Game 15: vs. Georgia Bulldogs

JANUARY 9 | SOFI STADIUM (71,000) | INGLEWOOD, CA| 6:30 PM CT

TV: ESPN, SlingTV
Streaming: Sling TV or WatchESPN.com // ESPN App
Talent: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Molly McGrath
Radio: WBAP 820 AM, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM 81
Talent: Brian Estridge, John Denton, Landry Burdine
Spanish Radio: Zona MX 99.1 FM
Talent: Miguel Cruz, Elvis Gallegos
DraftKings Odds: Spread: Georgia -12; O/U: 63; Moneyline: TCU +350, Georgia -435

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GAME NOTES

ABOUT THE GAME

• TCU will make its first College Football Playoff National Championship appearance when it faces Georgia on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
• The Horned Frogs are playing in the Los Angeles area for the first time since the 2011 Rose Bowl, when they defeated Wisconsin 21-19 to cap a 13-0 season and finish with a No. 2 national ranking.
• TCU is looking to win its third national title and first since 1938. The 1938 team was led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Davey O’Brien. TCU quarterback Max Duggan was the 2022 Heisman runner-up while also becoming the first Horned Frog to win the Davey O’Brien Award.
• TCU is looking to become just the fifth team, and first since Michigan State in 1962, to win a national championship after having a losing record the previous season.
• The Horned Frogs are the third team since 1998 to play in a national title game after being unranked in the Preseason Associated Press poll.
• TCU is the first Big 12 team to win a CFP game. The Horned Frogs are also the first Big 12 member to play for a national championship since Texas in 2009.
• TCU has tied a program record with its 13 wins, equaling the 2010 team.
• A TCU victory would make Sonny Dykes just the second college football head coach in history, joining George Washington Woodruff for Penn in 1892, to win 14 games in his first season. 4Dykes is just the eighth head coach with a CFP victory.
• TCU’s six wins over ranked opponents ties Tennessee for the national lead.
• TCU will play outside the state of Texas for just the fifth time this season and second since Oct. 29 at West Virginia

TALKING HORNED FROGS

• TCU was the first Big 12 team to be 12-0 since Texas in 2009. The Horned Frogs were also the first Big 12 member to go 9-0 in conference play since Oklahoma in 2016.
• TCU is the first school from the state of Texas to make the College Football Playoff and just the second team (Michigan, 2021) to be in the CFP after starting the season unranked.
• Five of TCU’s wins were against teams it lost to by at least two scores last season, including four by at least three scores. 4TCU is the first team since 1975 to win seven straight games by 10 points or less.
• Sonny Dykes became the first head football coach in TCU and Big 12 history to start 12-0 in his first season. He’s just the fourth head coach nationally since 1996 to accomplish the feat.
• The Horned Frogs are just the third team since 1960 (Stanford, 2012; Iowa, 1960) to win four consecutive games over ranked opponents in a calendar month.
• TCU’s four consecutive games with a win over a ranked opponent ties for first nationally since 1996.
• TCU has eight more wins than it had all of last season. Only Tulane (+10) has a bigger improvement.

SERIES NOTES

• TCU and Georgia are meeting for just the fifth time and first since the 2016 Liberty Bowl, when the Bulldogs won 31-23 in Head Coach Kirby Smart’s first season.
• Georgia holds a 4-0 series lead. Georgia won both games (1980, 1988) in Athens as well as taking a 40-26 victory in the 1942 Orange Bowl.

HOMECOMING

• TCU running back Emari Demercado, who has his master’s degree, is an Inglewood, Calif., native who grew up walking distance from SoFi Stadium.
• Demercado rushed for a career-high 150 yards in the CFP Semifinal win over Michigan.

FAMILIAR FACE

• TCU defensive lineman Tymon Mitchell played his first three seasons at Georgia, including five games on last year’s national championship team.
• Mitchell is fourth on TCU this season with 3.0 sacks. He has played in all 14 games with 19 tackles.

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DEPTH CHARTS:

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ALTERNATE FEEDS:

While you can always watch the traditional broadcast on ESPN, the Worldwide Leader has many options for your viewing pleasure:

ESPN

• Marching Band Pregame Performances: WatchESPN//ESPN App
• Marching Band Halftime Performances: WatchESPN//ESPN App
• Georgia Radio Broadcast: SEC Network
• TCU Radio Broadcast: WatchESPN//ESPN App
• Spanish Language: ESPN Deportes
• Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show: ESPN2 Entertaining, free-flowing commentary of the CFP Semifinals, anchored by Pat McAfee
• Command Center: ESPNU A multi-angle presentation, which includes up to four different vantage points at any one time, with real-time player and team statistics supplementing the game action.
• SkyCast: ESPN News The popular view from above the action and behind the offense on most plays.
• All-22: WatchESPN//ESPN App Watch the game the same way players and coaches study film, with a vantage point high above the field of play. The angle allows for the 22 players on the field to be seen at all times, providing the ability to distinguish how plays develop while listening to the ESPN Radio call.

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WATCH PARTIES

If you can’t make it out to California to take in the game live, but still want the shared experience of taking in the game with a crowd, there are plenty of watch party options to enjoy. Certainly most bars and restaurants will have the game on all screens, but these are the notable events in Fort Worth and beyond:

Schollmaier Arena:

Heim Barbecue (Ft. Worth Magnolia location):

Crockett Row:

Sundance Square:

Panther Island Brewing:

Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theatre:

Cinemark Theatres: