College football Week 12 highlights

Saturday’s early slate was essentially every movie where a fearless hero has to defuse a bomb, shut his eyes and clip the blue wire, not entirely sure if it’s the right one.

It was every airline disaster film where a passenger is called to fill in for the unconscious pilot and land the plane.

It was Nic Cage, shirt unbuttoned and fluttering in the wind, screaming incoherently as explosions wreak havoc around him.

Saturday walked the college football season right to the edge of the cliff and jumped — only to grab a branch on the way down and climb back to safety.

In Waco, Texas, TCU‘s miracle season went from absurd to sublime as the Horned Frogs botched a two-point conversion, nearly ran out the clock with a curious run call, then perfectly executed a special teams scramble drill for a game-winning field goal.

At the Big House, Illinois had Michigan on the ropes, but the Wolverines inched their way down the field on a final drive, watched J.J. McCarthy throw two passes that could’ve ended in disaster, then booted a field goal to win.

The Nos. 3 and 4 teams in the country remain undefeated. Barely.

Baylor led the Horned Frogs 28-20 with less than 7 minutes to play, but as it has seemingly done every week, TCU had an answer. Max Duggan drove the offense 90 yards on 11 plays for the score, then had Emari Demercado wide open for a game-tying two-point try but led his running back just a touch too far.

Baylor had a chance to run out the clock, but Blake Shapen decided to run on third down despite a wide open receiver beyond the sticks, giving the ball back to TCU one last time. The Horned Frogs managed nine plays and 45 yards in the final 1:34, but because Sonny Dykes is the type of person who likes to hit on 18 just to see what will happen, the final scrimmage play of the game was a run. Demercado went up the middle for 2 yards with the clock ticking down. The field-goal unit sprinted onto the field and snapped the ball just before the clock hit zeroes, and Griffin Kell drilled the 40-yarder for the win.

After the game, Dykes said there was never a doubt. The fire drill is something his team practices routinely. Whether Dykes is aware that practicing fire drills doesn’t require you to light your house on fire to make them worthwhile is irrelevant. The gamble worked.

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TCU scrambles to kick a game-winning field goal in the final seconds against Baylor.

At Michigan, the Wolverines were without receiver Donovan Edwards and Heisman Trophy candidate Blake…