Pentatonix[1]
Referee	Jeff Heaser (ACC)[2]
Attendance	72,628
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Chris Fowler (play-by-play),Kirk Herbstreit (analyst),Holly Rowe andMolly McGrath (sidelines)
Nielsen ratings	4.65 (16.6 million viewers)
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Deportes Brazil:ESPN Brazil/Star+ Canada:TSN1/3/4/5 Latin America:ESPN/Star+ Oceania:ESPN
Announcers	ESPN Deportes: Eduardo Varela (play-by-play), Pablo Viruega (analyst) and Katia Castorena (sidelines) ESPN Brazil: Matheus Pinheiro (play-by-play), Weinny Eirado (analyst), Deivis Chiodini (analyst) and Giane Pessoa (rules analyst);
College Football Playoff National Championship  ← 2022  2024 →

The2023 College Football Playoff National Championship (officially known as the2023 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T for sponsorship reasons) was acollege footballbowl game that was played on January 9, 2023, atSoFi Stadium inInglewood, California. The ninthCollege Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined thenational champion of theNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for the2022 season. It was the final game of the2022–23 College Football Playoff (CFP) and, aside from any all-star games following after, was the culminating game of the2022–23 bowl season. The game began at approximately 4:45 p.m.PST and was televised byESPN.

The game featured the defending national champion No. 1Georgia Bulldogs of theSoutheastern Conference (SEC), winners of thePeach Bowl semifinal, and the No. 3TCU Horned Frogs of theBig 12 Conference, winners of theFiesta Bowl semifinal.

Georgia defeated TCU, 65–7. The 58-point victory for Georgia was the most lopsided win in a College Football Playoff National Championship Game, the largest margin of victory in a title game, and at the time, was the largest margin of victory in anybowl game at theFBS level, until the Bulldogs surpassed that less than a year later in the2023 Orange Bowl.^[3] Georgia became the first team since the2012 Alabama Crimson Tide to repeat as national champions. They also became just the third FBS team to complete a 15–0 season in the modern era after the2018 Clemson Tigers and the2019 LSU Tigers. They were subsequently joined by the2023 Michigan Wolverines. This was the fourth consecutive national championship won by theSoutheastern Conference (SEC). The broadcast of the game onESPN saw the smallest audience in the game's history, coming at 16.6 million viewers.

This was the fourth consecutiveCollege Football Playoff National Championship matching theNo. 3 seed and the No. 1 seed. The first was the2020 edition, where the top-rankedLSU Tigers beat the third-rankedClemson Tigers by a score of 42–25 at theMercedes-Benz Superdome inNew Orleans. The second was the2021 edition, where the top-rankedAlabama beat the third-rankedOhio State by a score of 52–24 atHard Rock Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida. The third was when No. 3Georgia beat No. 1Alabama, 33–18, in the2022 edition atLucas Oil Stadium inIndianapolis.

On November 1, 2017,SoFi Stadium was selected as host for the ninth edition of the championship, alongside the aforementioned 2021 and 2022 sites andNRG Stadium inHouston for 2024.^[4]

The four teams competing in the Playoff were selected by the CFP selection committee, whose final rankings were released on December 4, 2022, at 12:00 p.m.EST.^[5][6] The committee selected No. 1Georgia from theSoutheastern Conference (SEC), No. 2Michigan from theBig Ten Conference, No. 3TCU from theBig 12 Conference, and No. 4Ohio State, also from the Big Ten Conference. Two out of the four teams were the champion of its respective conference; Georgia and Michigan entered the playoff with undefeated13–0 records, while TCU and Ohio State entered at 12–1 and 11–1 respectively.

The championship game was the ninth in College Football Playoff history.[7] The semifinals were both played on December 31, 2022. In the first semifinal, played at theFiesta Bowl,TCU upsetMichigan as 7.5 point underdogs, 51–45, in the highest scoring Fiesta Bowl, and second-highest CFP semifinal game. In the second semifinal, played at thePeach Bowl,Georgia rallied to overcome a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter and defeatOhio State 42–41.^[8] This was the third appearance by Georgia in the College Football Playoff, after winning the national championshipthe year prior. They entered the title game with an overall CFP record of 4–1. TCU made their first appearance in the playoff this year, and the first team from theBig 12 to reach the championship game sinceTexas’ appearance in the2010 BCS National Championship Game.

