There is a narrative heading into Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinals that Michigan is a team that was just happy to be here last season and will use that experience to have a better showing this year. That conveniently overlooks how and who they got walloped by: a generational Georgia defense. The Horned Frogs are not as fearsome as those Dawgs, but with a penchant for the dramatic all season, TCU still poses an interesting matchup while being the consensus fourth-best team in the field. Michigan is a 7.5-point favorite in the Fiesta Bowl, so how do these teams match up?
When TCU has the ball
The Frogs subsist on big plays. With 84, TCU has the fourth-most plays of 20-plus yards in the country. Michigan is 14th in explosive plays allowed (40), and it’s third among teams that have played 13 or more games. If Michigan can limit TCU’s big plays, it could force the Horned Frogs into sustaining long drives with their slightly above-average third-down conversion rate (51st nationally).
