The 2022-23 College Football season is one that will not be forgotten. The season included an underdog making a National Championship, a dynasty being established, and the loss of a legend.
While this season was one to remember on the field, it was also important off the field. Mississippi State Head Coach Mike Leach died on December 12th. Leach was a pioneer for College Football and his ideas contributed to how the game is played today with the heavy air game and spread offense. Mississippi State decided to finish their season and won the ReliaQuest Bowl over Illinois 19-10.
The first couple weeks of the regular season proved how unique college football can be. Fifth ranked Notre Dame got off to a rocky start, losing their first game to Ohio State followed by a surprising loss to Marshall. However, Notre Dame was not the only team to be on the bad side of a surprising upset. Texas A&M (who was ranked sixth in the AP Preseason Poll) lost its second game of the season to Appalachian State University. The win by App State brought the College Gameday crew to Boone for the first time.
As the season progressed, the powerhouse teams of the 2022 season became apparent. Georgia was dominating, getting off to a 6-0 start. The Bulldogs took the number 1 spot after Week 2 and maintained this position for the rest of the season. Tennessee started the year unranked but flew up the AP Poll getting off to a 6-0 start. The October 15th matchup between #3 Alabama and #6 Tennessee was one of the most anticipated games of the entire season. According to 247 Sports, the game drew an astonishing 11.557 million viewers. Tennessee won the matchup, sending shockwaves through the college football scene with the Crimson Tide losing to the Volunteers. While all this drama was going on in the SEC, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, and TCU all put together sneakily good seasons by staying undefeated through mid October. Ohio State, Michigan, and TCU kept this pace to finish the regular season undefeated, but Clemson suffered two losses late in the season to crush the Tigers’ playoff hopes.
The Conference Championship games proved to have major value when it came to playoff selection. Georgia won the SEC Championship in dominating fashion over LSU. The Big 10 Championship game was looked at as a “play-in game” by most to see which team could make the College Football Playoff. Michigan won the fight to lock in its spot in the College Football Playoff. With 4th ranked TCU falling in a close game against Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship, and University of Southern California falling to Utah in the PAC-12 Championship, no one knew who would make the college football playoff going into selection week.
With Conference Championships over, the College Football Playoff Committee made its decision. #2 Michigan would play #3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, and #1 Georgia was set to face off against #4 Ohio State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. TCU and Michigan put together one of the best games of the year, with TCU hoisting the $1.4 Million dollar Fiesta Bowl trophy, winning 51-45. The other semifinal matchup between Georgia and Ohio State ended right at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles missed a field-goal kick that would have sent the Buckeyes to the National Championship. The new year started off well for the Bulldogs, winning 42-41 in Atlanta. Georgia ended their season the way they started it with a 65-7 win over TCU. This was the second straight National Championship win for Coach Kirby Smart and Georgia, with the program firmly planting their foot in the door as the next dynasty in college football.