SoFi Stadium is a 70,240-seat venue in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. Opened in September 2020, the fixed-roof stadium is home to the National Football League (NFL)'sLos Angeles Rams andLos Angeles Chargers, as well as the annualLA Bowl in college football. It had previously hostedSuper Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022.

The championship game matched TCU from theBig 12 Conference and Georgia from theSoutheastern Conference (SEC). The programs had previously met four times, most recently in theDecember 2016 edition of the Liberty Bowl, with Georgia winning each of the prior matchups.^[9]

The TCU Horned Frogs, under the leadership of first-year head coachSonny Dykes, finished the regular season with an unblemished 12–0 record and finished Big 12 play at 9–0.^[10] That record put them atop the Big 12 and into theconference championship game, where they fell toKansas State in an upset, leaving TCU with a 12–1 record.^[11] It did not impact their No. 3 ranking, as they were selected to that spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP). In theFiesta Bowl semifinal, the Horned Frogs defeated No. 2Michigan, 51–45.^[12]

This game was the first time a Big 12 team appeared in an FBS championship game since the2010 BCS National Championship Game; the most recent national championship game won by a Big 12 team was the2006 Rose Bowl (when the current FBS was still known as Division I-A). In the history ofcollege football national championships at the highest level of competition, TCU has been named a national champion by one or more NCAA-recognized selectors three times:1935,1938, and2010.^[13] TCU claims national championships for their 1935 and 1938 teams.^[14][15]

Georgia was undefeated in their 12-game regular season, facing and defeating two ranked FBS teams,Oregon andTennessee. Their closest victory was by four points, overMissouri; all of their other wins were by at least 10 points. Georgia qualified for theSEC Championship Game, where they defeatedLSU, 50–30. Georgia entered thePeach Bowl semifinal with an overall 13–0 record, and were matched with No. 4Ohio State. After Ohio State held a 38–24 lead in the third quarter, Georgia rallied for a 42–41 win, after Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles' potential game-winning 50-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the game sailed wide left.^[16]

Georgia became the first team to win back-to-back FBS championships since the2011 Alabama and2012 Alabama teams, and the first in the CFP era. In addition to the Bulldogs'2021 season championship, Georgia claims national championships for their1942 season and1980 season.^[17][18][19]

Georgia's 58-point margin of victory was the largest of any bowl game ever.^[20]

Source:^[21]

Georgia won the toss and elected to defer, and the opening kick byJack Podlesny was a touchback. A TCU false startpenalty by centerSteve Avila set them back to the TCU 20 to start the game. This would result in athree-and-out by quarterbackMax Duggan. A fair catch byKearis Jackson started Georgia's drive at their own 43.Xavier Truss would also be called for false start, moving the ball back to their own 38. That did not matter, as 4 quick plays set-upStetson Bennett's 21 yard touchdown run, and Georgia got the early lead, 7–0. TCU's next drive would be another disaster. Max Duggan got sacked on the first play of the drive for -6 yards. He then connected toDerius Davis for two yards. However, a defensive holding penalty byJavon Bullard would give them a first down. Javon Bullard got right back and recovered the ensuing fumble by Derius Davis. Another five plays would set up Jack Podlesny's 26-yd field goal, to give them a 10–0 lead. A 60-yard pass to Derius Davis on TCU's next drive would set up Max Duggan's 2-yd TD run, to cut the lead to three points, 10–7. It would be their only points of the game. A four play Georgia drive would couple with a wide-open 37-yd TD catch byLadd McConkey to end the first quarter 17–7. After another TCU punt, and after an 11-play drive, which included a 35-yard pass fromBrock Bowers, then setup Stetson Bennett's 6-yd untouched touchdown, to extend their lead by 17 points (24–7). Emari Demercado would run for 3 yards on TCU's next drive, but an offensive holding penalty pushed them back to their own 15. After another play,Javon Bullard would get his first interception of the game. After another 11-play drive, would set upKendall Milton's 1-yd touchdown run, to extend their lead by 24 points (31–7). It would be the same thing for TCU's next drive, with Javon Bullard's second interception of the game. Stetson Bennett would connect withAdonai Mitchell for a 22-yd touchdown catch to end the first half with a 38–7 lead, coming into the break.

