The defending champion Dawgs opened as 13.5-point favourites to win with a total of 62.5 on the NCAAF odds.

CFP National Championship Betting Analysis

Top-ranked Georgia was fully expected to be back in the title game as it was favoured to become the first repeat national champion in the College Football Playoff era pretty much all season. The last team to win back-to-back national titles was Alabama in 2011-2012. TCU was only picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 this season and is the only school unranked entering the campaign to reach the title game (was second to reach the CFP overall). First-year coach Sonny Dykes already deserves a raise.

Georgia is 4-0 all-time against TCU, but the schools haven’t played since 2016. The Dawgs haven’t played a Big 12 school this season. They last did on New Year’s Day 2020, beating Baylor 26-14 in the Sugar Bowl. The Horned Frogs last played an SEC in 2017 (Arkansas).

Texas Christian Horned Frogs

TCU closed as a 9-point underdog against No. 2 Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal but shocked the Wolverines 51-45 in a truly wild game. The 96 combined points were second-most in a College Football Playoff matchup. There were 44 points scored in the third quarter alone, making it the highest-scoring quarter in CFP history. TCU led by as many as 19 (41-22) late in the third quarter but nearly coughed it all up. Entering the game, the Michigan defence had been on the field for just 15 total plays this season when trailing by at least seven points, the fewest in the FBS. Frogs QB Max Duggan, the Heisman runner-up, threw for 225 yards and two scores with two picks and also rushed for two TDs. This will be his final NCAA game. Emari Demercado rushed for 150 yards and a TD, and Quentin Johnson, one of the nation’s top wideouts and potentially the first receiver taken in the 2023 NFL Draft, caught six passes for 163 yards and a TD. TCU is 4-0 ATS in its past four non-conference games.

Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia has been favoured in every game this season and by double digits all but twice. The Dawgs closed at -5 against No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl, and one of the nation’s top defences was shredded for 41 points and 467 yards but escaped with a one-point victory when OSU kicker Noah Ruggles missed a 50-yard field goal try wide left with three seconds remaining. Ohio State led 21-7 in the first half and 38-24 in the fourth quarter. Teams leading by 14 or more points at any point of the fourth quarter had been 19-0 in College Football Playoff games. Georgia QB and Heisman finalist Stetson Bennett threw for 398 yards and three scores, including the go-ahead 10-yard TD with 54 seconds remaining. This will be his final NCAA game. UGA has matched 2015-16 Alabama for the most wins over a two-season span in SEC history with 28. Both CFP semifinal games were decided by single digits. In the first eight years of the playoff, there were three such semifinal games. Georgia is 0-4 ATS in its past four non-conference games.

College Football Prediction: Who Will Win TCU vs. Georgia?