Bowl Grades For Every Team, Conference: How Did Everyone Do?

Bowl Season Grades – how did all the teams and conferences perform in the 2022-2023 bowl campaign?

What grade did each college football team and conference earn this 2022-2023 bowl season? Which leagues and teams did the best job?


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This was the weirdest bowl season ever, and it’s one going to get more interesting going forward with the transfer portal playing a bigger role, NIL money being a factor, and with the expanded College Football Playoff coming in the 2024 season.

What programs showed up for their bowl games and which ones mailed it in?

We assign a grade for each team based on relative performance. Winning the game is all that really matters, but did the team play up to its capabilities, or did it have to push a bit too hard against an inferior opponent? Did the losing team come up with a strong fight, or did it get embarrassed?

These were the final exams. How did everyone do?

2022-2023 Team, Conference Bowl Grades
ACC | American | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USAInd
MAC | Mountain West | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt
Top 100 Bowl Players | Ranking all the Bowl Games
Final Rankings:
CFN 1-131 | CFN Season | AP | Coaches
Top 150 National Champions of All-Time

ACC Bowl Grades

ACC Bowl Grade: B

ACC Straight Up: 5-4
ACC Against The Spread: 6-3

It took down the games it was supposed, to, and it was competitive in some of the bigger ones, but it didn’t do enough in the one it needed to have – the Orange.

Pitt’s wild comeback in the Tony the Tiger Sun over UCLA – a 37-35 win – was the high point, but Clemson got rolled by Tennessee in the Orange, Florida State was meh in its Cheez-It win over Oklahoma, and North Carolina couldn’t come though against Oregon in the Holiday.

Give the league credit for some splash, though. Duke roasted UCF in the Military, Wake Forest got an SEC win over Missouri in the Gasparilla, and Louisville hit the layup against a depleted Cincinnati in the Fenway.

Clemson Bowl Grade: C-

Capital One Orange Bowl
Prediction: Clemson 34, Tennessee 30
Line: Clemson -6, o/u: 61
Final Score: Tennessee 31, Clemson 14
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

For all the talk about transfers and opt-outs and how Clemson does things, this was a bad, bad performance. Tennessee was missing a slew of key parts – more than Clemson – and it didn’t matter much. The Tiger defense was fine and the offense cranked up yards with QB Cade Klubnik the unquestioned starter, but the results weren’t there. With the way Klubnik played, call this loss a step back to take a big leap forward.


Duke Bowl Grade: A

Military Bowl
Prediction: Duke 30, UCF 20
Line: Duke -3, o/u: 62.5
Final Score: Duke 30, UCF 13
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

So how’s that for a bowl game to close out the season with a ninth win? To be fair, UCF was totally gutted and didn’t play like its normal self, but the Blue Devils showed up with a terrific, tight game with no turnovers, one penalty, and a stunningly easy win.


Florida State Bowl Grade: B

Cheez-It Bowl
Prediction: Florida State 34, Oklahoma 20
Line: Florida State -10.5, o/u: 66
Final Score: Florida State 35, Oklahoma 32
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

It’s not like it was a bad game for the Seminoles – they won – but that wasn’t your normal Oklahoma team on the other side. It should’ve been a whole lot easier to get the win. However, the win accomplished two key things: 1) It jacked up the fan base in a big way for 2023, and 2) Jordan Travis – and his 418-yard day – is going to be a major factor next season. It’s a bowl win, and Florida State showed it’s on the upswing.


Louisville Bowl Grade: A

Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Prediction: Louisville 23, Cincinnati 20
Line: Louisville -2, o/u: 39.5
Final Score: Louisville 24, Cincinnati 7
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means 

Louisville lost its head coach, it didn’t have a slew of key stars, and it was hardly going to be its normal self out there, but Cincinnati had even more problems. The Cardinal did exactly what they were supposed to, the running game was great, and the defense was fantastic. It was one of the more dominant non-big bowl wins of the season.


North Carolina Bowl Grade: B

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
Prediction: Oregon 41, North Carolina 30
Line: Oregon -13, o/u: 76
Final Score: Oregon 28, North Carolina 27
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

The offense didn’t quite work as well as it should’ve, but it was still a good performance in a fun back-and-forth game. The defense couldn’t come up with the stop late in a blast of a fourth quarter, and the O settled for field goals, but that was a good Oregon team on the other side. Let’s put it this way – the Tar Heels were supposed to be blown out, and they easily covered.


NC State Bowl Grade: C

Maryland vs NC State
Prediction: NC State 27, Maryland 20
Line: NC State -2, o/u: 45.5
Final Score: Maryland 16, NC State 12
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

The Wolfpack should’ve been able to pull this off. It was a wildly frustrating game, but the defense did its part to hold the high-powered Terps to just 16 points. However, a slew of Maryland’s top receivers were gone – this wasn’t the same O from the regular season. NC State did nothing on the ground, the offense only managed four field goals, and the team could never create that one big breakthrough moment.


Pitt Bowl Grade: A+

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Prediction: UCLA 34, Pitt 20
Line: UCLA -8.5, o/u: 53.5
Final Score: Pitt 37, UCLA 35
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW. Pitt had no business being in this game. It was missing way too many key guys, UCLA had enough of its normal starters around to be good, and no one would’ve blinked if the team packed it in after a demoralizing pick-six for a 28-14 Bruin lead in the third. But the Panthers kept fighting, kept chipping away, and … it was over. UCLA scored with 40 seconds to go to survive and … nope. PK Ben Sauls became a legend,  and Pitt pulled off one of the guttiest wins of the bowl season.


