TCU holds off Michigan rally with big plays in wild second half to win Fiesta Bowl

No. 2-ranked Michigan didn't want this to end like last year when it trailed by more than two touchdowns in the first half before losing badly to Georgia in the national college football semifinals in Miami.

The Wolverines fought and fought and fought Saturday, after trailing 21-6 at halftime of the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. But No. 3 TCU had one more big play, and held off the Wolverines.

In a Fiesta Bowl classic — the highest-scoring game in the bowl's history — before 71,723 fans at State Farm Stadium on Saturday, TCU stunned Michigan 51-45 to advance to the Jan. 9 national championship game in Southern California.

"We talked about all week leading up to the game how important it was to play physical," TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. "I thought we were the more physical team on the field tonight.

"Our ability to run the ball (TCU outgained Michigan on the ground 263-186), our ability to stop the run I think was the difference in the ballgame."

It's been a remarkable journey with so many thrillers along the way, but this was by far the biggest for the Horned Frogs (13-1), a 5-7 program a year ago that turned it around under first-year coach Dykes after being picked to finish seventh in preseason in the Big 12 Conference.

Everybody knows these guys now.

Their heart. Their grit. Their resiliency. Their ability to respond to every big Michigan blow, especially during a crazy third quarter in which the teams combined to score 44 points.

TCU knew how Michigan (13-1) was coming into the game, never getting down by two touchdown to any opponent this year, feeling it could pound the ball against the Horned Frogs' 3-3-5 defense. Michigan was a 7.5-point favorite coming in.

"That kind of stuff hasn't really bothered us," Dykes said. "At some point you kind of quit listening what everybody says. These guys kept a steady mindset from the very beginning. Early, we were told how bad we were.. As we got better, we were told we could be pretty good. Then it was how great we were. Our guys never changed.

"I heard it. It frustrated me. I believe in our players. I think we're a physical, tough-minded football team. We heard it all week how we were going to be lined up and run through. I'm sure these guys were extra motivated. They did their jobs and prepared incredibly well."

This was a game Dykes' mentor, deceased coach Mike Leach, would have "gotten a kick out of," Dykes said. Lots of offense. Lots of big plays through the air.

"It was an old-fashioned shootout and something he would have gotten a kick out of," Dykes said.

The biggest of big plays came on third-and-seven early in the final quarter. Max Duggan found Quentin Johnston on the flat for a short pass and somehow Johnston saw nothing but green grass as he turned the corner. Nobody could catch him for the 76-yard touchdown and it gave TCU a needed 10-point cushion after Michigan had fought back from a 34-16 deficit to make it 41-38.

Here are the biggest takeaways:

TCU's big responses

TCU responded every time Michigan tried to make a game out of.

J.J. McCarthy (343 passing yards) bounced back from the two interceptions that TCU returned for touchdowns with big plays with his arm and legs. He kept the pressure on TCU with a 5-yard TD pass that cut the score to 51-45 with 3:18 to play.

TCU needed one last push and one more stop. On third-and-one from its 19 with less than two minutes left, getting help from a teammate behind him, Duggan had enough push on a QB sneak to gain two yards and keep the clock moving.

Still, TCU needed one more stop after Michigan got the ball back with 52 seconds left. On fourth-and-10 with 35 seconds left from his 25, McCarthy fumbled the shotgun snap. The ball was picked up by a lineman who lateraled it back to tailback Donovan Edwards. Edwards passed it to tight end Colston Loveland, who was leveled short of a first down by cornerack Kee’Yon Stewart.

Michigan wanted targeting. After the video review, it was ruled no targeting. Duggan took a knee. Game over.

There was another video review early in the second quarter that didn't go Michigan's way. McCarthy found Roman Wilson behind the secondary for what at first was ruled a 50-yard touchdown pass. But on further review, it was ruled that Wilson was down at the 1, before landing in the end zone. Instead of cutting TCU's lead to 14-10, Kalel Mullings fumbled the handoff on the next play and TCU recovered in the end zone keeping it 14-3.

'Next play' mantra

TCU players kept telling each other along the sideline throughout the game, "Next play."

So every time Michigan made a big play to inch its way back into the game in the third quarter, it was next play. TCU kep responding. And it did so with backup tailback Emari Demercado's help. After Michigan cut it to 34-22 with 1:47 left in the third, Demercado broke off a 69-yard run to the Wolverines 1. Duggan sneaked in from there for a 41-22 lead.

TCU had lost starting tailback Kendre Miller to an injury earlier in the game after he had run for 57 yards on eight carries. There was no dropoff with Demercado, who ran for 150 yards and a TD on 17 carries.

