INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Since the start of the College Football Playoff, the Big 12 conference has generally been in the conversation, but never quite good enough to make an appearance in the title game.
There were several Oklahoma teams: one led by Kyler Murray, who went to the Arizona Cardinals, another led by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, and another led by Los Angeles Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield. which all did not reach the semi-finals. There were other teams that were close to the playoffs but couldn’t be one of the top four.
Texas Christian became the unlikely hero of the conference this season as it rolled to a game-high 13 wins, including one in the semifinals over Michigan, and became the first Big 12 team to win a game in the playoff format. TCU was facing Georgia in the final — a college football game — but it looked like it might have a chance with a unique defensive style, a Heisman finalist and one of the best receivers in the country.
But on Monday night, on the biggest stage and in one of the Big 12’s biggest games in recent memory, TCU suffered arguably the most embarrassing loss in College Football Playoff history, losing, 65-7, in a game that for the most part he was not competitive.
For much of the game, it looked like Georgia’s offense was playing a video game on the easiest difficulty level. Georgia bulldozed through TCU’s linemen with ease. He forced TCU quarterback Max Duggan into uncharacteristically bad throws, resulting in two bad interceptions. And TCU’s defense only forced one punt and looked confused by Georgia’s every move.
“We’re not that kind of football team,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “If we make those mistakes, we won’t win football games. We’re definitely not going to play for a national championship.”
Dykes said he felt his team was closed Monday night in the locker room ahead of the game, and he felt there was a lot of “tension” and that his team looked “a little too worn out” and “maybe a little too emotional.”
“And as a result, you know, he did some things that we don’t normally do,” Dykes said. “I just don’t think we were in the frame of mind that we needed to be in and we have to do a better job of trying to get our players there. And obviously, we failed in that regard.”
Over the past two weeks, Georgia has shown some flashes of vulnerability. He allowed key passes to Ohio State and Louisiana State and was squeaked by the Buckeyes in the semifinals due to Ohio State’s dropped field goal. And with its success through the air against Michigan, TCU hoped but failed mightily to do the same against Georgia.
TCU, uncharacteristically, has not been the resilient team it has been all year. The Horned Frogs had won five back-to-back games, often by double digits, but on Monday night they appeared to be laying low as Georgia ran up the score.
“They didn’t do anything special,” TCU linebacker Dee Winters said. “We just beat ourselves up. They just executed on our missed alignments and just kept scoring on them. You know, we just kept beating ourselves up, you know, just overthinking.”
Duggan, who finished second in Heisman Trophy voting, had his worst performance of the season. It wasn’t all the games fault. He was often pressured by Georgia defenders who worked on him as soon as he took the snap. However, when there were opportunities to hit open receivers, Duggan routinely missed them.
A prime example came in the second quarter, when Quentin Johnston ran up the middle of the field wide open, but Duggan overthrew him, the ball falling into the hands of Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard.
“I was making bad decisions and not executing well,” Duggan said, adding later, “They had some flashes, some pressures that went through. I held onto the ball too long, wasn’t making the reads and was causing trouble on the O-line myself.”
Although the playoffs will expand to 12 teams in the 2024 season, the way TCU lost this game will raise more questions and criticism about the seemingly huge gap between the top teams, especially those in the Southeastern Conference, and those in other leagues.
After Kansas State beat TCU in the Big 12 championship game, many were clamoring for Alabama to replace the Horned Frogs in the playoffs. Alabama then beat Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl by 25 points.
“Look, we have a good football team and it was tough tonight,” Dykes said. He added: “We’re all disappointed that we didn’t play better, we didn’t train better, we didn’t represent our team better than we did tonight. But we’ll learn from it and the next time we’re in a scene like this, we’ll handle it better.”
TCU finished 5-7 last season, and with Duggan leaving for the NFL draft and Johnston likely out the door, it’s unclear when the next time will be for TCU