Syracuse Bowl Grade: B-

Pinstripe Bowl
Prediction: Minnesota 27, Syracuse 13
Line: Minnesota -10, o/u: 44.5
Final Score: Minnesota 28, Syracuse 20
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

This was never supposed to be remotely close. The Orange were never really in it, but they managed to make this a bit interesting – and screw everyone with the wrong side of the spread – late, and they weren’t awful considering how badly they were undermanned. The run defense held up phenomenally well – and the team outgained the Gophers 477 yards to 215 – but one pick six turned into the killer. All things considered, it was a good effort.


Wake Forest Bowl Grade: A

Union Home Gasparilla Bowl
Predictions: Wake Forest 30, Missouri 27
Line: Wake Forest -2.5, o/u: 58.5
Final Score: Wake Forest 27, Missouri 17
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

It was a solid, even performance to keep hanging around before pulling away in the second half. Wake Forest got up 14-3, Missouri fought back, and then it was all ACC the rest of the way. Sam Hartman threw two touchdown passes – 13 unanswered points – the defense was terrific when it had to be, and it turned into a strong bowl win over an SEC team. Mizzou blinked, and Wake Forest didn’t.

2022-2023 Team, Conference Bowl Grades
ACC | American | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USAInd
MAC | Mountain West | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt
Top 100 Bowl Players | Ranking all the Bowl Games
Final Rankings:
CFN 1-131 | CFN Season | AP | Coaches
Top 150 National Champions of All-Time

NEXT: American Athletic Bowl Grades

100 Best Players of the College Football Bowl Season 2022-2023

CFN 100 best players of the 2022-2023 college football bowl season.

Who were the best and brightest stars of the 2022-2023 bowl season? Here are CFN’s 100 best players who stood out from the pack.


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100 Best Players of the Bowl Season

Who were the best and brightest stars of the bowl season? Stats are nice, big moments are better, and overall level of play matters the most. Okay, that’s a lie – do something massive in the bowls and you get ranked higher.

There’s one more game to go – and it’s sort of a biggie – so a few more names will be added to this. Go ahead and add another 100 names that could be on this list, but before the College Football Playoff National Championship, here are the 100 best players of the bowl season.

100 Best Players of the Bowl Season
76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10
Ranking all the Bowl Games | Bowl Scoreboard 

100. Braden Siders, DE Wyoming

Wyoming’s defense made a whole slew of big plays in the 30-27 overtime loss to Ohio in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. Siders made six tackles – all six solo stops – with two sacks and three tackles for loss.

99. Nicholas Singleton, RB Penn State

He wasn’t used much, but he made his touches count running seven times for 120 yards and two touchdowns – including an 87-yarder – and returned two kicks for 39 yards in the 35-21 win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.

98. Bralen Trice, DE Washington

This was supposed to be a wild shootout, but the defenses weren’t all that bad. Neither team generated much of a pass rush, but Trice did his part with a game-high two sacks and a team-tying six tackles in the 27-20 Valero Alamo Bowl win over Texas.

97. Cam Dillon, LB Duke

The Blue Devil defense was terrific in the 30-13 win over UCF in the Military Bowl, led by Dillon, who came up with a team-high nine tackles – six solo stops – with two sacks.

96. Chad Bailey, LB Missouri

The senior did everything possible to keep Missouri in the game. Seven of his nine tackles were solo stops with 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in the 27-17 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl loss to Wake Forest.

95. Joshua Scott, CB Eastern Michigan

He lost a few battles, but he was a big part in the game’s momentum swing. He made two tackles with a key interception with four broken up passes in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win over San Jose State.

94. Wayne Taluapapa, RB Washington

Star QB Michael Penix Jr. didn’t have hist best performance – even with 287 yards – but he was helped by a running game that wasn’t there for the other side. Taulapapa ran 14 times for 108 yards with a 42-yard touchdown dash in the 27-20 Valero Alamo Bowl win over Texas.

93. KJ Robertson, LB Troy

He made nine tackles with an interception in the 18-12 Duluth Trading Cure Bowl win over UTSA.

92. Garrett Shrader, QB Syracuse

While he didn’t have top running Sean Tucker around, he was able to keep the offense moving through the air. There was a rough pick-six given up, but he completed 32-of-51 passes for 330 yards with that interception, and ran for 38 yards and two touchdowns in the 28-20 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl loss to Minnesota.

91. AT Perry, WR Wake Forest

Other Demon Deacons got into the end zone – Taylor Morin scored twice, but Perry led the way with 11 catches for 116 yards in the 27-17 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl win over Missouri.

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90. Braelon Allen, RB Wisconsin

Was he going to play? Was he heathy enough? He turned out to be just fine, running 22 times for 116 yards and a score in the 24-17 win over Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

89. Rashod Dubinion, RB Arkansas

The quarterbacks might have been the stars of the show, but Dubinion did his part – as did AJ Green with 99 yards and a score – for a Hog running game that came close to running for 400 yards. He carried it 20 times for 112 yards and two scores and caught three passes for 19 yards in the 55-53 triple-overtime win over Kansas.

