TCU scored on two interception returns and held off a chaotic Michigan rally to win the Fiesta Bowl, the first College Football Playoff semifinal, 51-45 and clinch a spot in the title game Saturday in Glendale, Ariz.
The Fiesta Bowl pits Michigan vs. TCU with a spot in the National Championship Game on the line. The Fiesta Bowl kicks off at 4 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast by ESPN.Sign up for all of our college football coverage for $1 per month for 12 months.(Photo: USA Today)
For the first time ever, we have Fiesta Bowl Fee Fi Foe Film! Michigan has played in one prior Fiesta Bowl, 1986's contest against Nebraska, so it's safe to say there was no FFFFing going on for that game back then. It's also Michigan's first ever game against the TCU Horned Frogs, meaning we're now in uncharted waters. TCU is 12-1 after completing a perfect regular season before falling to Kansas State in the Big XII Championship Game. Nonetheless, it was enough to earn the #3 ranking and a ticket to the CFP and this Fiesta Bowl. The Film: As many know, the Big XII is not a league known for playing defense. Of the teams TCU has played, only a few qualify as a defense anywhere close to the caliber that Michigan is. Per SP+, there are three teams fitting that bill, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Texas. The ISU game is not usable because it was much like the Iowa/OSU game, a good defensive performance marred by a catastrophically bad offensive one, with th