Steven Johnson: TCU used lessons from the Big 12 to beat Michigan
In the lead up to TCU’s College Football Playoff semifinal win over Michigan, coach Sonny Dykes admitted that he was bothered by the narrative surrounding the game.
Could the Horned Frogs handle Michigan’s physicality and Big 10 strength? Would this be yet another CFP blowout in the semifinals?
“Look, I heard it. I was frustrated,” Dykes said following Saturday’s 51-45 win over the Wolverines. “I believe in our players and I think we’re a physical, tough mighty football team. It bothered me that we heard all week how we were gonna get lined up and run through and all that stuff.”
Clearly players on the Michigan roster believed in the noise, too. Leading tackle Junior Colson wasn’t even sure what conference TCU played in. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy said there would be some smashing going on if TCU decided to stay in its 3-3-5 defense.
There’s nothing wrong with confidence and all athletes need it to succeed at this level. But you couldn’t help but feel that the Wolverines had a sense that this was going to be a tune up for Georgia.
Instead Michigan was pushed around by a TCU team that played a large stretch of the Fiesta Bowl without star running back Kendre Miller, who exited with a right knee injury. Despite that, the Horned Frogs piled up more than 260 yards on the ground against one of the top defenses in the country.
“We talked about all week leading up to the game how important it would be to play physical,” Dykes said. “I thought we were definitely the most physical team on the field tonight.”
He’s right and you could tell early on. Michigan didn’t initially rely much on the blitz due to its confidence in the defensive front to generate pressure without it.
But time after time, Max Duggan had what felt like an eternity to find his receivers in the first half. The ground game was rolling early, too. Miller averaged better than seven yards per carry before leaving the game. Demercado finished with 150 yards on a mere 17 carries.
The Horned Frogs were already motivated to have this type of showing, but the chatter from the Wolverines added fuel to the fire.
“I was surprised, but that’s how I knew we were going to win,” Johnny Hodges said. “I knew they were overconfident and weren’t taking us as serious as we were them. We’re a pretty good football team, we have a lot of NFL talent on our team. Guards, wide receivers, quarterbacks. I knew it was going to be a fun day if we just executed.”
Hodges’ point about NFL talent is a key one. It’s easy to rely on merely past recruiting classes to determine the quality of a team, but that doesn’t take into account development at this level.
Are there a bunch of former five-stars on TCU’s roster? Nope, but the list of potential NFL players is growing. Quentin Johnston solidified himself as the NFL Draft’s top receiver prospect, while Dee Winters likely earned himself some NFL looks with a monster game.
These are the type of things that were overlooked when sizing up the matchup and a lot of it has to do with the conference TCU plays in. Unless it’s Texas or Oklahoma, many won’t have much respect for a team coming out of the conference.
The Horned Frogs wanted to prove legitimacy for themselves and the league at large.
“We used it as a little bit of a motivation,” Winters said. “We feel like the Big 12 is a very physical conference. We just wanted to come out and showcase what the Big 12 is all about.
The parity of the league led to TCU being in so many close games and that was also part of the reason the Horned Frogs weren’t given much of a chance. If they struggled with Kansas and West Virginia, how could they hang with Michigan from the mighty Big 10?
What the national audience didn’t realize is that those Big 12 battles were the key tonight. Every time Michigan cut into TCU’s lead in the second half, the Horned Frogs responded with a touchdown. That was a testament to their mental fortitude and confidence in each other.
“Nobody on this team flinches, nobody blinks,” Wes Harris said. “We’ve been in close games all year long, a lot of people were saying we shouldn’t get into the playoffs because of that stuff. Then when we get into another close game and we’re just like we’ve been here before. It was kind of an advantage for us.”
With all the talk about how bad the Big 12 was, it was fitting that the Fiesta Bowl turned into a back and forth contest that has usually defined the conference. TCU showed that the Big 12 should start being known for more than just points.
“It’s funny, it was kind of an old-fashioned Big 12 shootout in some ways,” Dykes said. “But, like I said, we came out with a very physical mindset. It was a physical football game. And as I said earlier, we were the most physical team on the field tonight, and I think that was easy to see.”
After scoring 51 points and producing almost 500 total yards, there’s no doubt the Michigan roster knows exactly what league TCU Is in now. But just in case they or anybody else needed a reminder, Harris has them covered.
“It’s the Big (expletive) 12,” Harris said.
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 10:03 PM.