88. Malik Nabers, WR LSU

The game was effectively over by the time he went to work, but he still played a big role. He caught nine passes for 163 yards and a score, and he completed both of his passes for 50 yards and a score in the 63-7 win over Purdue in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

87. Sean Clifford, QB Penn State

Very, very efficient, he did everything he was supposed to hitting 16-of-21 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns – averaging over 13 yards per pass – in the 35-21 win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.

86. Arian Smith, WR Georgia

He only caught three passes, but they went for 129 yards with his 76-yard touchdown bringing Georgia close late in the 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff Semifinal Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

85. Sherrod Greene, LB South Carolina

No, he didn’t make the splashiest defensive plays like some of his teammates did, but he came up with a game-high 11 tackles with a sack and five solo stops in the 45-38 loss to Notre Dame in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

84. Jack Campbell, LB Iowa

There wasn’t anything fun about the game, but that’s partly because the Iowa defense was so dominant. Campbell had a game-high ten stop with a sack and two tackles for loss in the 21-0 TransPerfect Music City Bowl win over Kentucky.

83. Bucky Irving, RB Oregon

The quarterbacks were the headliners, but the running back took over. Irving ran 13 times for 149 yards and two scores in the 28-27 win over North Carolina in the San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl.

82. Keaton Mitchell, RB East Carolina

QB Holton Ahlers and the passing game were the stars in the 53-29 win over Coastal Carolina in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl, but Mitchell was a steady force running 22 times for 127 yards and a score.

81. Justin Marshall, WR Buffalo

The Georgia Southern offense was supposed to explode, but it was the Buffalo passing attack that brought it home. Marshall caught 11 passes for 127 yards and a score, setting the tone early with his 32-yard touchdown grab in UB’s 23-21 win in the Camellia Bowl.

80. Zeke Rankin, PK Middle Tennessee

He missed one, but he hit a 49-yarder to go along with the game-winning 37-yarder with just over two minutes to play. He saved the offense making four of five field goal tries in  the 25-23 win over San Diego State in the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl.

How good were the bowls? Ranking bowls so far from best to worst

79. Chevan Cordeiro, QB San Jose State

In a losing cause, Cordeiro threw two big picks, but he connected on 26-of-44 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns and ran nine times for 50 yards and a score in the 41-27 loss to Eastern Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

78. Cooper DeJean, CB Iowa

A key part of the dominant Hawkeye defensive performance, he made seven tackles with a tackle for loss, a 14-yard pick six, and returned three punts for 34 yards in the 21-0 TransPerfect Music City Bowl win over Kentucky.

77. Jayden Daniels, QB LSU

The Tigers put this away fast thanks to Daniels. He completed 12-of-17 passes for 139 yards and a score, ran six times for a team-high 67 yards, and caught a five-yard touchdown pass in the 63-7 win over Purdue in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

76. Loic Fouonji, WR Texas Tech

The big receiver had a big night, leading the team with 100 yards on seven catches – and iced the game taking an onside kick 44 yards for a score – in the 42-25 TaxAct Texas Bowl win over Ole Miss.

100 Best Players of the Bowl Season
76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10
Ranking all the Bowl Games | Bowl Scoreboard

NEXT: 100 Best Player of the Bowl Season Top 75

Bowl Game Rankings. How Good Were All The Bowls From Worst To Best?

Bowl game rankings – how good were they? Ranked from the worst to the best, here’s our review of all the bowl games.

How good were all of the games in the 2022-2023 bowl season? Ranking all the bowl games from the worst to the best.


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You spent the time to watch them – or at least have them on in the background at work, holiday parties, and everywhere in between.

How good were the bowl games? Which ones were worth your while, which ones were instantly forgettable, and which bowls made the finish to the college football season great?

There’s one big one to go – and hopefully the College Football Playoff National Championship is the best of the bunch. Until that’s done …

Bowl Game Rankings 2022-2023

Bowl Rankings 2022-2023
Bowls of Sad | Instant Memory Dumped Bowls
Just Bowls | Very Good Bowls | Great Bowls
Classic Bowls No. 8 | No. 7 | No. 6 | No. 5 | No. 4
No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1 | Bowl Scoreboard

Bowl Rankings: Bowls of Sad

These bowls made the world a lesser place and were an affront to all humanity.

43. TransPerfect Music City Bowl

Iowa 21, Kentucky 0
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking29
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 12, 2020: NA, 2019: 26
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 3, 2020: NA, 2019: 22

This was supposed to be awful with every key offensive player opting out, and wow did it overdeliver on that.

No, it doesn’t quite beat out the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl – TCU over Cal 10-7 in overtime – for the honor of being the ugliest sporting event or athletic contest in the history of competition, but it made a big push.

Iowa went 0-for-11 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth downs, and it won because of one decent drive and two pick-sixes. Kentucky amassed 185 yards of total offense and was 2-of-18 on third downs.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

42. Cheez-It Citrus Bowl

LSU 63, Purdue 7
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking6
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 15, 2020: 19, 2019: 12
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 12, 2020: 14, 2019: 16

The final score was 63-7 only because LSU didn’t want it to be 84-7. Even so, it was the biggest blowout in the history of the bowls … until Georgia took that title against TCU.

