Michigan beaten at its own game as title dreams dashed by TCU

Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

GLENDALE, Ariz. — They wandered toward the tunnel in a haze. Purple confetti poured from the rafters of State Farm Stadium as a team picked seventh in the preseason Big 12 poll, a team with a first-year head coach and the pluckiest of underdog quarterbacks stormed toward the midfield logo.

One of the best seasons in Michigan history was cut short, 51-45, in a loss to Texas Christian that will prove as gut-wrenching as it was thrilling. Head coach Jim Harbaugh’s team had come undone by a series of first-half mistakes and a defensive collapse the likes of which hadn’t been seen in the past two seasons. An undefeated campaign spoiled, a chance at the first national championship since 1997 erased.

So off they walked — slowly, sadly, disbelievingly — toward a locker room certain to be bathed in silence. Twice the Wolverines reached the College Football Playoff, and twice they fell short of a chance to compete for it all.

Too little, too late: With each passing week and each run-heavy demolition of another Big Ten opponent, the questions about Michigan’s passing game grew louder — just as they did last season with quarterback Cade McNamara under center. Everyone recognized the live-wire potential of the true sophomore J.J. McCarthy, the former five-star recruit who supplanted McNamara earlier this season, but nobody knew how he’d perform if called upon more than 15 or 20 times in a game. Such is the luxury of an elite rushing attack: McCarthy was rarely asked to make high-pressure throws with a deficit on the scoreboard.

That moment arrived Saturday, during Michigan’s biggest game of the season, when a first-half collapse mired McCarthy with an 18-point deficit. A portion of that blame rested with the quarterback himself after an early interception was returned 41 yards for a score. He would repeat that mistake in the third quarter — after the Wolverines pulled within 12 on a flea flicker to wideout Ronnie Bell — when linebacker Dee Winters snared a short pass to race 29 yards to the end zone.

And while those two mistakes will linger in McCarthy’s mind for quite some time, his high-level playmaking is the reason Michigan had any kind of chance at all. McCarthy completed 12 of 16 passes and tossed two touchdowns in the second half alone. There were long connections with Bell (34, 44) and critical passes to Roman Wilson (five catches, 104 yards). When the aerial route was jammed, McCarthy ran for 49 yards on consecutive plays to find the end zone himself.

But with one chance remaining in the waning moments — and the Horned Frogs clinging to a six-point lead — a miscommunication between center and quarterback finally stifled the Wolverines. A fumbled snap, a failed fourth down and a long flight back to Michigan.

Taste of their own medicine: Prior to kickoff, Michigan’s co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore sported a T-shirt that said “Toughness on Demand” across the chest and recognized the Wolverines as winners of the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in college football. Moore, who doubles as the offensive line coach, was not alone in sporting that attire. Dominance in the trenches became the program’s calling card after capturing the award for the second consecutive year.

The primary beneficiary of Michigan’s mauling style, tailback Blake Corum, spent his pregame crutching around the perimeter of the natural grass surface. He posed for photos and signed autographs for adoring fans — many of whom begged him to return for another season in 2023 — and maintained his ever-present smile despite the knee injury that ended his year prematurely.

But aside from a 54-yard carry by Donovan Edwards on the first play from scrimmage, after which Corum was captured on camera nodding his head in agreement, the more potent ground game belonged TCU. Michigan entered this year’s playoff with the No. 3 run defense in the nation at 85.2 yards per game, and the Horned Frogs promptly shredded it for 264 yards and three scores.

That their production continued even after starting tailback Kendre Miller (eight carries, 57 yards) dropped out of the game with a lower-body injury spoke to the effectiveness of TCU’s offensive line, a group that includes a consensus All-American in guard Steve Avila and at least two future pros. The primary backup, Emari Demercado, gashed the Wolverines for 8.8 yards per carry inflated by a backbreaking 69-yard run to set up a short touchdown plunge from Duggan late in the third quarter. Demercado, who carried the ball 126 fewer times than Miller this season, more than doubled his previous season high of 65 rushing yards by ripping off 150 on 17 attempts.

The combination of Miller, Demercado and Duggan formed a three-headed rushing attack that confounded one of the best statistical defenses in college football. A group that tackled soundly all season repeatedly missed chances to ensure small gains never bled into larger chunks, but TCU gobbled yards after contact.

And when it finally ended, the Horned Frogs had out-rushed Michigan by 78 yards.

Losing their cool: So much of Michigan’s success during a renaissance that vaulted the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff in consecutive seasons can be traced to the unflinching discipline Harbaugh instilled at his tenure’s nadir, a crossroads following the disillusioning 2-4 finish to 2020 that threatened his job security in Ann Arbor. The upperclassmen who returned in 2021 did so with a commitment to sweat equity over star power. They attacked the offseason workouts led by strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert, a man hailed as the unsung hero of Michigan’s back-to-back Big Ten titles and embraced the creation of new habits. Players and coaches made repeated references to the way footwear was neatly aligned in the weight room as an example of the team never taking a detail for granted.

The on-field product reflected what some described as an increased level of maturity. A year ago, starting quarterback McNamara played the kind of mistake-free football that maximized the two-headed rushing attack of Hassan Haskins and Corum. Any weaknesses in a much-maligned Michigan secondary — a scapegoat during the 2020 debacle — were shrouded by an elite pass-rushing tandem of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo that wrecked opposing game plans.

The intensity felt even sharper in 2022 after Harbaugh signed a lucrative contract extension and most of the coaching staff was retained. McCarthy played with remarkable judiciousness in his first season as the starting quarterback to help the Wolverines finish plus-8 in turnover margin. A defense that made such incredible strides under first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald in 2021 improved in what seemed like every statistical category as another ex-Baltimore Raven, Jesse Minter, provided the schematic continuity Harbaugh sought on the way to 13 consecutive wins.

And then their composure vanished against TCU. An avalanche of mistakes, mental errors and questionable play selection upended the Wolverines in a maddening first half no player or coach will be eager to re-watch. The play-calling tandem of co-offensive coordinators Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss exacerbated two seasons of red zone woes by straying from personnel and power running that got them here. A failed trick play on fourth-and-goal was designed as a throwback pass to McCarthy and ended with tight end Colston Loveland getting sacked before he could release the ball. Another short-yardage opportunity went awry when they trusted Kalel Mullings to handle the ball near the goal line only to watch the converted linebacker fumble into the end zone.

There were additional mistakes from McCarthy, whose inaccurate ball location on an out route produced a pick-six that opened the scoring. Minter’s defense experienced substitution and alignment issues compounded by subpar tackling. The offense was flagged for a false start in which every offensive lineman flinched except the center.

Thirty minutes of a prolonged implosion. Thirty minutes they’ll never forget.

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Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.