Tale of the Tape: Georgia vs. TCU

Tale of the Tape: Georgia vs. TCU

Georgia and Texas Christian play for the college football national championship Monday. It’s a meeting of two schools and football programs that don’t have much in common, other than excellent teams this season. In the old-school format of a boxing tale of the tape, Sports Illustrated put together a 50-item chart that compares and contrasts the two College Football Playoff finalists.

College Football Playoff Title Preview

TCU’s Max Duggan and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett face off in a battle of Heisman Trophy finalists.

Georgia TCU

Record

14–0

13–1

Points Per Game

39.4

41.1

Points Allowed

14.8

26.4

Preseason Ranking

No. 3

Unranked

All-Time Record

867-428-54 

679-567-57

Winning Percentage

.663 

.543

Head-to-Head Record

4–0

0–4

Claimed National Titles

Three

One

Last Title

2021

1938

Heisman Trophies

Two (1942, ’82) 

One (‘38)

2022 Heisman Finalist

Stetson Bennett

Max Duggan

Stadium Capacity

92,746 

45,000

Conference Affiliation

SEC

Big 12

Conferences in Last 30 Years

One

Six* (*Includes reneged commitment to Big East)

Head Coach 

Kirby Smart, son of H.S. coach

Sonny Dykes, son of college coach

Coach’s Mentor

Nick Saban

Mike Leach

Coach’s Forte

Defense

Offense

Historic Nemesis

Alabama

Texas

League Rival

Auburn

Baylor

Non-League Rival

Georgia Tech

SMU

Program Patriarch

Wally Butts

Dutch Meyer

Best Coach 

Vince Dooley 

Gary Patterson

Heyday 

Now

1930s

Low Ebb 

1950s 

Most of the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s

Stadium Namesake

Steadman V. Sanford

Amon G. Carter

Stadium Nickname 

Between The Hedges

Hell’s Half Acre

Rallying Cry 

Hunker down

Fight ‘em until Hell freezes over, then fight ‘em on the ice

One-Name RB Hero

Herschel

LaDainian

Famed Player Nicknames

Champ and Boss

Slingin’ Sammy and Red Rifle

Beloved Short QB

Stetson Bennett

Davey O’Brien

Don’t Mention

Second-and-26

2014 CFP selection committee

Do Mention

Kelee RIngo pick-six

Tank Carder batted pass

Favorite Field Goal

Noah Ruggles’ miss

“Bazooka Kick” vs. Baylor

Weird Fan Cheer

Barking.

Riff, Ram, Bah, Zoo
Lickety, Lickety, Zoo, Zoo
Who, Wah, Wah, Who
Give ‘em Hell, TCU

Iconic Pants

Silver britches

Gary Patterson hiking up his khakis

Undergrad Enrollment

30,166

10,523

U.S. News National Rank

49th 

89th

Mascot 

Live bulldog

Human dressed as a horned frog

Mascot Excretion

Slobbers at the mouth

Shoots blood from the eyes

Spellbinding Leader 

Kirby Smart

Hypnotoad

Wisecracking Wordsmith

Lewis Grizzard 

Dan Jenkins

Actor

Kim Basinger 

Rev. Timothy Lovejoy
(Animated character on “The Simpsons”
went to TCU, per show script)

Famous Homeboys

REM

The Fort Worth Five outlaw gang
(Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
among them)

News Anchor Alum

Deborah Norville

Bob Schieffer

Location

Athens
(population 127,000)

Fort Worth
(population 936,000)

Town Built On

Cotton

Cows

Town Famous for

Live music 

Live rodeo

Town Overshadowed by

Atlanta 

Dallas

Music Venue 

40-Watt Club 

Ridgelea Theater

Campus Landmark 

The Arch 

Frog Fountain

Jimm Sallivan