“We wanted our kids to play without fear,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I’ve been telling them all year, I’ve been saying, ‘We’re not being hunted, guys, we’re being hunted, and the hunting season is almost over. We only have one more chance to hunt, and we hunted tonight.”

TCU (13-2), the first Cinderella team of the playoff era, never stood a chance against the Georgia juggernaut. Unlike Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl semi-finals, the Bulldogs did not succumb to the Hypnotoads spell.

Georgia suffered one of the biggest losses in the game that determined the national title, reminiscent of Nebraska beating Florida by 38 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma by 36 in the 2005 Orange Bowl and Alabama by 28. BCS Championship breakthrough over Notre Dame in 2013.

But it was worse.

Too many talents. Trains too well. Two consecutive titles for the Dawgs.

No team has ever scored more points in a national championship game since BCS in 1998.

With 13:25 left in the fourth quarter, Smart called a mid-attack timeout to allow Bennett to walk away to the cheering of the heroes in the last game of his devious college career.

“That was special,” said Bennett, who finished 18 of 25 for 304 yards and four touchdown passes. “I will remember this for the rest of my life.

Georgia offensive linemen nibbled on chicken wings on the touchline as the game drew to a close. Then, for the second year in a row, the Bulldogs were showered with confetti and presented with a championship trophy.

Smart is now 81-15 in his first seven seasons in Georgia with two national titles. His mentor, Alabama coach Nick Saban, was 79-15 with three titles in his first seven seasons with the Tide.

This season, the Bulldogs have dominated in a different way: not as stingy on defense but more explosive on offense.

Previously, when Smart was at his alma mater, Georgia fans were worried about whether former defensive coordinator Saban could build an offense to match this high-scoring era of college football.

Under the guidance of third year coordinator Todd Monken, the Bulldogs became productive, creative and offensively varied. They dismantled the TCU 3-3-5 protection from all sides.

All-around tight end Brock Bowers had seven catches for 152 yards. Receiver Ladd McConkie caught two TDs. Georgia rushed for 254 yards, seven players scored at least 10.

The Bulldogs scored all six times they touched the ball in the first half. Twice Bennett ran it over to himself; the former striker, who became a two-time national champion, barely touched two goalkeepers-defenders.

He hit a wide-open McConkey for 34 yards in the first quarter, a perfectly executed play from a tucked formation that had TCU defensemen in disarray. Bennett’s 22-yard scoring to Adonai Mitchell was more of a challenge than the quarterback, who had tight cover.

It was very similar to the Bennett-Mitchell touchdown that gave Georgia a fourth-quarter lead that it would not lose to Alabama in last year’s CFP title game.

Georgia defeated Tide to end a 41-year national title drought last season while avenging their only regular season loss.

There was no such drama against the upstart Horned Frogs.

The Bulldogs have never bothered with Alabama this year. They made it through the SEC, outlasted Ohio State in a classic CFP semi-final, and then resolutely established themselves as a rising dynasty with a perfect season.

Bennett hit Bowers with 22 yards with 10:52 left in the third quarter to make it 45-7. A sophomore from Northern California signaled to land from the ground at Sophie Stadium. Bennett grinned widely as he tapped his helmets with one of his linemen.

Georgia UGA’s famous bulldog mascot couldn’t make the cross-country tour to cheer for his team, but it still felt a bit like Sanford Stadium in Southern California.

Many TCU fans pulled out with more than half of the fourth quarter left, choosing to head out on a rainy and cold night rather than watch more of a massive mismatch.

Heisman Trophy runner-up Max Duggan threw two first-half interceptions in the last roller coaster game of his TCU career.

A four-year-old starter who had never bowled before this season, Duggan led TCU to one of the most incredible runs in college football history.

Retired after a losing 2021 season and ranked seventh in the Big 12 in Sonny Dykes’ first year as coach, the Frogs have won nine games by 10 points or less. They were one step away from winning the program’s first national title since 1938.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com

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AP American Football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25