Michigan football

The Wolverines and Horned Frogs face off Saturday in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Check out the best stuff from around the game.

Michigan kicker [Jake Moody](https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4372066/jake-moody) made two field goals in the frame and the Wolverines trail 21-6 at halftime. Horned Frogs fans in the stands and on social media were thrilled about the team's fast start. 45-plus: Saturday's Fiesta Bowl was the second AP top-five matchup in the Poll Era (since 1936) where each team scored 45-plus points. 44: TCU and Michigan scored 44 combined points in the third quarter. The 51 points are the second-most given up by the team in a bowl game. It is also the fifth 50-point game by a team in CFP history. It's the third-highest scoring CFP game and the third-most combined points in an AP top-five matchup all-time. 3 [TCU Horned Frogs](/college-football/team/_/id/2628/tcu-horned-frogs). 96: That's the number of total points scored in this year's Fiesta Bowl, the new Fiesta Bowl record. For Michigan, it's a second straight season being ousted in the CFP semifinal round. TCU built a 21-6 lead by halftime, then things got exciting in the third quarter. 2 [Michigan Wolverines](/college-football/team/_/id/130/michigan-wolverines) and No.

The Wolverines are set to take the field at State Farm Stadium in Arizona for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl against TCU. Saturday marks the first meeting between the two ...

Henning – Dressed Luckily, for Michigan, the Wolverines look to be fairly healthy entering the ball game against the Horned Frogs. The Wolverines are set to take the field at State Farm Stadium in Arizona for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl against TCU.

The first College Football Playoff semifinal on the New Years Eve schedule features Michigan and TCU.

Throw in running back [Kendre Miller](/college-football/players/3162256/kendre-miller/), who is having one of the best rushing seasons TCU has seen since Ladanian Tomlinson, and the Horned Frogs have an offense that has lots of different ways to pick a defense apart. 3 [TCU](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/TCU/tcu-horned-frogs/) meet in Glendale, Arizona. Of the 16 semifinal games that have been held since the format was introduced in 2014, only three have been decided even by single digits, and nine of those 16 games have been decided by 20 points or more. [Illinois](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/ILL/illinois-fighting-illini/) on Nov. [Donovan Edwards](/college-football/players/26697211/donovan-edwards/) carrying the load: Michigan running back [Blake Corum](/college-football/players/3169252/blake-corum/) was a Heisman Trophy candidate before a knee injury vs. That seven-win turnaround has been powered by one of the most explosive offenses in the country, a Heisman Trophy finalist at quarterback in [Max Duggan](/college-football/players/3120848/max-duggan/) and a team that has shown resiliency in tough spots with a 5-1 record in one-score games. TCU went 5-0 in one-score games during the regular season and nearly logged yet another comeback as Duggan led an injury-riddled offense down the field to force overtime against Kansas State in the Big 12 title game before falling short. Edwards ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns in the win against Ohio State, and then added 185 yards on the ground in the Big Ten Championship Game against [Michigan](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/MICH/michigan-wolverines/) and No. A unique test for Michigan's defense: Michigan faced a pair of dangerous passing attacks in its final two games, but TCU presents a brand new type of challenge for the Wolverines. The Wolverines are one of just two top-10 teams in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The showdown between the Wolverines and the Horned Frogs will also mark the first time the two programs have played in football, and you could not ask for higher stakes or a better setting for the series' first meeting.

Michigan football were in need of a momentum-changing play, trailing, 14-3, early in the second quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal.

A curious call, for sure. Touchdown, right? Roman Wilson got behind the TCU defense and made the catch as he fell on his backside at the goal line.

Michigan appeared to score a touchdown when J.J. McCarthy connected with Roman Wilson in the College Football Playoff. Then the officials got involved.

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Michigan football saw its season end in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday in the Fiesta Bowl after a tough loss to TCU. Here are the gut reactions.

One team ran the ball in the red zone well and one team didn’t. Yet, TCU scored touchdowns in the red zone and was able to run the ball when it mattered. McCarthy was spectacular in the second half. He nearly brought Michigan back from the end. However, two empty trips inside the five-yard line and a blown call reversing a Roman Wilson touchdown will haunt Michigan football fans forever. Here are the gut reactions.

Michigan football and TCU are lighting up the fireworks ahead on New Year's eve down in Glendale during the CFP Fiesta Bowl...

