ATLANTA — They trailed by 14 points in each half. They led for 105 of the game’s 3,600 seconds. They were all but beaten … and then, yet again, they weren’t. A calendar year ruled by Georgia ticked into history with the Bulldogs unbeaten in 2022, and it’ll be a while before anyone beats them in 2023.
Nothing against TCU, but the national championship game was staged here. Ohio State, the only team that could have felled Georgia, came as close as a team can get without sealing the deal. And that’s the thing: Under Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs have cast aside decades of near-misses. They’ve forgotten how to lose. They seal every deal.
With a chance to win at the end, the Buckeyes’ Noah Ruggles missed badly. A classic College Football Playoff semifinal ended with Ohio State scoring 41 points on Georgia’s mighty defense. It wasn’t enough. The Bulldogs won the fourth quarter 18-3, the game 42-41. They’re bound for the final in L.A., bound for a second consecutive national title.
