Texas Christian University continues to be disrespected even as the Horned Frogs continue a historic performance this season. Ahead of Saturday’s contest with the University of Texas Longhorns, only one of the ESPN College GameDay hosts gave the Frogs a chance at beating the Longhorns, even leaving the No.4 team in the nation completely out of the FBS Playoffs discussion.
Whether the team can hear the noise, first-year head coach Sonny Dykes has the Frogs dominating opponents on both sides of the ball, currently holding a 10-0 record and officially clinching a Big 12 Championship berth with Saturday’s 17-10 upset on the road against the Texas Longhorns.
More than 104,000 fans were on hand in Austin to witness the Frogs and the Longhorns, a crowd that became shockingly quiet as the TCU defense shut down Texas’s offense. TCU allowed just an offensive field goal in the game. The Longhorns’ lone touchdown came on a fumble recovery late in the game.
“Nobody had any expectations for this football team at all other than ourselves,” Dykes said. “We understand that’s the way it is. Our deal has been, ‘Hey, bring it on.’ If we’ve got to win ’em all, fine; let’s try to win ’em all.”
TCU is in rare company in college football right now. In the preseason, experts predicted that the Frogs would finish the season seventh in the Big 12. Not only is the team in first in the Big 12, but they are also one of only four undefeated teams in the nation and are finding ways to win over serious opponents.
Quarterback Max Duggan was not supposed to be the starter for TCU this season, but has done everything to win since taking over in Week 1. Against Texas, Duggan completed 19-of-29 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. Kendre Miller was the featured back again this week, carrying 21 times for 138 yards and a touchdown.
Duggan’s one mistake on the day came on the second to last drive of the day. Duggan lost the football on a 15-yard sack with the fumble recovery going to Texas’ Jahdae Barron, who returned the ball 43-yards for a touchdown. The score ended up being meaningless as the ensuing TCU drive chewed through the remainder of the clock.
The Frogs’ defense held Texas to only 199 combined yards, shutting down the Horns’ run game and forcing the team to rely on the passing game. Running back Bijan Robinson had only 29 yards for Texas and the Frogs’ defense held quarterback Quinn Ewers to -15 yards on five scrambles with two sacks. Ewers passed for 171 yards, going an abysmal 17-of-39 and a QB rating of only 21, some of his lowest numbers ever.
The Horned Frogs have two games remaining on their schedule, and it is widely believed they will need an undefeated season in order to make the College Playoffs. The next game will be against Baylor before the Frogs finish the season with a home game against Iowa State.