CFP Semifinal Preview: Michigan vs. TCU Miscellaney

 

(image via Pro Dance Cheer)

Previously: Michigan Rush O vs. TCU Rush D (LINK), Michigan Pass O vs. TCU Pass D (LINK), Michigan Rush D vs. TCU Rush O (LINK)

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Now for a look at TCU's roster and team history:

TCU players offered by Michigan include: WR D.J. Allen, S Chace Biddle, S D'Arco Perkins-McAllister, LB Landyn Watson, DT Damonic Williams, RB Corey Wren

TCU does not have any players from the State of Michigan.

Michigan has never played TCU. However, Jim Harbaugh is 1-0 against TCU head coach Sonny Dykes. When Dykes was at SMU (2017-2021), Michigan played the Mustangs in 2018 and beat them 45-20 in Ann Arbor. In that game, safety Josh Metellus made a huge interception and returned it 73 yards for an interception as time expired before halftime to make it 21-7 going into the locker room. Quarterback Shea Patterson was 14/18 for 237 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones caught all 3 of Patterson's touchdowns. SMU receiver James Proche was the star for the opposition, catching 11 passes for 166 yards and 2 scores.

Interestingly, Dykes never played college football. He was the son of former Texas Tech head football coach Spike Dykes, but Sonny played baseball at Texas Tech before starting his career as a high school baseball coach. He eventually ended up coaching under Hal Mumme at Kentucky and then under Mike Leach at Texas Tech. Overall, Sonny Dykes is 83-64 as a head coach with stints at the following schools:

• Louisiana Tech (2010-2012): 22-15
• California (2013-2016): 19-30
• SMU (2017-2021): 30-18
• TCU (2022): 12-1

He's 1-3 in bowl games with the lone win coming in the Armed Forces Bowl in 2015 when Cal beat Air Force.

This is TCU's first season without Gary Patterson as head coach since 2001. Patterson went 181-79 from 2001-2021 (technically, he coached TCU's bowl game victory in 2000 after Dennis Franchione left to coach Alabama).

The highest TCU has finished in the polls was when they went 13-0 in 2010, including a 21-19 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, and were ranked #2 to end the season.

Why are they the Horned Frogs? Here's a blurb from TCU's admissions page (LINK):

The answer goes way back to 1897, when the yearbook staff of the then-named AddRan Christian University was looking to name its annual. Football began at the university the year before, and legend has it that the football field was covered in the small-but-mighty horned lizards.