TCU Football

Football at TCU: Horned Frogs hold off Texas in defensive struggle

TCU defeated a formidable opponent in Austin on Saturday night, displacing all the sceptics.

The entire college football community predicted that TCU’s incredible playoff run would stop when they arrived in Austin. TCU triumphed in their toughest test yet, defeating the Longhorns 17-10 in a defensive battle.

Both teams struggled offensively throughout the game. TCU cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson received the first throw from quarterback Quinn Ewers that did not fall to the ground. All night long, Bijan Robinson was restrained and finished with 12 carries for 29 yards. Texas was backed up the whole first half owing to Jordy Sandy’s excellent punting.

The Longhorns made a number of errors, including seven expensive penalties and dropped passes. Their offence was never able to get rolling, but the TCU defence deserves a lot of praise for arriving with a game plan and carrying it out. Johnny Hodges ended with the most tackles on the team with 11, and Dylan Horton dominated the line of scrimmage with five stops and a sack.

The TCU offence didn’t fare much better since Max Duggan was under pressure the entire time. Barryn Sorrell caused trouble, blew plays up all night, and defeated the TCU offensive line. In all, he made 11 tackles, three of which were for a loss, and 1.5 sacks. Several times within Texas’s zone, TCU possessed the ball, but they were unable to score.

Griffin Kell’s 34-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the first half gave the game its first points. After a few punts to start the second half, the game took a dramatic turn. The Frogs eventually found a seam, and Kendre Miller ran it 75 yards to the house to make it 10-0. TCU finally took advantage of the Longhorn defence in a match that was lacking the home run play.

Miller would end up gaining 138 yards and a score on 21 attempts. Texas would answer with a field goal, but TCU retaliated with an 80-yard drive that took nine plays and ended with a touchdown throw from Duggan to Quentin Johnston. Following some misunderstanding in the Texas secondary, Johnston was wide open. All three of the wide receiver’s catches, including the one that sealed the Horned Frogs’ victory, came at crucial moments.

Duggan’s poor turnover at the conclusion of the game, which let Texas to score, nearly cost TCU the game. As the clock expired, the Frogs never handed the ball back.

The first head football coach at TCU to win his first 10 games is Sonny Dykes. With the victory, the TCU Horned Frogs have earned a berth in the Big 12 championship game in Arlington and are now 8-3 against Texas since joining the Big 12.

These Frogs, though, have their sights set on the CFB playoff, which is something far larger. Next week, TCU will travel to Waco to face Baylor before returning home to host Iowa State.

Photo Credits: https://buzzing.today/sports/


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