TCU quarterback Max Duggan took the podium after last month’s Big 12 championship game puffy-eyed and despondent. The Horned Frogs had just lost in overtime to Kansas State, 31–28, ending their chance at a perfect season and creating a night of doubt around whether they would end up in the College Football Playoff.
At times, he struggled to make it through the press conference.
“I think since my four years I’ve been here, there’s been a lot of lows, at least in a football career,” Duggan said. “And then to be so close to bringing this school and this university a championship, the seniors on this team have been through a lot. I think that’s what hurts the most. You’ve been so down before, so low—to get so close and fall short, I think that’s where [the emotion] is coming from.”
