INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores in the first half as No. 1 Georgia demolished No. 3 TCU 65-7 Monday night to become the first team to win consecutive College Football Playoff national championships.
The Bulldogs (15-0) became the first repeat champs since Alabama went back-to-back a decade ago and left no doubt that they have replaced the Crimson Tide as the new bullies on the block.
TCU (13-2), the first Cinderella team of the playoff era, never had a chance against the Georgia juggernaut. Unlike Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, the Bulldogs would not succumb to the Hypnotoads’ spell.
Georgia turned in one of the all-time beatdowns in a game that decided a national title, reminiscent of Nebraska running over Florida by 38 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, USC’s 36-point rout of Oklahoma in the 2005 Orange Bowl and Alabama’s 28-point BCS championship blowout over Notre Dame in 2013.
But this was worse.
Too much talent. Too well-coached. Two straight titles for coach Kirby Smart’s ’Dawgs.
No team has ever scored more points in a national championship game, dating to the beginning of the BCS in 1998.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25