Both LSU and Purdue had massive issues with opt-outs and transfers, but Purdue had it far worse. It showed from the start, LSU came out roaring and sharp, and this was brutal in a hurry. The only saving grace was the production from the Tigers – they played great – but Purdue couldn’t do anything until late in the third quarter when the game was all but done.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

41. SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl

Oregon State 30, Florida 3
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking20
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 31, 2020: NA, 2019: 15
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 17, 2020: NA, 2019: 36 

There were players out there wearing Florida Gator uniforms, but that was about it for this looking like a big-time SEC school against a solid Pac-12 program having a strong year.

How bad was it? The Gators kicked a field goal in the final minute down 30-0 just to find something positive – the program is on a record-setting non-shutout streak. But give credit to an Oregon State team that came to play on both sides of the ball to make this a snoozer from the start.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

40. Wasabi Fenway Bowl

Louisville 24, Cincinnati 7 
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking34
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 41, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 36, 2020: NA, 2019: NA

This was every bit as meh as expected. Both teams put up a fight with great effort, but Cincinnati just didn’t have enough to do anything offensively, the two teams combined for six turnovers, and there was little drama.

Scott Satterfield left one team and was waiting in the wings to coach the other, major parts weren’t present, there were about 19 fans in the stands outside of friends and family, and the novelty of the game being played in a baseball stadium wore off quickly.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

39. Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl

Fresno State 29, Washington State 6
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 16
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 18, 2020: NA, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 21, 2020: NA, 2019: NA

You know it’s an awful bowl when the guy it’s named after goes into the booth and can’t stop yapping about how boring it was. It didn’t help that this was going on about the same time as Indianapolis was in epic meltdown mode against the Vikings.

There was some redeeming value in Fresno State’s combination of QB Jake Haener and RB Jordan Mims going off against a Washington State defense missing a slew of key players, but there wasn’t much offense on the other side to make this competitive.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Bowl Rankings 2022-2023
Bowls of Sad | Instant Memory Dumped Bowls
Just Bowls | Very Good Bowls | Great Bowls
Classic Bowls No. 8 | No. 7 | No. 6 | No. 5 | No. 4
No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1 | Bowl Scoreboard

NEXT: Bowl Rankings: Instant Memory Dumped Bowls

Georgia 65, TCU 7 College Football Playoff National Championship What Happened, What It All Means

Georgia 65, TCU 7: College Football Playoff National Championship what happened, player of the game, and what it all means

Georgia beat TCU to win the College Football Playoff National Championship. What happened, who was the player of the game, and what does it all mean?


Georgia 65, TCU 7 College Football Playoff National Championship What Happened, Player of the Game, What It All Means

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College Football Playoff National Championship What Happened

Georgia came up with the biggest blowout in the history of college football bowl games. It started scoring right away and didn’t stop, scoring 13 or more in every quarter – it was complete and total domination.

Stetson Bennett started the fun with a 21-yard scoring run. TCU turned it over but held the Dawgs to a field goal, Max Duggan ran for a two-yard score after connecting on a big bomb to Derius Davis to make it 10-7, and that was it. The Bulldogs scored 55 unanswered points.

Bennett ran for two scores and threw four touchdown passes. He found Ladd McConkey for two scores, combined with Brock Bowers for a 35-yard score, and turned it into a disastrous blowout with a 22-yard strike to Adoni Mitchell for a 38-7 halftime lead.

TCU didn’t do anything right. Georgia had a ton to do with that, but it only finished with 188 yards, the ground game finished with just 36 yards, and it was over after the first quarter.

100 Best Bowl Players | Ranking How Good the Bowls Were
CFN Final Rankings 1-131

College Football Playoff National Championship Player of the Game

Stetson Bennett, QB Georgia
He completed 18-of-25 passes for 304 yards and four scores, and ran three times for 39 yards and two touchdowns.

College Football Playoff National Championship Fun Stats

– Sacks: Georgia 5 – TCU 0

– Total Yards: Georgia 589 – TCU 199

– First Downs: Georgia 32 – TCU 9

Georgia 65, TCU 7 Quarter-by-Quarter Reactions, Thoughts

College Football Playoff National Championship What It All Means

Georgia just did the 2021 season one better. Last year’s team was better, more talented, and … it lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship. This year’s defense wasn’t as good, but the team was perfect. It closed out with the biggest win in the history of bowl games, it totally outmatched TCU in every way, and it proved one key thing – talent matters.

Now everyone will be talking about doing it a third time in a row, but the SEC is still very, very, very good. Alabama will be better. Tennessee will be better. Florida will be better. The SEC will be nasty as always, and nothing is ever a given in that league. For now, though, Georgia just finished off a historic two-year run. It might not win the national title next year, but it’s going to be in the mix for a long, long time.

TCU had a magical season no matter what this final score was. It went from being picked seventh in the Big 12 to start the season to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Nah, it didn’t win the Big 12 title, but no one remembers that or cares because of the amazing performance against Michigan. However, the defense allowed 104 points over the last six quarters of the season, and it’s not because it did anything wrong other than go against elite teams with elite offensive parts. Again, the talent just wasn’t there compared to college football’s monsters.

