GLENDALE, AZ – The No.3 TCU Horned Frogs defeated the No.2 Michigan Wolverines 51-45 in the College Football Playoffs semifinals in Glendale, Arizona at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium.
The Horned Frogs never trailed the Wolverines in the game and when they scored, they scored fast.
With 9:22 left in the first quarter, Horned Frogs Bud Clark picked off Michigan Quarterback J.J. McCarthy to take it 41 yards to the house giving TCU the first touchdown of the game.
On the ensuing possession, Michigan would go three and out and punt the ball back to TCU where the Horned Frogs would drive 76 yards in 12 plays.
TCU’s Max Duggan, the 2022 Davey O’Brien Award winner for the nation’s best college quarterback ran the ball in from the one-yard line to give the Horned Frogs a 14-0 lead.
By halftime, TCU would score 21 points with the third happening on a 10-play, 83-yard drive with Duggan throwing a six-yard pass to wide receiver Taye Barber.
At the end of the half, the Horned Frogs commanded an outstanding lead in a game where they were labeled the underdogs.
The game between the Horned Frogs and the Wolverines felt like a heavyweight boxing match as the two teams duked it out.
TCU led the entire game, but in the final quarter, Michigan would keep it close taking advantage of a fumble by Horned Frogs Emari Demercado.
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards would take the ball in for a nine-yard run.
The Wolverines convert on the ensuing two-point conversion to bring Michigan within three points of TCU 41-38.
But TCU pulled away and the Horned Frogs ride off into the sunset to the College Football Playoffs National Championship game upsetting the Michigan Wolverines and silencing their critics.
Max Duggans finished the game by completing 14 of 29 passes for 225 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Horned Frogs running back Emarie Demarcado finished the game with 17 carries and 150 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Michigan’s Quarterback J.J. McCarthy finished the game by completing 20 of 34 passes with 343 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Donovan Edwards, Wolverines running back, finished with 23 carries and 119 yards rushing.
Both teams turned the ball over three times.
Max Duggan and the No.3 TCU Horned Frogs will take on the Undefeated and defending National Champions the No.1 Georgia Bulldogs at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
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