Michigan has only itself to blame for its stunning loss to TCU in College Football Playoff
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Michigan’s magical college football season ended with a disappearing act.
The worst kind.
TCU made all of Michigan’s strengths disappear in a wild, stunning 51-45 upset in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.
Suddenly, Michigan couldn’t run the ball.
Suddenly, the Wolverines couldn’t stop the run.
Suddenly, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was throwing interceptions — a pair of pick-sixes that put Michigan in a devastating hole.
Suddenly, this dominant team was getting dominated, outplayed and overwhelmed.
Every time, Michigan had a chance — every time the Wolverines cut the deficit or started to get something going — they made another mistake.
A missed tackle here.
A bad punt return coverage there.
Or a dropped ball.
And the so-called smash fest turned into a mistake fest.
Which was stunning.
Was it the long layoff after the Big Ten championship game at the start of December? Clearly, whatever mojo Michigan had built after 13 games disappeared.
Was it overconfidence, considering TCU was the overwhelming underdog?
Was it another example of Jim Harbaugh’s struggles in bowl games — this was Michigan’s sixth consecutive bowl loss.
Or was it reality finally hitting? Michigan played an incredibly soft non-conference schedule and beat only two tough opponents: Penn State and Ohio State.
STILL GOING: TCU again silences doubters with Michigan defeat
BIG SWING: Michigan fumbles after touchdown reversed by replay
POSTSEASON LINEUP: Schedule and results for every bowl game
I suppose we could debate all of those points of view, although I suspect it was a little bit of all of it.
But here are two points that cannot be debated or understated:
- It was stunning how TCU shut down Michigan’s running game. Donovan Edwards ripped off a 54-yarder on the first play of the game. But that was it. On their next 18 carries, the Wolverines gained just 30 yards. Then, they fell so far behind that they couldn’t run anymore.
- The other surprise was TCU’s running game. Or maybe, the lack of Michigan’s run defense. Michigan came into this game ranked No. 5 in fewest average yards per carry (2.9). But TCU had its way with Michigan, ripping off more than 240 yards and 7.1 yards per carry.
Yes, that was stunning as well.
It got to the stage where everybody in the stadium knew that TCU was going to run, and still, Michigan couldn’t stop the Horned Frogs.
Michigan came into this game with a clear identity. A strong, physical offensive line.
But TCU was the team that showed the toughness.
It was simply a colossal blown opportunity.
Darn near everything that could go wrong in the first half did go wrong for Michigan.
Twice, the Wolverines had the ball inside the TCU 5. And twice, the Wolverines walked away with nothing. Yes, when you look back at this game, at how close it ended up being, Michigan fans are going to cringe about all of these moments and mistakes.
Before you could count up Michigan’s mistakes — ranging from a botched Philly Special, a pick-six, a fumble at the goal line and blown coverages — TCU had a 21-3 lead.
That was significant, considering Michigan had never trailed by more than a touchdown all season.
Two plays dominated the first quarter for Michigan.
On fourth-and-goal from the TCU 2, Harbaugh made a huge gamble.
Instead of kicking a field goal, instead of going to their strength — just ramming the ball up the middle — Harbaugh went to a trick play, a Philly Special pass from tight end Colston Loveland with McCarthy as a receiver. Loveland was sacked for an 8-yard loss.
It failed spectacularly.
And didn’t make much sense.
Then, it went from bad to worse when McCarthy started throwing pick-sixes.
But give Michigan credit for one thing: The Wolverines never gave up. They kept fighting and making plays, clawing back, making this a game.
But when push came to shove, it was TCU shoving the ball right into the middle of Michigan’s defense.
How will this season be remembered?
Make no mistake, this was still a tremendous season for Michigan.
The Wolverines beat Ohio State and won the Big Ten title again.
But it was success wrapped in disappointment.
Michigan doomed itself in this game — self-inflicted wounds.
With the pick-sixes.
With the wasted opportunities in the red zone.
With the missed tackles.
With the bad punt coverage.
With the inability to stop the run.
After the way they played, and the mistakes they made, the Wolverines got what they deserved.