TCU’s ability to play physical football should no longer be in question

TCU’s bid for an undefeated season and the Big 12 Championship died at the Kansas State goal line in overtime on December 3, and conventional wisdom took a bow. The failure of running back Kendre Miller to get a half-yard on third down and again on fourth reinforced the notion that the Big 12 doesn’t play the brand of physical football that they play in the Big Ten and the SEC. Those two plays added to the skepticism surrounding the Horned Frogs in the run-up to the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl. By the time Michigan got through with TCU, you’d need a spatula to scrape the Horned Frogs off the State Farm Stadium grass.

That could be why, as soon as Sonny Dykes plopped down into his chair after TCU’s wall-to-wall 51-45 victory, the Frogs’ coach pointed out that his team had rushed for nearly 100 more yards than did the Wolverines (263-186).

“I thought we were definitely the most physical team on the field,” Dykes said.

Now comes the CFP Championship Game against No. 1 Georgia, with more five-stars than there are in heaven, to paraphrase the old MGM motto. It’s hard to imagine that anyone will doubt TCU a second time. Then again, you can tell an SEC fan, but you can’t tell him much.

On the failed sequence in overtime of the Big 12 Championship Game, TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley chose not to ask a fatigued quarterback Max Duggan to sneak the ball into the end zone. Instead, he had Duggan hand the ball to the 220-pound Miller. That’s what made TCU’s first trip into the red zone against Michigan so interesting. Riley sent a message.

Late in the first quarter, on third-and-1 at Michigan’s 2, Duggan lined up under center. Tight end Geor’Quarius Spivey, in the slot to the right, went into motion and stopped directly behind his quarterback. As soon as Duggan took the snap, he surged into the line and Spivey surged into Duggan. The now-legal homage to the “Bush Push” got the first down, and on the next play, Duggan kept the ball again and moved to his left before plunging into the end zone.

And in the fourth quarter, on third-and-1 at TCU’s 19, as the clock clicked under 2:00, Riley called the play again from the right hash. Spivey, from the left slot, moved directly behind Duggan and shoved him forward for 2 yards. That play gave the Frogs four more downs. More important, moving the chains forced Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh to use all three timeouts while TCU had the ball. Michigan got the ball back on its 25 with 52 seconds left to play. It was too much to ask.

When you list the reasons that TCU upset Michigan, the “Bush Push” calls had better be on it.

“It served us well today, two for two,” Riley said of the call. “Two pretty big plays. It’s some stuff we worked all year, but especially after that (Big 12) game, learning from that game and what we felt would be there against Michigan.”

In the third quarter, Duggan, again under center, scored another 1-yard touchdown. Running back Emari Demercado tried to give Duggan a helpful shove but didn’t get there in time. Duggan already had scored.

On 39 rushing plays – excluding a sack and a kneel down to end the game – TCU lost yardage once. On five trips into the red zone, the Frogs rushed for 32 yards on 11 carries, with three first downs and three touchdowns, all of them on 1-yard plunges.

“I think we did a really good job coming off of the Kansas State loss of looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Hey, look, what can we do better?’ ” Dykes said.

The biggest dilemma facing TCU now is the health of Miller, who suffered a knee injury in the second quarter when tackled by Michigan defensive back Makari Paige. Dykes called him “probably questionable” on a conference call Tuesday, a new category of nobody-knows-yet. Demercado played an outstanding second half, rushing for 123 yards and a touchdown after halftime.

Behind Demercado is junior Emani Bailey, a 5-9, 200-pound portal transfer from Louisiana. As a sophomore with the Ragin’ Cajuns last season, Bailey rushed for 642 yards and eight touchdowns, gaining 211 yards in two postseason victories (Sun Belt championship game, New Orleans Bowl). This season, Bailey has 29 carries for 241 yards (8.3 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. He may get the opportunity of a lifetime Monday night.