Michigan football looked like it was circling down the drain in the first half, with TCU ending the second period with a 15-point lead, but the Wolverines are showing no quit in them, with a massive third quarter putting them in a position to break a [perfect trend](https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1609323286713835520) in the CFP era, per ESPN Stats & Info. The largest blown halftime lead in a CFP game is 14 (Oklahoma led Georgia 31-17 at halftime in the 2017 semifinal, & would lose 54-48) Michigan football won’t score in the game until the second quarter, courtesy of a pair of field goals from kicker Jake Moody.

The Wolverines lost in the College Football Playoff semifinals for the second year in a row after falling to TCU, 51-45. The maize and blue found themselves ...

After doing everything right during the regular season, Michigan football did everything wrong in the College Football Playoff semifinal against TCU.

Twice, the Wolverines had the ball inside the TCU 5. And twice, the Wolverines walked away with nothing. Loveland was sacked for an 8-yard loss. But TCU had its way with Michigan, ripping off more than 240 yards and 7.1 yards per carry. Donovan Edwards ripped off a 54-yarder on the first play of the game. - The other surprise was TCU’s running game. Or maybe, the lack of Michigan’s run defense. 5 in fewest average yards per carry (2.9). - It was stunning how TCU shut down Michigan’s running game. But that was it. Clearly, whatever mojo Michigan had built after 13 games disappeared. Suddenly, Michigan quarterback J.J.

For the second year in a row, Michigan is bounced out of the College Football Playoff in the semifinals. The Wolverines found themselves down big early, but ...

But the sophomore played his heart out and tried to will Michigan into a comeback that came up short. Even with all the negative plays that occurred for the Wolverines, they had all the chances to win the game. The Wolverines failed to score once more inside the five and Jake Moody kicked a field goal. But what was worse was the Michigan run defense. The Horned Frogs ran for 263 yards on the ground and three scores against Michigan. But Michigan was careless with the ball on Saturday against TCU and the Wolverines lost 21 points because of that. The maize and blue had multiple runs go for negative yards with TCU defenders in the backfield. But the line appeared to meet its match on Saturday. McCarthy threw two pick-six interceptions and Kalel Mullings fumbled on the TCU one-yard line and cost Michigan seven possible points. Even with all of that going against Michigan, the Wolverines rallied. A Roman Wilson touchdown was called back after a review — it looked to have been a score — and then Mullings fumbled the play after. The Wolverines turned the ball over seven times all season.

No. 3 TCU got off to a roaring start in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, making a dramatic statement in its first College Football Playoff appearance with a 14-0 lead ...

However, a six-game postseason losing streak -- with four of those losses coming by double digits -- becomes the next hurdle for Michigan's head coach and former quarterback to overcome when it comes to his fans' expectations. Michigan has not won a bowl game since 2015, and Harbaugh's bowl record as the Wolverines coach is now 1-6 with six straight losses after Saturday's defeat. The rumble was eerily similar to the pair of long runs he had in the second half against Ohio State, and it seemed to foreshadow the potential for Michigan's offense to continue its trend of riding an explosive ground game. Nearly everything positive for Michigan seemed to be offset by something negative in the first half, initially forecasting doom for the Wolverines. TCU has been doubted and talked about as illegitimate all season long despite proving, time and again, it is one of the best teams in the country. The first of those two scores, a 76-yard touchdown pass from Duggan to Quentin Johnston, gave TCU a 48-38 lead that appeared to be the nail in the coffin. Sonny Dykes took over a team that lost its footing as a Big 12 title contender and a roster that found itself on the outside looking in come bowl season. Dykes credits the players and their belief in one another as reasons why this team continues to win despite facing adversity. McCarthy got off the mat and led led two touchdown drives in the final 3 minutes of the third quarter, but another TCU touchdown came in between. McCarthy had one of the most electric performances of his career, throwing for 343 yards and, rushing for 52 yards and totaling three touchdowns. TCU led by as many as 18 points in the first half and took a 21-6 lead into halftime before that third quarter for the ages. Of course, the Johnston touchdown was not the final twist in this thriller.

The game is the first semifinal in this year's College Football Playoff, and it carries some intrigue. On the line is a berth in the national championship game ...

Donovan Edwards races through the TCU front seven for 54 yards, brining the Wolverines on the brink of the end zone. The Horned Frogs snuff out the lateral play, pinning Colston Loveland behind the line of scrimmage to deny the Wolverines a score. A new set of downs on the goal-line for the Horned Frogs. 4:40 p.m.: Giving Duggan time in the pocket is a dangerous strategy. The ball is headed back to the Horned Frogs. Duggan hit Johnston with a 46-yard dot to put TCU in position to bag yet another score on the first play from kickoff. 5:10 p.m.: For all of Michigan's struggles on the offensive side of the ball, its defense is keeping things tight. 7:56 p.m.: Duggan back out on the field on fourth and one. TCU in prime position to add more points on the board here. 8:04 p.m.: The call on the field of no targeting stands. However, the ball slips out of the safety's grasp at the last second, offering the Wolverines a reprieve. But when it was all said and done, it was the Horned Frogs who sealed their spot in the national championship with a Fiesta Bowl win.

