Texas Christian University (TCU) will get a crack at upsetting yet another top-name team in the Big 12 when the Horned Frogs travel to Austin to face the University of Texas Longhorns.
No.4 TCU is putting up one of the best seasons in recent memory and is one of only four Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams still hanging goose eggs in the “L” column. Georgia (No.1), Ohio State (No.2), and Michigan (No.3) are the other unbeaten teams remaining this season.
Head coach Sonny Dykes has transformed the culture of football at TCU, and players and fans alike have gotten on board.
TCU has sold out its stadium for each of the last several home games as the win streak has fueled the hope this team has turned a corner and is returning to prominence in North Texas.
Last week, Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff came to Fort Worth, bringing a giant national spotlight to the Frogs as they faced Big 12-rival Texas Tech. It took a heroic second-half effort and a dominant fourth-quarter performance for TCU to earn the win.
They had found themselves down 17–13 in the third quarter before the top-ranked scoring offense finally got traction. Quarterback Max Duggan tossed two touchdowns, and Kendre Miller added another score out of the backfield as the Frogs loaded up 21 fourth-quarter points to win 34–24.
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston was unable to go for TCU, eliminating Duggan’s top target and forcing the offense to rely on shorter receivers. Johnston was clearly missed as Duggan turned in some of the worst numbers of his season, missing nearly half of his passes and compiling only 195 yards.
The offense failed to score through the first three quarters but got help from Darius Davis and the special teams unit. Davis took the first punt of the game 82 yards for a touchdown to get the first score, and kicker Griffin Kell was a perfect 2–2 on field goals, keeping TCU in the game until the offense began to find a rhythm.
Texas faced Kansas State in Week 10 and fended off a late rally to hold on for a 34–27 win, scoring 31 points in the first half. They led the Cougars by 24 points at halftime but added only a field goal in the fourth quarter.
The Longhorns’ Keondre Coburn forced Adrian Martinez to fumble with just 24 seconds remaining on the clock. Texas recovered the loose ball to end the Cougars’ rally and earn the win.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers threw two touchdowns, and Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson each had rushing scores before the offense fell asleep at the wheel in the second half. Texas fumbled twice in the game, including a completion from Ewers to Xavier Worthy that was knocked loose and recovered by K-State, resulting in a touchdown drive.
For the second week, the national spotlight will fall on TCU as ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast from the University of Texas. It is the second time this season TCU has appeared, but the campus has not hosted the program since 2018.
Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. CT from DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. ESPN Analytics gives Texas a 73 percent chance of winning.
