LOS ANGELES – Michigan had every chance to jump out in front of TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.
On the first drive of the game, the Wolverines drove to the TCU 2-yard line but elected to run Philly Special, which was snuffed out. On Michigan’s next possession, TCU defensive back Bud Clark took an interception 41 yards the opposite way for a touchdown.
After a deep ball put the Wolverines on the one-inch line, they fumbled the ball away. Dee Winters later added another pick-six for the Horned Frogs.
Michigan outgained TCU 528-488 in total yards and held the ball for almost five minutes longer, but lost by six points. The difference came down to Michigan’s three turnovers and two turnovers on downs.
Considering TCU turned the ball over three times on its own, the game could've easily had a different outcome with a cleaner game from Michigan.
In the College Football Playoff National Championship Monday night, Georgia knows it can’t let TCU hang around due to its own doing.
“I don’t think enough is said about the way they play,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “First of all, (defensive coordinator) Joe Gillespie is unbelievable in what he does. People try to paint this picture that it’s the Big 12 defense. They’re not exactly like other Big 12 defenses. They’re very unique. We studied him at Tulsa. He did an incredible job at Tulsa. When we played Cincinnati, in the (2021) Peach Bowl, he was the defensive coordinator at Tulsa. They had done the best job against Cincinnati and had really stoned them in this defense.”
For the season, TCU is plus-9 in turnover margin with 22 takeaways. Conversely, Georgia ranks 79th in turnover margin at minus-2, and has lost the ball 18 times.
That stated, Georgia has beaten some teams that have fared better in the turnover margin category than TCU. The Bulldogs soundly defeated Georgia Tech (plus-11), Florida (plus-10), and Tennessee (plus-10) despite those teams’ ability to protect the football. Georgia also destroyed Oregon in the first week of the season, with the Ducks concluding the year (plus-9) in turnover margin.
Gillespie is cognizant of the Horned Frogs’ need to turn the Bulldogs over at SoFi Stadium Monday evening.
“We talked about it before every game we played,” Gillespie said. “If we can come out on the plus side of the turnover ratio, then we're going to have an excellent opportunity of having a higher score when the clock clicks zero. But you got to go do those things. We played in the Big 12 Championship game, and we didn't do that. A lot of those big games we won in overtime, that we came down to the wire and last-second field goals and stuff like that, fortunately, we were either able to even it up or we were able to go plus one, plus two.
“We are going to have to give our offense extra possessions, and in order for us to do that, we're going to have to create some of those big plays. We are going to have to have another goal line stand or two, and if you want to go win a national championship, that's what you got to do.”
TCU cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, this year’s Jim Thorpe Award winner, was asked how best to slow Stetson Bennett and the Georgia offense.
It’s a simple answer in his estimation.
“Creating turnovers, man,” he said. “Just being able to get off the field. Not playing as many snaps, and just being a defense that we are. You know, because at the end of the day, Georgia has done very great things. But we're a great team also. We're also a great defense. But I would say the biggest thing is just being able to create turnovers and create points on the board on defense, and just winning the turnover battle.”
Georgia has turned the ball over at least once in the past seven games. Six of Bennett’s seven interceptions this season have come in this span as well. As a team, the Horned Frogs have totaled 16 interceptions.
Bennett has been impressed with the TCU secondary, which allowed the Horned Frogs to jump out to an early lead and eventually win over Michigan.
“I think their corners are really good,” Bennett said. “I think that allows them to play. That frees up everybody else, because they trust him out there on that island and just their overall team speed. They're real fast. They train it a lot, but then they're also really physical. When you have both, that's a dangerous combination. It's going to be a fun game.”