In the biggest upset since the advent of the College Football Playoff, third-seeded TCU rode its underdog status to a 51-45 win over undefeated and No.

All season, the most points Michigan had given up in an entire game was 27, and going back to last season, the most the Wolverines had surrendered in a game was 37. McCarthy](https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4433970/jj-mccarthy) threw a telegraphed pass to the outside that was picked off by sophomore safety [Bud Clark](https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4430262/bud-clark) and returned for a touchdown. They could get only one, and the Wolverines had 52 seconds to go 75 yards and make a miracle happen. Johnston sped his way to the sideline and took it 76 yards to the end zone to put the Frogs back up 10. The Frogs needed two first downs to finish the game with the ball in their hands. After Michigan cut the TCU lead to three points early in the fourth quarter, Duggan, as he has done all season, responded by making the throw of the game. The touchdown culminated a 10-play, 83-yard drive that gave the Frogs a commanding 21-6 halftime lead and put the Wolverines in their biggest deficit of the season. While Michigan struggled to capitalize, on the other side of the ball, Duggan -- the Heisman runner-up -- was pulling out all the stops. [Emari Demercado](https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4362478/emari-demercado) who broke loose for a 69-yard run that Duggan finished off with another 1-yard touchdown sneak. [TCU](/college-football/team/_/id/2628/tcu-horned-frogs) rode its underdog status to a [51-45 win](/college-football/game/_/gameId/401442016) over undefeated and No. 2 [Michigan](/college-football/team/_/id/130/michigan-wolverines) in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday. Under coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan had allowed more than 14 points in the first quarter and gone on to win just once, in 2016 against Colorado, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

No. 3 TCU pulled off the greatest upset in College Football Playoff history leading all game over No. 2 Michigan.

However, a six-game postseason losing streak -- with four of those losses coming by double digits -- becomes the next hurdle for Michigan's head coach and former quarterback to overcome when it comes to his fans' expectations. Michigan has not won a bowl game since 2015, and Harbaugh's bowl record as the Wolverines coach is now 1-6 with six straight losses after Saturday's defeat. The rumble was eerily similar to the pair of long runs he had in the second half against Ohio State, and it seemed to foreshadow the potential for Michigan's offense to continue its trend of riding an explosive ground game. Nearly everything positive for Michigan seemed to be offset by something negative in the first half, initially forecasting doom for the Wolverines. TCU has been doubted and talked about as illegitimate all season long despite proving, time and again, it is one of the best teams in the country. The first of those two scores, a 76-yard touchdown pass from Duggan to Quentin Johnston, gave TCU a 48-38 lead that appeared to be the nail in the coffin. Sonny Dykes took over a team that lost its footing as a Big 12 title contender and a roster that found itself on the outside looking in come bowl season. Dykes credits the players and their belief in one another as reasons why this team continues to win despite facing adversity. McCarthy got off the mat and led led two touchdown drives in the final 3 minutes of the third quarter, but another TCU touchdown came in between. McCarthy had one of the most electric performances of his career, throwing for 343 yards and, rushing for 52 yards and totaling three touchdowns. TCU led by as many as 18 points in the first half and took a 21-6 lead into halftime before that third quarter for the ages. Of course, the Johnston touchdown was not the final twist in this thriller.

While the Horned Frogs were penalized two more times for 70 more yards than the Wolverines in a game that featured plenty of questionable calls on both sides, a ...

McCarthy](/college-football/players/26695214/j-j-mccarthy/) was first ruled a touchdown. The junior cornerback lowered his head while helping bring down Michigan's [Colston Loveland](/college-football/players/28874696/colston-loveland/) well short of first down. [Roman Wilson](/college-football/players/3169495/roman-wilson/) early in the second quarter. [including two TCU pick sixes](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/watch-tcu-scores-on-pair-of-pick-sixes-in-surprising-college-football-playoff-semifinal-vs-michigan/) -- and the Wolverines' red zone struggles did more damage than the officiating crew. [51-45 win](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-vs-tcu-score-frogs-eye-national-title-after-epic-college-football-playoff-upset-in-wild-fiesta-bowl/live/) over No. It appeared that Wilson did not actually possess the football until he was in the end zone while the momentum from his dive carried him past the goal line, but the officials deemed otherwise and the costly fumble ensued.