But it got here. It got to play on the biggest stage, and Alabama didn’t. Ohio State didn’t. Clemson, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, and on and on and on didn’t.  No, 65-7 doesn’t really matter any more than 10-7 – it was still a loss. TCU got its shot.

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2022-2023 Bowl Schedule, Predictions

Coaches Poll Top 25 Prediction, Final 2022 College Football Rankings Projection

What will the Coaches Poll Top 25 college football poll be at the end of the 2022 season? We make our best guess prediction before the real poll is released.

What will the final college football Coaches Poll probably be after the 2022 season is over? It’s our predicted best guess on the college football rankings.


Coaches Poll Prediction: Final 2022 Rankings Projection

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This is NOT the actual 2022 final USA TODAY Coaches Poll – it’s our prediction and projection of what it might be.

Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Number in parentheses is where each team finished in the previous rankings

25 Texas Longhorns 8-5 (21)

24 South Carolina Gamecocks 8-5 (19)

23 Pitt Panthers 9-4 (NR)

22 Fresno State Bulldogs 10-4 (NR)

21 Troy Trojans 12-2 (24)

20 Mississippi State Bulldogs 9-4 (23)

19 UCLA Bruins 9-4 (18)

18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-3 (20)

17 Oregon State Beavers 10-3 (16)

16 LSU Tigers 10-4 (15)

Rankings all the bowl games: How good were they?

15 Oregon Ducks 10-3 (14)

14 Florida State Seminoles 10-3 (13)

13 Clemson Tigers 11-3 (11)

12 USC Trojans 11-3 (8)

11 Utah Utes 10-4 (10)

Scoreboard, results, thoughts on every bowl

10 Kansas State Wildcats 10-4 (9)

9 Tulane Green Wave 12-2 (17)

8 Washington Huskies 11-2 (12)

7 Penn State Nittany Lions 11-2 (7)

6 Tennessee Volunteers 11-2 (6)

AP Poll final prediction

5 Alabama Crimson Tide 11-2 (5)

4 TCU Horned Frogs 13-2 (4)

3 Ohio State Buckeyes 11-2 (3)

2 Michigan Wolverines 13-1 (2)

1 Georgia Bulldogs 15-0 (1)

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All-Time Coaches Poll Rankings
AP All-Time Rankings

Georgia vs TCU College Football Playoff National Championship Live Game Updates, Thoughts, Reactions

Georgia vs TCU College Football Playoff National Championship live thoughts, updates, and comments as the game goes on

Georgia vs TCU: Thoughts, live updates, reactions during the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship.


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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Georgia vs TCU: College Football Playoff National Championship

CFP National Championship Thoughts
Pregame | First Quarter
Second Quarter | Third & Fourth Quarter

Georgia vs TCU live updates, thoughts, reactions: Pregame

Dear lord … 24 years in a row I’ve been doing this. I wanted to do this from Los Angeles – never been in SoFi – but couldn’t make it out and had to bail at the last second. Considering the incessant whining coming from everyone I know who’s out there, I’m good.

Last year’s CFP National Championship: Georgia over Alabama

For the moment, all the rain and cold stalls my stumping for every major sporting event to be played in LA and San Diego – if it had the facilities for it – but Miami is still on.

Out of all the ESPN gimmicky gamecasts about to kick in, I’m looking for the one that shows this game being close.

Slightly off-topic … this is the game potentially built for all the different versions. Like the fantastic Manning thing on Monday Night Football, the alternative options are great when the game sucks. When the game is great, you want the announcers of record.

If you have Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit calling a College Football Playoff National Championship, I’m not sure why you need any of the 1,248 other options ESPN has to take away from its No. 1 team.

It’s not TCU’s fault. It has been a magnificent story, and it’s been a fantastic thing for college football just to get here. TCU earned it – there’s no such thing as a cheap run to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

With all of that said, this would have been a very, very, very different day if it was Michigan vs Georgia. There’s just NO national buzz for this – I’m doing my best. Everyone is far more focused on the NFL Playoffs.

CFP National Championship Preview
CFP National Championship Top Prop Bets

Excuse me, Stewardess, I speak Nick Saban. The GameDay panel is trying to pump this game up, and Saban is doing his best to be nice about it – he’s all but saying TCU has no shot of handling the Georgia lines.

I agree.

Saban is fantastic on the GameDay pregame show. Even the hardest-core of coaches are great when they get to tell war stories and talk football. Get most of them them out of their lane, though, and there’s a big, big problem.

TCU has made me look ridiculous all year – and I certainly don’t need any help doing that. I’m still arguing that Michigan will win the Fiesta Bowl. With that said, I do think TCU will score, it’ll get the passing game going, and it’ll make this interesting …

For a half.

This isn’t the Georgia defense of last year – TCU will throw on it. The scores will be there, but eventually the Georgia D will generate the third down stops needed

Social media will go nuts – TCU might even be up going into the locker room. And then hell and the Georgia talent will come to breakfast – or to the all bacon-inspired spread traditionally served in the media hospitality area after the national title game.

All I want is a classic battle. I want America to be talking about this all day tomorrow, I want the College Football Playoff National Championship to be great again – last year’s was fine, even if it wasn’t all that well played – and …

Georgia by more than 13.5. It might take a little while to get there, but the last ten minutes will be about the Dawgs.

Let’s have some fun.

