Michigan, TCU to headline College Football Playoff’s VRBO Fiesta Bowl in Glendale

No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 TCU are set to headline the VRBO Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.

This year’s version of the bowl game will be one of the College Football Playoff’s semifinal matchups.

Michigan will be without star running back Blake Corum after he went out for the season with a knee injury late in the year.

Despite missing the potential Heisman candidate for two contests, the Wolverines have rolled to wins over rival Ohio State on the road and Purdue in the Big Ten Championship.

Michigan finished a flawless season at 13-0 and only had two games in the conference that finished within a single-digit difference in the scoring margin. This is the first time in its history Michigan won 13 games.

The Wolverines are making their second straight semifinal appearance after falling to eventual national champions Georgia in the Orange Bowl in 2022.

The Horned Frogs finished the season 12-1 with a loss in the Big 12 championship to Kansas State in overtime.

Led by quarterback Max Duggan and wideout Quentin Johnson, TCU recorded five top-25 wins with their only loss coming to a team ranked in the top 10.

After losing in the conference title game, it was unclear if a 12-0 regular season would have been good enough for the Horned Frogs to maintain a spot over Ohio State and Alabama.

The College Football Playoff committee said TCU’s total body of work and 5-1 record vs. top 25 opponents “won the day” for the Texas team.

The Horned Frogs made the playoffs just a year after going 5-7 and failing to make a bowl game.

“One of best things about our bowl is having matchups that don’t normally occur,” Fiesta Bowl Chair of the Board of Directors Randal Norton said.

“This is the first time these two teams will ever meet on the field, and it’s been 35 years since Michigan last played in the Fiesta Bowl. TCU has been an intriguing story all year and one of these teams will move on to the National Championship.

The winner of the Fiesta Bowl will get the winner of the other college football semifinal between No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Ohio State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.