5 things to know about No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 TCU

“The No. 1 quality you want in a football team is heart and character, and both these teams embody those things,” Smart said. “They’ve had a ton of comebacks and really tight ballgames. Our team also has come back and fought in the fourth quarter. I think when you start looking at the character and identity of these two teams, they mirror each other.”

Here are five things to know as the team’s prepare for Monday’s championship game:

Heisman Showdown, Part II

For the second consecutive playoff game, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett will be playing opposite a fellow Heisman Trophy finalist. TCU’s Max Duggan finished second in voting for college football’s most prestigious individual award and hung out with Bennett in New York the weekend of the presentation ceremony, Dec. 9-11. Against Ohio State, Bennett went head-to-head against C.J. Stroud, who finished third.

Bennett finished fourth. Winner Caleb Williams of USC lost his bowl game against Tulane.

“(Duggan) is an, awesome, A-plus dude,” Bennett said. “He works hard, and he’s the heart and soul of that team. He’s a leader. There’s something to be said about his story and my story; we’re both here at the end (of the season).”

Like Bennett, Duggan was late in earning appreciation from his own team. Duggan did not begin the season as TCU’s starter. He lost the preseason competition to redshirt freshman Chandler Morris and became the Frogs’ quarterback only after Morris sustained a sprained knee against Colorado in the season opener.

Duggan has been a one-man wrecking crew since. He led the Big 12 in passing yards (3,546) and passing TDs (32) and loves to run the ball. He will enter Monday’s game with 461 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He has a habit of putting the team on his back in the biggest moments.

“He’s just kind of like a cockroach; you can’t kill him,” Morris told ESPN. “That’s how I see Max. He’s going to get right back up, and he’s going to keep going.”

Bennett has done pretty well in big games, too. After outdueling Stroud (368, 4 TDs) with 398 yards passing, three touchdowns and one rushing score in the semifinals, Georgia now has defeated Ohio State, Michigan and Alabama in the playoff with Bennett as quarterback.

Defensive redemption

Georgia’s defense will be looking to redeem itself after uncharacteristic performances in its past two outings. After entering the postseason as the nation’s leader in scoring defense, the Bulldogs’ have given up 71 points in the past two games, against LSU and Ohio State.

Georgia has been particularly vulnerable to dynamic receivers. TCU has one in Quentin Johnston. The 6-foot-4, 193-pound junior will be the third thousand-yard wideout the Bulldogs have faced in the past two outings. He has caught 59 passes for 1,066 yards and six touchdowns and averages 17.1 yards per catch. Against Michigan, Johnston had six catches for 163 yards and a 76-yard touchdown.

Georgia faced a pair of thousand-yard receivers Saturday in Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison and Emeka Egbuka. Both went over 100 yards against the Bulldogs. Harrison had 106 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions before he was knocked out of the game early in the second half. Egbuka gained 112 yards on eight catches and also scored on a 10-yard reception.

“We didn’t play our best game,” defensive back Javon Bullard said. “But there’s a whole lot we can fix. Communication and things like that, just the basic things like that, knowing your leverage, talking. I know we’ve got to talk better throughout the secondary.”

About that O-line

With Michigan and its heralded offensive line eliminated from the playoff – again – Georgia’s unit now stands as the best in college football – again. Never mind that it was the Wolverines’ O-line that was presented the Joe Moore Trophy last month as the nation’s best offensive line for second year in a row.

The Bulldogs, who finished second for that award this season, can solidify their claim of being the best if they do a better job against TCU than did Michigan. But like the Wolverines, they will be put to test against the Horned Frogs’ unorthodox defense under coordinator Joe Gillespie.

TCU operates out of a 3-3-5 alignment similar to what Georgia saw against Mississippi State earlier this season. The Bulldogs won that game 45-19, but Smart will argue over subtle differences in what the Frogs do. But the concept is the same: Three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs line up and alternately fill run gaps and bring pressure from a variety of positions.

The unit is led by defensive tackle/end Dylan Horton, a converted safety from New Mexico who leads the team in sacks with 10.5. While uncanny quickness is his primary trait, the 6-4, 275-pound senior is strong enough to hold up at the point of attack against the run. Opposite of him is a tackle with similar athletic ability in Navy transfer Johnny Hodges, the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

But Georgia has a few things going for it, too. First, left tackle Broderick Jones can match any opposing defender in athletic ability. A 6-4, 310-pound sophomore, Jones has not allowed a sack all season while taking 439 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Accordingly, Jones is projecting as a first-round NFL draft pick.

Also, the 3-3-5 is considered vulnerable to teams with athletic versatility at the tight position and that throw well out of the backfield. Georgia checks both boxes.

Receiver rotation

The Bulldogs wondered all season what its receiving rotation might look like with Adonai Mitchell back in it. They found out against Ohio State, and it was a good thing.

The split end known to teammates and fans as “A.D.,” scored the winning touchdown for the Bulldogs – again. Mitchell’s 10-yard reception from Bennett on an out-route in the end zone tied the score at 41-41 with 54 seconds remaining. The point-after kick ultimately was the difference in the 42-41 victory that punched Georgia’s ticket to the championship game.

Bennett and Mitchell also hooked up for the game-deciding score in the Bulldogs’ 33-18 win over Alabama in last season’s national championship game. That one came on a tightly defended, 40-yard pass early in the fourth quarter.

Including Georgia’s Orange Bowl victory over Michigan in 2021, Mitchell now has a TD reception in all three playoff appearances the past two seasons. It’s no wonder, then, that Bennett talked about the importance of getting back in sync with Mitchell after the SEC Championship game last month.

“Me and (No.) 5 have to get back to being us,” Bennett said in the lead-up to the Peach Bowl.

Mitchell barely played at all during the regular season. He suffered a high-ankle sprain in the second game of the season against Samford, aggravated the injury in Game 6 against Auburn, then made token single-snap appearances in four other games.

Finally, Mitchell played 15 snaps against LSU on Dec. 3. He slipped and fell on his only target in the game, but successfully executed a 2-point conversion pass to Darnell Washington on a reverse in the second half.

Against Ohio State, Mitchell was back to being his old self. He caught three passes for 43 yards and a touchdown on a total of seven targets. He now has seven receptions for 108 yards and two TDs in the two games in which he has been a full participant this season.

“It was a crazy game, but we fought,” Mitchell told reporters after the Peach Bowl victory. “We stayed at it, nobody quit, that’s how it’s supposed to be. We just showed our DNA traits, to be honest. We talk about them every year – ‘connection, toughness, resiliency, composure.’ We showed all four of them today, and that’s what got us through.”

Red Cross report

With Mitchell close to being fully healthy again, the question now is who else will be able to go for the Bulldogs. Slotback Ladd McConkey played in the Peach Bowl, but clearly was not close to 100%. Tight end Darnell Washington and outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss each were lost to leg injuries in the first half Saturday. And starting right tackle Warren McClendon did not play four weeks after going down in the SEC Championship game with an MCL sprain.

McConkey (knee tendinitis) will play Monday but likely won’t return punts. Senior Kearis Jackson handled those duties against Ohio State and is expected to do so again.

Washington left the Peach Bowl on crutches and in a walking boot after having his foot stepped on against the Buckeyes. He has been spotted around campus without either this week and is expected to play.

Chambliss, Georgia’s backup at its “Jack” outside linebacker position, was determined to have a hyperextended knee and will be available to play Monday.

That leaves the junior McClendon as the biggest question mark. He warmed up and likely could have played in the Peach Bowl, but didn’t because backup Amarius Mims did such a good job as his replacement. Mims is expected to start again.