Best and worst from Michigan's CFP loss to TCU
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Michigan Wolverines football fell just short in a 51-45 loss to TCU, ending the season at 13-1 while the Horned Frogs will make a national title game appearance.
Here are the best and worst from the game.
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Danger zone
Michigan’s red-zone woes were a big storyline at one point in the season — but that was because U-M kept settling for field goals. The woes in deep Saturday against TCU — disasters, we’d call them — were even worse.
It started right away, when Michigan decided to call a ‘Philly Special’ trick play with freshman tight end Colston Loveland attempting to throw but instead getting stopped and pulled down for a loss of eight yards on fourth down. It continued with a fumbled quarterback-running back exchange early in the second quarter, recovered by the Horned Frogs at the 1-yard line. On and on they went — settling for a field goal after getting down to the 4-yard line in the third quarter.
Michigan came away with a field goal and 4 touchdowns in the red zone, along with the pair of turnovers (fumble, on downs) that stung.
Worst mistakes
Michigan sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw two pick-sixes — one to open the scoring in the first quarter and another late in the third quarter that made it 34-16 — making the fatal mistakes in the biggest of games and creating the smallest of margins for error.
We’ve never seen a team throw two pick-sixes in the same game and win. In a way, it’s almost impressive that Michigan had a chance at the end given those circumstances. It’s the second time we can remember something similar, but the Wolverines fell short on both occasions. Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight threw a pick-six and another to the U-M 13-yard line in a 30-27 double-overtime loss to Ohio State in 2016.
What could’ve been for Michigan in either game.
Best bounce back
McCarthy could’ve let his mistakes snowball, but he didn’t — and for that he deserves credit. This loss could easily be pinned on him, since he made the back-breaking mistakes, but he was also a huge reason why the Wolverines had a chance.
He made some beautiful throws, including seven that went for 20-plus yard gains, and also scrambled for 39 yards one play before punching in a 20-yard touchdown on a keeper. All told, he went 20-for-34 passing for a career-high 343 yards and 2 touchdowns with 52 rushing yards and another score.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh often says the true test for a quarterback is watching how they respond to an interception. McCarthy, whom Harbaugh has described as “unflappable,” kept on playing.
Biggest ‘thank you’
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes called timeout, icing Michigan graduate kicker Jake Moody with four seconds left in the first half while he lined up for a 59-yard field goal. Moody still kicked it as the whistles blew, but missed.
Then after the timeout, Moody nailed the Fiesta Bowl- and program-record 59-yard field goal to make it 21-6, TCU, at the break.
Moody became Michigan’s all-time leading scorer with an extra point in the second half (355 points) and further cemented himself as a legend.
Burned by the big play
On a radio hit Saturday morning, we said that even if Michigan bottled up the Horned Frogs’ offense for the most part, TCU has enough big-play ability to keep itself in the game and potentially win it.
The script didn’t exactly go like that, with the Wolverines still not playing a clean game all the way through, but the defense actually held up at times and got some crucial stops, including one late to give the ball back to the offense with less than a minute left.
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However, those big plays did burn Michigan. The Horned Frogs had 11 of 10-plus yards, including a 76-yard touchdown from Max Duggan to Quentin Johnston on third-and-7 and a 69-yard run by Emari Demercado down to the 1-yard line.
Michigan brought an all-out blitz on the 76-yarder to Johnston and got pressure, but Duggan got the throw off just in the nick of time, senior cornerback DJ Turner missed the tackle along the sideline, and the 6-foot-4, 215-pound receiver was off to the races. That one stung and was a reflection of just how close Michigan was.
Craziest quarter
It’s New Year’s Eve, meaning folks across the country are celebrating. The game kicked things off early with a wild third quarter that included 44 of the game’s 96 total points. There were six touchdowns — three by each team — in the final 6:32 of the half. Then two more, one by each squad, in the first two minutes of the fourth.
While disappointing for Michigan, this was an exciting game, one of the best the CFP has seen.
Couldn’t convert
Michigan’s issues weren’t limited to just the red zone. The Wolverines went 3-of-13 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth down for the game. They averaged 7 yards per play and hit on some big ones (14 of 15-plus yards) but didn’t do a good enough job sustaining the other drives. Michigan punted 5 times and had 2 turnovers on down.
Two bad reviews
There was also a call by the officials that changed the game. McCarthy hit Michigan junior wideout Roman Wilson for a 50-yard pass that was originally ruled a touchdown but overturned after a quick review.
The review was so swift, in fact, that neither sideline flinched or changed the personnel it had on the field as the officials trotted out to make the announcement (they were both prepared for the extra point).
Wilson appeared to not attain full possession until he was in the end zone. At the least, we didn’t see an angle that showed there was indisputable evidence to overturn the call on the field.
It was probably too little, too late, but there was another review that made a big difference. On Michigan’s final offensive snap — a broken play due to an unexpected snap, fumble and pass by sophomore running back Donovan Edwards — Loveland appeared to be clearly targeted. But after a lengthy review, easily the longest of the game, the officials determined there was no targeting.
Even FOX national analyst Joel Klatt was upset with the refereeing, calling for an overhaul of the system.
