![]() The expanded playoff and leadership of new commissioner Brett Yormark also injects new hope into the conference. The conference is off life support, and most of the credit should go to TCU. And then there are teams such as Oklahoma State that feel poised to become a power broker in the new landscape that is the Big 12. Houston, UCF, and BYU are arriving with talented rosters capable of knocking off Power Five squads. 500 or better record in Big 12 play for the first time since Mike Leach departed. Texas Tech beat Oklahoma and Texas at home for the first time in school history, while finishing with a. “I think it gave us a little bit of motivation.” “We heard all week that they were going to out-physical us,” Winters said. All while the Longhorns and the Sooners watched from home. TCU beat Michigan the way Michigan beats other teams. ![]() Max Duggan didn’t even complete 50 percent of his passes, and it didn’t matter because the running game was so effective. The Horned Frogs scored two defensive touchdowns and came up with a pair of red zone stops in the first half that turned the game. The conference doesn’t need Texas or Oklahoma to be relevant. The way TCU beat up the Wolverines should provide comfort to the new-look Big 12. Michigan only sees that once or twice a season. The reason none of the Big 12 defensive units rank highly in scoring defense is because they face modern offenses with competent offensive coordinators and above-average quarterback play. The whole college football world saw that. Stopping Iowa isn’t the same as defending Quentin Johnston. Maybe the defense in the Big 10 isn’t all that different than the rest of the country? Maybe, just maybe, like we found out when Johnny Manziel entered the SEC, that the Big 10 defenses are propped up by poor offenses. As a team, TCU averaged 6.4 yards a carry on 41 attempts against the big, bad Michigan front seven. Ohio State, which pushed Georgia to the brink in the other national semifinal, only managed 23 points at home to the defense that TCU backup running back Emari Demercado ran for 150 yards against. They only allowed 44 total points through the first four games. The 51 points scored on Michigan was 24 more than the Wolverines had allowed to a single opponent all season. That’s exactly what the gritty Frogs did in the 51-45 victory that propelled to become the first Big 12 program to reach the final of the College Football Playoff. “We just wanted to come out and showcase what the Big 12 is all about.” “We feel like the Big 12 is a very physical conference,” TCU linebacker Dee Winters, who returned one of the Horned Frogs’ two interceptions for touchdowns, said after the win over Michigan. The team they beat in the title game, Oklahoma State, also posted one of the nation's top defenses. Go ask Ole Miss, which lost to the Bears in the Sugar Bowl. Baylor won the conference last year thanks to a powerful run game and a terrorizing defense. Gone are the days of high-powered offenses abusing hapless defenses. National pundits, even former Big 12 players from Texas and Oklahoma, commented on the softness of the schedule and of the defensive reputation. Michigan players dismissed TCU and its schedule. Most expected the same fate to fall upon TCU in the Fiesta Bowl against Michigan. Oklahoma was the only Big 12 program to reach a College Football Playoff, flaming out each time because of a lack of toughness and defensive prowess. The Big 12 felt on life support when news trickled out before the start of the 2022 season that the Longhorns and Sooners were moving to the greener pastures of the SEC. GLENDALE – As the media waited for the Sonny Dykes and a select number of TCU players to arrive at the post-game press conference after the Horned Frogs knocked off Michigan, safeties coach Paul Gonzales popped his head into the room and yelled multiple times, ‘when you write, make sure they know which conference we are in!’” TCU's win is a victory for the future of the Big 12 Conference Texas Children's Training Staff Superstars Award.San Antonio Student Trainer Program Spotlight.San Antonio Inspirational Coach of the Week. ![]()
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