No. 2 Michigan determined to make the most out of second straight College Football Playoff trip

Saturday’s Vrbo Fiesta Bowl game between the second-ranked Wolverines and No. 3 TCU stands as one of the two national semifinal contests. Saturday night, No. 1-ranked Georgia, the defending national champions, will take on No. 4 Ohio State, in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Michigan’s 2021 season season ended in a 34-11 semifinal loss to Georgia, the eventual national champion. Wolverines senior edge rusher Mike Morris still remembers the bitter feeling that came with coming up short exactly a year ago.

“I never want to feel that way again,” he said. “I felt like we came in there to be on vacation, and this year we made it a priority that this is a game we’ve got to win.

“So all the activities, all the bowl stuff is cool, but the focus is winning this game and winning a national championship.”

TCU, led by former UA offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes, has a shot to play spoiler. The key will be starting strong, something that doesn’t always come naturally. The Horned Frogs (12-1) were either tied or trailing at halftime four times, including in the Dec. 3 Big 12 Conference title game loss to Kansas State. 

“That’s something I feel like we have struggled with throughout the season,” said TCU center Steve Avila, a consensus All-American. “I think they say we haven’t put together a complete game, and one of the things that we do need to emphasize on this game on Saturday is you have to start fast, we’ve got to give them our best punch.”

If the aforementioned first punch doesn’t land, expect the third-ranked Frogs — who are spearheaded by quarterback Max Duggan, a Heisman Trophy finalist —  to gut it out the rest of the way. Duggan said he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to walk away victorious Saturday, even if it means utilizing his legs instead of his arm. Duggan has thrown for 3,321 yards and 30 touchdowns in Dykes’ “Air Raid” attack, and has rushed for 404 yards and six scores, too.

“They’re a weapon,” Duggan said of his legs. “We’re going to use them if we need to, whether it’s in designed runs, or breaking the pocket, things of that sort.”

The Wolverines (13-0) are aware of Duggan’s mobility and knack for breaking tackles. They’ve faced talented offenses before. Michigan defensive back DJ Turner believes last month’s game against Ohio State’s receiving corps, which includes AP First Team All-American Marvin Harrison Jr., provided the defense with confidence. “We’ve done it before, I’ll say that,” Turner said, adding that the key is to “be confident in what we can do, just know what we can do. That’s how we look at stuff, and go into games confident.”

Offensively, Michigan will turn to running back Donovan Edwards with starter Blake Corum out following meniscus surgery. Sophomore quarterback JJ McCarthy has thrown for three touchdowns in each of his last two games, a rivalry win over Ohio State and a Big Ten championship game victory over Purdue. He has completed 188 of 288 passes this season for 2,376 yards  and 20 touchdowns. He has been intercepted three times.

McCarthy said the Wolverines plan to establish the ground game early in the semifinal game. Michigan ranks fifth nationally with 243 rushing yards per game. TCU is giving up an average of 149.5 rushing yards per game.

“We don’t care who lines up across from us. It’s just going to be what we’ve been doing all year, which is smashing people and executing at a high level for 60 minutes,” said McCarthy.

Saturday’s winner will advance to Los Angeles for the national championship game, where they’ll take on either No. 1 Georgia or No. 4 Ohio State.

Two playoff victories would give Heisman finalist Stetson Bennett and coach Kirby Smart their second straight title. Only Alabama and Clemson have reached this mark since the College Football Playoff was introduced in 2014.