| 2022 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College Football Playoff Semifinal 52nd Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | State Farm Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Glendale, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Quentin Johnston (WR, TCU) Dee Winters (LB, TCU) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Michigan by 7.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Boyz II Men | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jason Autrey (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 71,723 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Molly McGrath, and Tiffany Blackmon (sidelines) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 10.0 (21.7 million viewers) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN Deportes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | ESPN Deportes: Ciro Procuna (play-by-play), Ramiro Pruneda (analyst), and Carlos Nava (sidelines) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2022 Fiesta Bowl (officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2022, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The game was the 52nd annual playing of the Fiesta Bowl, one of the two semifinals of the 2022–23 College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinals, and was one of the bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. The game began at approximately 2:00 p.m. MST and aired on ESPN. It featured two of the four teams chosen by the selection committee to participate in the playoff: the TCU Horned Frogs from the Big 12 Conference and the Michigan Wolverines from the Big Ten Conference. The winner qualified for the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship against the winner of the other semifinal, hosted at the Peach Bowl.
Michigan entered the game with an unbeaten 13–0 record as Big Ten champions following their win over Purdue in the Big Ten Championship, while TCU entered 12–1 in the aftermath of their only loss of the season, to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship. This game was the first meeting between Michigan and TCU. It marked Michigan's second appearance in the CFP in as many years, following their semifinal loss to Georgia the year prior, and it was TCU's debut in the CFP. Michigan made their first Fiesta Bowl appearance since 1986, while TCU participated in their first Fiesta Bowl since 2010.
TCU scored the game's first points on a pick-six and led 14–0 at the conclusion of the first quarter following a rushing touchdown by quarterback Max Duggan. Michigan's first points came by way of a 42-yard field goal by placekicker Jake Moody; he made another from 59 yards to end the first half though a TCU touchdown by Taye Barber five minutes earlier gave the Horned Frogs a 21–6 advantage at halftime. Michigan began the third quarter with ten straight points, including a touchdown pass from J. J. McCarthy to Ronnie Bell, and TCU countered with two unanswered touchdowns of their own, pushing their lead to eighteen points. The teams alternated touchdowns, Michigan scoring two and TCU scoring one, before the end of the third quarter. Michigan scored a touchdown forty-seven seconds into the fourth quarter and made the two-point conversion, which narrowed their deficit to three points. A 76-yard TCU touchdown, followed by a Horned Frogs field goal four minutes later, extended the lead to thirteen points before a Roman Wilson touchdown made it 51–45. After a TCU punt, Michigan suffered a turnover on downs and the game concluded with TCU receiving the national championship bid.