CFP National Championship Thoughts
Pregame | First Quarter
Second Quarter | Third & Fourth Quarter

NEXT: Georgia vs TCU: College Football Playoff National Championship First Quarter

Georgia vs TCU 10 Best CFP National Championship Predictions, Prop Bets

Georgia vs TCU top prop bets for the College Football Playoff National Championship … if you dare to dabble.

What ten Georgia vs TCU College Football Playoff National Championship predictions and prop bets appear to be the best bets and picks?


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10 Best CFP National Championship Prop Bets 
No. 5 | No. 4 | No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1

Would you have been more fired up if this was Georgia or Ohio State vs Michigan? Probably, but TCU keeps on getting disrespected and it keeps on making everyone – hand raised – look silly.

Whether or not this is a classic, or if it’s a strange blowout one way or another, here are the ten best-looking prop bets, predictions, and picks for the Georgia vs TCU College Football Playoff National Championship.

One of the keys here is value. Many of the props and ideas might conflict with others, so consider this a ranking based on potential payoff to go along with the possibilities depending on which way you’re leaning.

The lines are based on BetMGM’s latest props.

CFN Georgia vs TCU Preview, Prediction
Experts Picks: National Championship

10. TCU Money Line, Both Teams Will Score 30 or More

LINE: +900

Let’s start with this caveat.

If you believe TCU really does have a shot at winning, then there’s a whole lot of value out there to be had.

Let’s put it this way. If TCU does do this, it’s probably not going to be a 7-3 defensive struggle. It beat Michigan 51-45 in the Fiesta. It got past West Virginia 41-31. The SMU win was 42-34, and the double-OT thriller over Oklahoma State was 43-40.

On the other side, Georgia scored 30 or more 11 times in 14 games. So again, if you’re feeling it for TCU, going with the shootout to go along with the W isn’t a bad play.

And then there’s the opposite of that …

9. Georgia Money Line, Both Teams Will NOT Score 10 or More

LINE: +1100

If you’re into the idea of Georgia winning this, it’s not crazy to think this might be a total wipeout.

The Bulldog defense went bye-bye against Ohio State, and it took half the day off in the SEC Championship win over LSU, but this is still the SEC’s best defense that allowed just 14.8 points per game.

Remember, this is the D that held Oregon to three points. And went on the road to beat South Carolina 48-7. And held Kentucky to six.

The problem is the 10 or more. Georgia totally wiped out Auburn and won 42-10, and it dominated Mississippi State in a 45-19 win. Texas held TCU to 17 points, and that’s the closest anyone came to keeping that O in check. However, again, if you like Georgia, would you be that shocked if it makes a 41-7 statement?

Yeah you would, but that’s why this is at +1100.

Now let’s swing back the other way …

8. Both Teams Will Score 10 or More Points in the 1st Quarter

LINE: (Yes) +1150

It’s +1150 for a reason, but it’s not unreasonable to ask both teams to go off to a hot start.

TCU is known for its comebacks – it put up 148 points in the fourth quarters of games – but it also dominated in the first quarters, too, outscoring teams 148-65. Georgia put up 122 points in the first quarters. The problem is the Dawg D – it allowed just 30 points all year in the first frame.

Again, we’re going for outside-the-box value here. If the two teams start trading haymakers, a 10-10 first quarter might seem like Christmas is still here.

And now, to keep your head on a swivel and make you a tad dizzy before we settle in …

7. Both Team Will Score 10 or More

LINE: (No) +950

To keep hammering this home, I’m looking to value to potentially help any already held beliefs.

I don’t think the Georgia defense is going to come out and shut down the TCU offense to a dead stop, but if you think this is going to be a coronation and total wipeout, +950 is a great idea.

The smarter one is to go with the +180 on NO, both teams won’t hit 20. 38-17 is far more reasonable if you’re not trying to be greedy.

Enough with the wacky fliers. Let’s go with six more realistic options, starting with …

How good was your bowl? Ranking all the bowl games

6. TCU Wins by 1-to-6 Points

LINE+750

TCU has made me look ridiculous all season long, so this would hardly be my first time. I think Georgia rolls in this – I’ll get into all that at the end.

But if TCU pulls this off – and as we’ve learned, disrespect the Horned Frogs at your own peril – I highly-doubt it’ll be a some 41-20 whacking. 35-31? Yeah, that’s the most likely spread.

So to repeat this line, if you like TCU to win, this is the best combination of value and likelihood. +750 on a walk-off field goal? That would be so 2022 TCU.

10 Best CFP National Championship Prop Bets 
No. 5 | No. 4 | No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1

NEXT: Georgia vs TCU: Top 5 CFP National Championship Predictions, Best Prop Bets

College Football Playoff National Championship: Why You Should Cheer For TCU

College Football Playoff National Championship – why to cheer for TCU

The College Football Playoff National Championship is here between Georgia and TCU. Here’s why you should cheer for the TCU Horned Frogs to win.


College Football Playoff National Championship: Why You Should Cheer For TCU

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Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

The Horned Frog hand gesture claw thing sort of freaks me out.

We’re overdue for wacky.

There’s no such thing as a cheap College Football Playoff national champion.

Back when it was all about the final polls – and after around 1970, what you did in the bowls – teams had the ability to win a national title with one big win and a whole lot of mediocre ones. Great records equaled perceived greatness.

