BROCK BOWERS

Georgia won its long-awaited national championship the way it dominated during an undefeated regular season — by relying on its defense.

Stetson Bennett delivered the biggest throws of his storybook career and Georgia’s defense sealed the sweetest victory in program history, vanquishing rival Alabama 33-18 to win the College Football Playoff title game.

Stetson Bennett threw three touchdown passes, Nakobe Dean led an angry Georgia defense and the third-ranked Bulldogs returned to their dominant ways, beating No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff championship.

The lopsided game saw the Bulldogs stretch Michigan horizontally, racking up 515 total yards, 325 of them through the air, and expose an inexperienced linebacking unit and undersized secondary. It was the first time since 2010 that Michigan allowed an opponent to score on its first four possessions. Offensively, the Wolverines’ game plan fell by the wayside after falling behind early. For the first time all season involving Michigan, there was no debate as to which team on the field was the better one. The Wolverines, meanwhile, will begin reflecting on an extraordinary season, one marked by progress, triumph and, tonight, crushing defeat.

In a breakthrough season for coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan became the first team to start a season unranked and reach the playoff.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL, USA -- Doug Lesmerises and Shehan Jeyarajah have been talking about the College Football Playoff since July, and now it’s time for them to make their picks for the semifinals in the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl. They are joined on The College Football Survivor Show by Tyler Shoemaker at the start of the show to talk about the betting lines, with Alabama favored by 13.5 over Cincinnati and Georgia favored by 7.5 over Michigan. And then it’s on to their picks and their reasoning, and some attempted explanation of why Doug is the way he is. Thanks for listening to The College Football Survivor Show. Previous episodes of The College Football Survivor ShowDeep dives on the two semifinalsThe playoff is set

But none have had the combination of size and speed like Georgia freshman tight end Brock Bowers. Bowers will attract plenty off attention from the Wolverines when the two teams square off in the Orange Bowl on Friday in South Florida. “Brock is a heck of a player, man,” Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald said Tuesday. Tight end, it’s a little bit more difficult.”RELATED: Strength vs. strength: Michigan’s run game stares down Georgia’s stout front sevenMichigan (12-1) also faced another skilled tight end in Iowa’s Sam LaPorta in the Big Ten championship game. He doesn’t say a lot, he just works.”MORE: Thanks, NIL: How Michigan football players are cashing in during playoff runOrange Bowl area a ‘hot spot’ for COVID-19 as Michigan and Georgia prep for playoffAlabama exploited Georgia’s stingy defense.

Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and Alabama teammates Will Anderson Jr. and Jameson Williams have been selected All-Americans by The Associated Press.

Alabama once again collected a Southeastern Conference title and two big league-wide individual awards.

Stetson Bennett passed for 255 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 1 Georgia finished its undefeated regular season with a 45-0 victory over Georgia Tech. Georgia gained momentum for next week’s Southeastern Conference championship game against No. 3 Alabama in Atlanta.

Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored his first career touchdown and No. 1 Georgia’s stout defense was again dominant in a 56-7 rout of Charleston Southern.

Georgia and Alabama could be heading for another showdown in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Georgia's first game as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team since 2008 was a big success.

JT Daniels threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns playing only the first quarter as No. 2 Georgia dominated Vanderbilt 62-0 Saturday in the Bulldogs’ biggest win in a series that started in 1893.