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The City of Houston has taken the baton from the City of Inglewood, California, when it comes to hosting the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship.
Inglewood’s two-year-old, $6 billion SoFi Stadium hosted the game on Monday, which resulted in the University of Georgia (UGA) Bulldogs easily defeating the Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs 65-7 to become the first program since the 2012-2013 Alabama Crimson Tide to win two consecutive titles.
The upcoming matchup to determine will be played at NRG Stadium on Jan. 8, 2024.
While Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner will have vacated the office by the game’s kickoff, he still expressed excitement for it on social media.
“[Houston] is known for hosting some of the biggest and greatest sporting events,” Turner tweeted. “Next year, the @CFBPlayoff Championship Game will be played right here.”
The mayor thanked the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority (HC-HSA), Visit Houston and other dignitaries for representing Texas’ largest city in Southern California.
Per a report on the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) website, the top-ranked Bulldogs opened the game with a 10-0 lead before surrendering what would become TCU’s lone score of the evening.
Led by 25-year-old field general Stetson Bennett, UGA then reeled off 55 unanswered points on its way to a record-setting triumph.
According to the NCAA, Georgia’s 65 points were the most points in a title game while its 58-point mastery of the Horned Frogs was confirmed to be the largest margin of victory in a similar event.
Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that the 2023-2024 game will be the last under the current four-team playoff format.
Beginning in 2025, 12 programs will be vying for the chance to play for the national championship.
NRG Stadium is also the host of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four in April.