There might be a whole slew of questionable national titles being claimed in a sport whose championships were based on opinions and judging for about 140 years – and still is, in some ways – but you can’t luck your way into a title now in the CFP era.

Maybe you can put up the right record and catch a few breaks to get by the bouncer to be a part of the four, but once you’re in, you still need to win two games against the best of the best teams. And this is football – you can’t get hot from three for a few games and pull off some sort of a miracle.

Georgia vs TCU CFP National Championship Preview, Prediction

It’s the College Football Playoff National Championship. This is a space reserved for the elite superpowers to battle it out at a whole other level of talent and greatness.

This is where Nick Saban became the greatest college football head coach of all-time. This is where Joe Burrow cemented his legacy with one of the greatest seasons on one of the greatest teams ever. This is Dabo, and Urban, and Deshaun, and Trevor, and Tua to DeVonta, and it’s …

Max Duggan.

It’s head coach Sonny Dykes, who had one ten-win season in his first 12 years as a head coach. He was 1-3 in bowls over his career – taking Cal to an Armed Forces Bowl win over Air Force in 2015 was one of his biggest accomplishments.

Going into this campaign, Duggan was the backup quarterback. Now the Heisman finalist has a shot at winning the national title.

College Football Playoff National Championship: Why To Cheer For Georgia

Before this season, Dykes had a career record of 73-63. Now the Coach of the Year candidate has a shot at winning the national title.

This is hardly a Little Engine That Could program – it’s had a whole lot of success over the last 25 years – but it’s not Georgia when it comes to talent level, school size, and all the big things that come with that.

It’s a Big 12 school – winning this wouldn’t be worthy of getting all schmaltzy with a “Cinderella story” narration – but it would provide a whole lot of hope for everyone else.

TCU proved it really is possible to find the right formula to keep winning, come through in the clutch time and again, and capitalize on the breaks when they come.

Win, and TCU will prove to all the other Power Five programs that might not be a Georgia, or an Alabama, or a Clemson that it really is possible to crack through the ceiling and not just get into the College Football Playoff, but to win the whole thing.

Win, and it would be a key moment to break through the status quo and give every fan base just a little bit of hope, especially with an expanded College Football Playoff coming in a few years.

Win, and it would cap off one of the most exciting and shocking seasons in college football history.

Win, and it would be the first time a Big 12 school won the College Football Playoff.

Win, and TCU football will disrupt the entire system, in a good way.

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Georgia vs TCU College Football Playoff National Championship Prediction Game Preview

Georgia vs TCU game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 9, 2023

Georgia vs TCU prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. College Football Playoff National Championship, Monday, January 9, 2023


Georgia vs TCU College Football Playoff National Championship Prediction Game Preview

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Georgia vs TCU How To Watch

Date: Monday, January 9, 2023
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Georgia (14-0), TCU (13-1)
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Georgia vs TCU College Football Playoff National Championship 5 Things To Know

Why Georgia & TCU will win
CFP  National Championship Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

How do you possibly top the College Football Playoff semifinals? TCU’s win over Michigan was as wild and crazy as any massive college football game ever, only to be topped by one of the greatest games in the history of the game with Georgia’s gut-check comeback win over Ohio State.

And now TCU is here. In the College Football Playoff National Championship with a shot that Michigan has never had. Oklahoma hasn’t been in this position. Notre Dame hasn’t, either.

Only six schools – Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, and Oregon – have played for a CFP national title, and now TCU is added to the list as it tries to become the second No. 3 seed to beat a No. 1. Georgia did that last year with its win over Alabama.

TCU knows how to do bowl games. With the shocker over the Wolverines, it’s now 5-1 in its last six post-season games, 7-2 in the last nine, and 12-3 in the last 15 going back to 2001.

How amazing is the program in bowls? Those three losses since getting rocked by Texas A&M in the 2001 Galleryfurniture.com were all by seven points or fewer. The team was great under Gary Patterson, and now Sonny Dykes showed he could take things one step further.

1938 was the school’s lone universally acknowledged national championship. The 2022 season’s version has the starting 22 with the speed, playmakers, and ability to pull this off. It was the No. 1 offensive team in the Big 12, it doesn’t make a slew of big mistakes, and no one this season does a better job of figuring out how to land the plane in the final moments of a tight situation.

CFN Final 2022 Rankings 1-131

Counting College Football Playoff games as bowls, Georgia has been next-level amazing in these things.

Under former head coach Mark Richt, Georgia lost the Gator to Nebraska 24-19 to end the 2013 season, and dropped the 2011 season’s Outback in overtime against Michigan State. When was the last time the program lost a bowl/playoff game by more than a touchdown?

Pitt closed out the 1976 season with a 27-3 win over the late Vince Dooley’s Dawgs in the Sugar.

Since then, Georgia has gone 27-13-2 with all 13 losses by seven points or fewer. Under Kirby Smart, it has won five straight, and the program has gone 7-2 with one defeat coming on Tua-to-DeVonta in overtime of the 2017 season’s CFP national title, and the year after in the Sugar Bowl to Texas.

CFN Experts Picks Georgia vs TCU, NDSU vs SDSU

Yeah, the 2021 Georgia Bulldogs broke through. It was the first national championship since 1980, but to be extremely nitpicky … it wasn’t a perfect season. Alabama got the 2021 SEC Championship t-shirt and confetti shower.

