TCU
13-1 , 9-1
University of Michigan
13-1 , 10-0
TCU Beats Michigan, Advances to CFP National Championship
12/31/2022 9:29:00 PM | Football
Horned Frogs to play for the national title Jan. 9 in Los Angeles
The Horned Frogs will face Georgia on Monday, Jan. 9, in the CFP National Championship at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
TCU became the first Big 12 member to win a CFP contest and set a program record for points scored in a bowl game.
Leading 51-45 with 52 seconds to play and Michigan beginning a series at its own 25, TCU held the Wolverines without a first down to secure the victory.
Led by that defense, TCU started fast by making an impact on Michigan's opening two possessions. Facing a 4th-and-goal at the 2 on the game's first series, the Wolverines went for it and the play resulted in a sack by Dylan Horton for a loss of 8 yards. It was the first of four sacks in the game by Horton.
The Horned Frogs' defense came up big again on Michigan's next series. On the first snap, Bud Clark had a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown to give TCU a 7-0 lead. Dee Winters later added another Pick 6 for the Horned Frogs. Winters also totaled 3.0 tackles for loss in being selected the game's Defensive Most Valuable Player.
TCU's defense again made an impact in the second quarter. With Michigan having a 1st-and-goal at the 1, a fumbled handoff was recovered in the end zone by Clark for a touchback.
The Horned Frogs took their largest lead of the game at 41-22 on a Max Duggan 1-yard run with 49 seconds left in the third quarter. Duggan totaled 282 yards of offense (225 passing, 57 rushing) and four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing).
Emari Demercado rushed for a career-high 150 yards, including a career long 69-yard carry to set up a 1-yard Duggan scoring run to give TCU its biggest lead of the game at 41-22 with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
Quentin Johnston earned Offensive Most Valuable Player honors after totaling six catches for 163 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown. It came just three plays after the Wolverines had trimmed TCU's 19-point advantage to just 41-38.
The Horned Frogs totaled 488 yards of offense against a Michigan defense that entered the game allowing just 13.4 points and 277.1 yards per game.
Team Stats
TCU 7, UMI 0
TCU - Clark,Bud 41 yd interception (Kell,Griffin kick)
TCU 14, UMI 0
TCU - Duggan,Max 1 yd run (Kell,Griffin kick), 12 plays, 76 yards, TOP 05:19
TCU 14, UMI 3
UMI - Moody,Jake 42 yd field goal 8 plays, 51 yards, TOP 03:41
TCU 21, UMI 3
TCU - Barber,Taye 6 yd pass from Duggan,Max (Kell,Griffin kick) 10 plays, 83 yards, TOP 04:24
TCU 21, UMI 6
UMI - Moody,Jake 59 yd field goal 5 plays, 26 yards, TOP 00:47
TCU 21, UMI 9
UMI - Moody,Jake 21 yd field goal 7 plays, 63 yards, TOP 04:09
TCU 21, UMI 16
UMI - Bell,Ronnie 34 yd pass from McCarthy,J.J. (Moody,Jake kick) 3 plays, 45 yards, TOP 01:12
TCU 28, UMI 16
TCU - Demercado,Emari 1 yd run (Kell,Griffin kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:07
TCU 34, UMI 16
TCU - Winters,Dee 29 yd interception ()
TCU 34, UMI 22
UMI - McCarthy,J.J. 20 yd run (), 3 plays, 69 yards, TOP 00:58
TCU 41, UMI 22
TCU - Duggan,Max 1 yd run (Kell,Griffin kick), 3 plays, 78 yards, TOP 00:52
TCU 41, UMI 30
UMI - Mullings,Kalel 1 yd run (McCarthy,J.J. rush), 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:46
TCU 41, UMI 38
UMI - Wilson,Roman 18 yd run (Bell,Ronnie pass), 2 plays, 27 yards, TOP 00:47
TCU 48, UMI 38
TCU - Johnston,Quentin 76 yd pass from Duggan,Max (Kell,Griffin kick) 3 plays, 79 yards, TOP 00:59
TCU 51, UMI 38
TCU - Kell,Griffin 33 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 02:07
TCU 51, UMI 45
UMI - Wilson,Roman 5 yd pass from McCarthy,J.J. (Moody,Jake kick) 9 plays, 56 yards, TOP 03:28