Since Georgia elected to defer, they got the ball back to start the second half. After both teams traded punts, and after a 3-play drive for Georgia, Stetson Bennett found Brock Bowers for a 22 yd TD, to make it 45–7. After an offensive holding penalty to start TCU's drive at their own 18, another quick three and out occurred, giving Georgia the ball back at their own 16. This would come with a 9 play, 84 yard drive, which resulted in Ladd McConkey's second touchdown of the game, to make it 52–7. TCU's subsequent drives would both be turnover on downs, with Georgia touchdowns in between them. After Branson Robinson 19 yd TD run, Jack Podlesny's extra point try subsequently missed, making it 65–7. After another TCU punt, Georgia ran out the remaining clock, making the final score 65–7, and repeating as national champions.

In an unusual coincidence,Stetson Bennett andMax Duggan were selected by theLos Angeles Rams in the fourth round andLos Angeles Chargers in the seventh round, respectively, the same teams that play at SoFi Stadium. They met again on August 13, 2023, in a preseason game also held at SoFi Stadium, where the Chargers won 34–17.

Georgia went on to an undefeated regular season in2023, and extended their winning streak to 29 games, heading into the2023 SEC Championship Game againstAlabama. Their winning streak started and ended with that team. Georgia lost, 27–24, which snapped their 29-game winning streak, and failed to make the College Football Playoff and play for a third consecutive national title. The team also became the first to miss the playoffs after being ranked number one going into the championship weekend. Georgia was invited to theOrange Bowl againstFlorida State, where they earned a dominating 63–3 win, setting a new record for the largest margin of victory of any bowl game at the FBS level (or its historical predecessors).^[22] Meanwhile, TCU had a rough season. With the loss of Duggan, TCU plummeted to No. 17 in the preseason polls. They lost toColorado in the season opener, 45-42. They then won their next three games, but after that, suffered a collapse, losing six of their last eight games of the regular season to finish 5–7 and missed becoming bowl-eligible.

This was the ninth consecutiveCollege Football Playoff National Championship game to be televised onESPN, and offered itsMegaCast coverage, which also televised the Playoff semifinals, and the championship game on all of its networks exceptABC with alternate broadcasts; the primary telecast aired on ESPN while other channels in the ESPN family of networks aired alternate broadcasts.

• ESPN:Chris Fowler (play-by-play),Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), andHolly Rowe andMolly McGrath (sidelines)
• ESPN Radio:Sean McDonough (play-by-play), andTodd Blackledge (analyst), and Ian Fitzsimmons andKris Budden (sidelines).
• ESPN2: "Field Pass" withThe Pat McAfee Show, which featuredPat McAfee along withRobert Griffin III,Taylor Lewan, andA. Q. Shipley.
• ESPNU: Command Center, features the audio from the main telecast.
• ESPNews: SkyCast (branded asAT&T 5G SkyCast for sponsorship reasons, a continuous feed from theskycam), features audio from the main telecast.
• SEC Network: Georgia Hometown Radio, which features Scott Howard (play-by-play),Eric Zeier (analyst), and D. J. Shockley (sideline)
• Additionally, the All-22 broadcast (which aired with audio from the ESPN Radio broadcast), and both teams' Hometown Radio calls and Marching Bands were also available on the ESPN app.

• 2022 LA Bowl, contested at the same venue on December 17, 2022
• Super Bowl LVI, theNFL championship game contested at the same venue on February 13, 2022
• College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS

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