GLENDALE, Ariz. — Michigan junior receiver Roman Wilson repeated what most of his teammates were saying in some shape or form on Saturday in a gloomy Wolverines locker room.
For the second year in a row, Michigan defeated bitter rival Ohio State to win the Big Ten championship. But for the second year in a row, the Wolverines lost in the college football playoff semifinals, this time a 51-45 heartbreaker to TCU in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
“Just too many mistakes, too many chances and not making plays or screwing up plays,” Wilson said. “I mean, they’re a good team. I still think we’re the better team, but they brought out the best in us. Everything they did in the movie is how they played in the game. We so we weren’t surprised. We just couldn’t pull it off.”
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Junior offensive guard Zak Zinter acted even more concisely.
“We haven’t settled on a few small details. we hurt each other … We fought out there,” Zinter said.
One by one, Michigan’s players did their best to gauge their second straight CFP Semifinals loss, which saw the Wolverines fall behind early and try to catch up the rest of the way. Trailing 21-3 in the second quarter and 41-22 late in the third quarter, the Wolverines kept fighting. They ended up failing to overcome two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, three first-and-goals that earned three points total, and a rushing defense (third nationally) that gave up 263 yards on the ground.
“To be the defense we are, it’s not up to our standard to give up 51 points,” said senior defenseman Mike Sainristil, part of a Michigan defense that allowed seven plays from scrimmage of 15 yards or more. “I think that’s just the summary of the game. We didn’t play at our level.”
Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy threw for 343 yards and two touchdowns, bringing the Wolverines back every time it looked like they were out of the game. But his two interceptions, returned for touchdowns, were costly, as was Kalel Mullings’ fumbling at TCU’s 1-yard line in the second quarter. In the game before Mulling’s fumble, Wilson caught a 51-yard touchdown pass that Michigan thought was a 51-yard touchdown pass. But the game was reviewed and officials decided his knee was bad at 1.
“I thought I was in, but I don’t know,” said Wilson, who had five catches for 104 yards.
The loss prolonged Michigan’s postseason woes. The Wolverines have now lost six straight bowl games. They lost 34-11 to Georgia in the playoff semifinals a year ago.
But this one hurt even worse given the Wolverines’ mistakes, according to the players.
“I’m sure that in hindsight, maybe when I’m older, I’ll appreciate that I won the Big Ten championship and all for the second straight year and beat Ohio State for the second straight year Mullings said. “But right now, man, it just feels like we’ve got a lot on the table.”
Senior defender Mazi Smith said the Wolverines waited too late in the game to start playing “complementary football” and that despite turnovers on offense, the defense ultimately allowed it to turn into a shootout. Prior to Saturday’s game, Michigan had not dropped more than 27 points in a game all season.
“I mean, I just looked up and said, ‘There’s been a lot of kickoffs,’ you know what I mean?” Smith said. “I thought, ‘Damn, that could be as many kickoffs as we’ve had all season.’ But eventually the scoreboard doesn’t matter anymore. You just have to play your heart out.”
Smith also pushed back any talk that Michigan underestimated TCU and thought she could physically push the Horned Frogs around.
“Look at TCU and they play good football,” said Smith. “They have big guards. They have big duels. They have a good middle and they have a really big back [Emari Demercado] he walks like Derrick Henry. So I look at them like they can play, these guys can play. … This is a college football playoff game, and you’re not getting there by sucking.
As bitter as the loss was for the Wolverines, they said it would only take more of their toll this offseason.
“We’ll be back,” Wilson said. “This is going to be the new springboard for this program, the culture, the new people and everyone here, just the dedication and hard work everyone is putting in. This could be the new future for us.
“That’s what we’re supposed to do, go out and get it done in these games.”
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said, “Both teams made big plays, made mistakes. We only had one less than we needed. They had one more and that was ultimately the difference in the game.”