"We preached next play," Duggan said. "Continue to believe, continue to fight, not worrying about what that last play was. Whether it was a bad play, whether it was a successful play, just play the next play. That was our mindset. That helped us through some of that."

That 44-point third quarter between the teams, Dykes called it "crazy."

"The last couple of minutes of the third quarter seemed like it lasted about an hour," Dykes said. "It was wild. Just big play, after big play, after big play, momentum swings.

"The big thing that we did over and over was answer when we had to. We put distance between us and them repeatedly. I thought that was a key to the ball game."

No quit in McCarthy

Even after throwing two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, the second of which giving the Frogs a 34-16 lead in the third quarter, McCarthy never let it get him down. He led the Wolverines to 30 third-quarter points to keep them in the game, down 41-30, entering the final quarter.

He threw a 34-yard TD pass to Ronnie Bell for Michigan's first touchdown midway through the third quarter. He peeled off a 39-yard run, before running 20 yards for a score. TCU responds again. But there was McCarthy finding Bell for 44 yards to the 1, before Kalel Mullings scored. McCarthy's two-point run made it 41-30 with three seconds left in the third quarter.

After TCU fumbled on the last play of the quarter, McCarthy faked a pass as the ball was given to receiver Roman Wilson, who, airbore, sput into the end zone after being hit short of the goal line. Another two-point play by the Wolverines made it 41-38.

"Titan effort, phenemal effort by J.J.," coach Jim Harbaugh said. "I was so proud of him like he was my own son. What a competitor he is.

"Tremendous competitor."

Trick play backfires

Harbaugh lamented that TCU had one more big play than his team, and both teams had "their fair share of mistakes."

Michigan twice was turned away inside the TCU 5, including on its first possession after Edwards had broken loose for a 54-yard gain on the game's first play. Relying on the most dominant offensive line in college football, the Wolverines drove to the 2. But on fourth-and-goal, the Wolverines dialed up the Philly Special that went for an 8-yard loss.

"I take full responsibility for it not working," Harbaugh said. "We should have had something different, obviously."

TCU delivers early punch

That opportunistic 3-3-5 TCU defense — something Michigan hadn't seen this season — delivered the first blow. Free safety Bud Clark jumped the route and intercepted J.J. McCarthy's pass, returning it 41 yards for a touchdown.

TCU's offense, behind Heisman finalist Max Duggan, got into a rhythm with mostly passing plays. But Duggan's two runs in the 76-yard scoring drive were huge. With nobody to throw to, Duggan took for a 12-yard gain to the Michigan 47 on third-and-eight.

Then after completing four straight passes, Duggan had runs of 3, 1 and 1, the last of which he bulled over a defender into the end zone, and the Horned Frogs were up 14-0 with less than three minutes to play in the opening quarter.

Duggan's precision, grit

Duggan's first-half stats weren't flashy (7 of 16 for 89 yards, one TD, one interception; eight carries, 30 yards, one TD), but his poise and grit and timing were crucial in staking the Frogs a 21-3 lead. He ended up 14 of 29 passing for 225 yards and two TDs with two interceptions. He also ran for 57 yards and two scores on 15 carries.

This erased the pain of losing to Kansas State in overtime in the Big 12 Championship.

Now Duggan, who came into the season as the backup, has TCU playing for the national championship.

"It means a lot," Duggan said. "There's been so many great teams come through and build this program. Probably too many to name. They did a lot to get this program to where we're at. The fans continued to support us, continued to have our backs.

"I'm just h appy for the guys in this locker room. A lot of guys have been through a lot of stuff. Some lows. Guys kept fighting. This coaching staff came in and believed in us and put us in place to be successful. There's a lot of pride among TCU."

Jake Moody's record field goal to end half

TCU defensive end Dylan Horton made McCarthy's life miserable, especially in the last three minutes of the first half. His sack for a seven-yard loss stalled Michigan at the TCU 49.

Then, after Michigan got the ball back with 53 seconds left, Horton had another sack that caused a fumble. The ball rolled back and out of bounds another five yards to the Michigan 37 with 24 seconds left. A pass interference called on Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson gave Michigan 10 yards, enough for Jake Moody to kick a Fiesta Bowl and Michigan-record 59-yard field as the half expired, cutting TCU's lead to 21-6.

Moody's kick was the second-longest in college football bowl history with the longest being 62 yards.

Moore:TCU proves upstarts belong with bluebloods

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: TCU holds off Michigan rally with big plays in wild Fiesta Bowl