Georgia Wins Second College Football National Championship In A Row

“Glory, glory to old Georgia!”

The College Football Championship Final may have taken place in Los Angeles, but this was an all Southern fight as TCU set out to upset the reigning champions UGA. Bulldogs versus Horned Frogs. Who would come out on top?

In the pre-show on ESPN, one of the network’s most iconic analysts, the boisterous Lee Corso picked TCU to win, but then admitted he’d been wrong the week before. Twice. That might have been an unwelcome omen for the Horned Frogs.

Just four minutes into the first half, UGA superstar quarterback Stetson Bennett gave the Bulldogs an early lead when he faked out the TCU defense and ran the ball himself for a 21 yard touchdown. With a field goal Georgia looked like it was taking off with the game, but the Frogs said not so fast! Max Duggan gave TCU their first score of the night.

That hope for TCU was quickly subdued as Ladd McConkey caught a 37 yard touchdown pass extending UGA’s lead. And from there, UGA was just off and running and TCU was scrambling to fight their way back into contention.

Five touchdowns and a field goal in the first half and the Dawgs went to the locker room sitting comfortably up 31 points with the scoreboard reading 38-7.

The second half continued to be dominated by the Dawgs with touchdowns by Bowers, McConkey, and Robinson (and Robinson again). Early in the 4th quarter with the score at a comfortable 59-7, Coach Kirby Smart started putting in the subs, giving Bennett and several other players for whom this was their final game as a Bulldog, a victorious curtain call. The Frogs were just no match for the powerhouse Dawgs.

Final score was 65-7 and the Georgia Bulldogs are back to back National Champions! That’s the first time that has ever happened in the college football era, per ESPN.

The SEC is now 14-3 in competition with other conferences to win it all.

Right after the win, Coach Kirby Smart credited the win to his team’s work ethic. “They had a will to work. They didn’t listen to what everybody said about them and everybody doubted them at the start of the year and that chip on the shoulder was just big enough to create an edge for our team because every time they got down they came out fighting.” He added, “We don’t run from work. Our kids don’t run from work…And as long as you don’t have entitlement in your program, you got a shot. And right now we don’t have that. It’s creeping. Games like tonight might make it that way but we got a lot of humble guys.”

When asked about quarterback Stetson Bennett on his final game for Georgia, Coach Smart said, “He’s meant a lot to me personally because of what he’s gone through and what he’s put up with from the outside noise. But to this university, for a kid who was told he wasn’t good enough, to come back and win two national championships, he’s really phenomenal. He did some things tonight that were just electric and he’s one of a kind. He’s a special football player and he should get many opportunities to keep playing.”

ESPN’s Holly Rowe asked Bennett after the win and his final game for Georgia, “for the kid from Blackshear, Georgia, what do you say to all the people there who have believed in you from the very beginning?” The champion quarterback replied, “Well, it’s God’s county, the greatest place on earth and it made me who I was today.. And I can’t wait to get back there.”

Congratulations to Coach Smart and all the Georgia Bulldogs! Go Dawgs!

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.