The 2022 version isn’t as good as last year’s. The defense isn’t as strong, but it’s got a whole bunch of NFL talent. The offense is a bit steadier than it was, QB Stetson Bennett has been way smoother and more confident in his play, and overall, the attack is more productive.

And this year’s team has an SEC Championship and a perfect record so far. Win, and Georgia will be the first back-to-back champion in the College Football Playoff era. Win, and it’ll be the first back-to-back national champion since 2011 and 2012 Alabama.

There’s no way we’ll be spoiled enough to get a national title game as good as the two College Football Playoff semifinals. It’s just not possible – at least historically.

The first four of these set too high a bar. Ohio State ended up blowing out Oregon 42-20 at the end of the 2014 season, but it wasn’t that bad a game. Alabama and Clemson combined for two all-time classics, and the Bama overtime win over Georgia to end the 2017 season was special.

Last year’s 33-18 Georgia win over Alabama was way tighter and more dramatic than the final score would indicate, but it was also the fourth straight College Football Playoff National Championship decided by 15 points or more.

No pressure, TCU and Georgia. Just put on a terrific show.

Why Georgia & TCU will win
CFP  National Championship Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: Why Georgia & TCU Will Win The College Football Playoff National Championship

College Football Playoff National Championship: Why You Should Cheer For Georgia

College Football Playoff National Championship – why to cheer for Georgia

The College Football Playoff National Championship is here between Georgia and TCU. Here’s why you should cheer for the Georgia Bulldogs to win.


College Football Playoff National Championship: Why You Should Cheer For Georgia

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Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

Between everyone I know who lives for Michigan and Ohio State football, I haven’t had time to deal with the freak-out factor from all my Georgia friends worrying about a gag.

Georgia is very good at college football, and it’s okay

When did we stop liking amazing sports teams?

I get it. There’s a knee-jerk reaction against rooting for anything to do with the SEC.

From the “It Just Means More” slogan – loose Latin translation: we don’t have enough meaningful pro sports in our part of the country – to all the success over the years, to dealing with the blowhards when daring to point out even the slightest flaw, it’s easy to want anyone else to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.

But there’s one key thing missing when it comes to the rise of the Georgia Bulldogs under Kirby Smart: credit.

It wasn’t a given that Georgia would be this good. It wasn’t a given that it would finally get over the hump and win the national title last year, and it certainly wasn’t a given that it would get to LA this season, much less be the prohibitive favorite after losing an epic class of players to the NFL.

And it sure as shoot wasn’t a given when Ohio State had it against the ropes for a full 60 minutes of an epic Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Yes, of course Georgia is seen as the big, bad, SEC program after years of great recruiting and building up the talent level, but Smart gets credit for that. That’s it. That’s the game. Bring in great talent, coach it all up, and bring in more. That’s how it works.

You think it’s easy to for all big-time programs to be amazing? How many Texas A&M SEC Championship t-shirts do you own?

Georgia vs TCU CFP National Championship Preview, Prediction

Texas was one USC first down away from still being the program that’s done the least with the most.

Tennessee and Florida State are just getting back up to speed. Florida had a losing season. USC and Penn State have yet to be in the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma, Michigan and Notre Dame have yet to win a game in this thing. And then there’s Nebraska – it’s hard to get to the College Football Playoff when you can’t get bowl eligible.

Before pulling it off last year, Georgia hadn’t won a national championship since 1980 – its fan base hasn’t had time yet to become insufferable. But Smart did it. He built off all the close-but-not-quite success of the Mark Richt era and took it up a few notches with loading recruiting classes, lots of wins, and a whole bunch of tough calls, especially at quarterback.

Georgia did the work, it got the job done, and now it’s being portrayed as Goliath in this College Football Playoff National Championship narrative.

First, seriously, Goliath. It’s a rock – D up or duck. Second, and I can’t express this point forcefully enough …

TCU IS A POWER FIVE PROGRAM.

I can’t tell you how many times over the last few weeks I’ve had to correct those who accuse me of a being a Power Five snob – which I totally am – because I picked Michigan to whack TCU and now think Georgia is going to roll.

Picking USC to rip through Tulane – that’s full-on snobbery. TCU? No, it’s not as big as Georgia. No, it doesn’t have all the same advantages. Yes, it’s been part of the Big 12 since 2012.

TCU went 13-0 and won the Rose Bowl in one of its last years in the Mountain West. It got hosed harder than any team in the nine-year history of the College Football Playoff after finishing 3rd in the 2014 penultimate rankings and getting bounced out in the final version.

The program has won five of its last six bowl appearances, came up with ten 11-win seasons since 2005, has finished ninth or better in six AP polls since 2008, and …

Yeah, it’s a great story after going 23-24 in the four years before Sonny Dykes took over, and yeah, it’s doing with a bunch of players who’d have a hard time cracking the Georgia two-deep. But it’s here, making it the most accomplished college football program in Texas during the College Football Playoff era.

College Football Playoff National Championship: Why To Cheer For TCU

Georgia is also here as it tries to become the first back-to-back College Football Playoff National Champion.

It’s okay to cheer for that. It’s okay to cheer for a team that lost most of its key starters to the NFL last season. It’s okay to cheer for Georgia to win this.

It’s okay to cheer for greatness.

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