TCU could be college football’s best story ... unless it’s Willie Fritz and Tulane

TCU’s appearance in the College Football Playoff title game against Georgia should give hope to the sports’ middle class of the Power Five neighborhood.

The Horned Frogs aren’t loaded with five-star players; TCU has one, compared to the Bulldogs’ 15. Georgia spends more on athletics and football.

Georgia has fought its way to the top of college football and has the makings of being a long-term contender. Last season, TCU finished 5-7 and lost a game 63-17.

But here the Horned Frogs are, on the grandest stage having defeated another from the gated community, Michigan, to qualify. No matter the outcome, TCU is college’s football’s best story in the postseason.

Unless it’s Tulane.

Before its Cotton Bowl date with Southern California, the Green Wave had logged one of the greatest turnaround seasons in history: from 2-10 and tied for last in the American Athletic Conference a year ago to 11-2 and league champion heading into the bowl.

Willie Fritz, the Kansas Citian whose coaching career started in the Sunflower League and was shaped in the MIAA, could take great satisfaction in the program’s accomplishments as the minutes ticked away in the fourth quarter a week ago with the Trojans holding a 15-point lead.

Then the remarkable happened. Some 4 1/2 minutes remained when the game flipped. A quick Tulane touchdown, a major Trojans’ error on a kickoff return that turned into a Green Wave safety and the go-ahead touchdown with seven seconds remaining gave Tulane a 46-45 victory for the ages.

“It’s the biggest win in Tulane history,” Willie Fritz said.

A victory that resonated in the heartland.

Fritz played and coached at Shawnee Mission Northwest and was a defensive back at Pittsburg State.

In 2016, Fritz became Tulane’s head coach, moving from Georgia Southern. Before that he was at Sam Houston State — for a total of 13 season at the FBS and FCS levels. The 13 seasons before then Fritz was the head coach at Central Missouri, winning an MIAA championship and posting 12 winning records.

The Green Wave staff is also MIAA-centric, with offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda, who followed Fritz as the head coach in Warrensburg, and wide receivers John McMenamin, a former Central Missouri assistant.

Also on the coaching staff: special teams coordinator Robby Discher, who played at North Kansas City High and William Jewell, and Fritz’s son Wes, who serves as player personnel director and manages recruiting events.

The Fritz family is also well represented in Kansas City coaching. Willie’s brother Ed won five Kansas 6A state basketball titles at Blue Valley Northwest and is now the coach at North Kansas City. Ed’s wife, Ann, is the girls basketball coach at Blue Valley North and recorded her 600th career victory last month.

Humble beginnings is a Tulane staff theme, and it starts with the head coach, who credits good timing and good connections for his step-ladder success.

“Most of my coaches didn’t really start on third base and think they hit a triple,” Fritz said. “It’s a lot of guys who worked their way up.”

Locally, this season proved past success can be an indicator of future results, no matter the background. Look at Kansas State and Kansas. The Wildcats won their first Big 12 title in two decades under coach Chris Klieman, defeating TCU on the same field as Tulane’s bowl triumph.

Klieman won four NCAA FCS championships at North Dakota State before arriving in Manhattan.

Kansas’ Lance Leipold was a six-time NCAA Division III winner at Wisconsin-Whitewater before going to three straight bowl games at Buffalo and this year guiding Kansas to its first bowl season since 2008.

Fritz also has multiple national championships on his resume. He coached Blinn (Tex.) College to consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association championships and then helped steer the quarterback of those teams, Michael Bishop, to Kansas State.

“There are a lot of good coaches out there at all different levels,” Fritz said. “A ton of them who could be in my shoes — high school, D-III, D-II, D-I, 1-AA, juco, you name it.”

Many of the coaches and other influential figures in Fritz’s life shared in the Cotton Bowl joy. Afterwards, he heard from Dennis Franchione, Gary Patterson and Jerry Kill, all former Pitt State coaches.

Fritz’s college coach at Pitt, Ron Randleman, made it a point to attend several Green Wave games this season.

Tulane is a charter member of the SEC in 1932 but dropped out in 1966 because, even then, football just meant more to the other schools. The Green Wave had their moments since then, like the 1998 team that finished 12-0 and ranked seventh in the final polls.

This season’s Week 3 victory at Kansas State grew in significance especially after the Wildcats won the Big 12 title.

But no triumph was bigger for Tulane and Fritz than the Cotton Bowl.

Sometimes,” Fritz said “You’re at the right place at the right time.”