TCU vs. Texas: Score and Twitter Reaction
The fifth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs took one step closer to a possible College Football Playoff bid on Thanksgiving, beating the Texas Longhorns 48-10 in Austin.
If TCU was going to slip up and remove itself from Top Four consideration, then it likely would've been on Thursday, with the Horned Frogs taking on an improving Longhorns squad on the road. Texas entered on a three-game winning streak, making visible strides under head coach Charlie Strong.
The Horned Frogs not only needed to win but to do so convincingly to impress the selection committee. That kind of pressure has proved too much for some teams in the past.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
That wasn't a problem for TCU.
"We're a pretty chill team when it comes to, like, not getting stressed out," center Joey Hunt said before the game, per Fox Sports Southwest's Jeff Caplan. "I mean, we're an intense team, but we don't get stressed out from other stuff like that."
Head coach Gary Patterson compared TCU's current situation to watching news television.
"It doesn't frustrate me at all," he said. "I don't even pay attention. You can't pay attention to it. You turn the channels, it's kind of Democrat and Republican, it just depends on the news channel you listen to, which is the bias. So for me, I watched it, flip."
The Horned Frogs responded brilliantly after their lackluster performance against Kansas Nov. 15, building a 20-3 halftime lead on Texas and never looking back.
Trevone Boykin didn't quite look like himself, throwing for 233 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in addition to 50 rushing yards. BuzzFeed's Joel D. Anderson joked that Boykin might've needed a new software update:
Josh Doctson came to play for the Horned Frogs, giving Boykin a steady target in the passing game. He led the team with seven receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown.
TCU was also successful on the ground, rushing for 135 yards on 31 carries. That was in stark contrast to Texas, which gained 90 yards on 36 carries. Malcolm Brown went for 29 yards, while Johnathan Gray totaled zero on 11 carries.
That didn't help quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who never looked comfortable. He threw four interceptions on the night.
The Longhorns started the game slowly and never kicked into a higher gear.
Two field goals from Jaden Oberkrom in the first quarter put TCU ahead 6-0.
After Oberkrom's second, Texas began putting a solid drive together. The Longhorns crossed the 50-yard line for the first time and moved the ball down to the TCU 39. Then Gray lost 10 yards, and Swoopes fumbled, with Horned Frogs defensive tackle Terrell Lathan recovering and returning it for a touchdown for a 13-0 TCU lead.
Most fans love watching the fat-guy touchdown, but Fox Sports Southwest's David Ubben felt that the 6'5", 280-pound Lathan needed a little more girth to qualify for that honor:
According to Mark Cohen, TCU's assistant athletic director for media relations, Lathan's TD was the first from a Horned Frogs defensive lineman in six years:
The strong start was in keeping with the way TCU's started most games this year. It doesn't waste any time in putting points on the board, as noted by the Big 12 Conference:
Texas trimmed the deficit to 10 points, 13-3, after a 47-yard field goal from Nick Rose with seven minutes and 56 seconds to play until halftime.
Boykin responded a little over six minutes later with a four-yard touchdown pass to wideout David Porter. At that point, Chuck Carlton of The Dallas Morning News questioned whether the Longhorns had already dug themselves into too deep of a hole:
Truth be told, Texas didn't play poorly in the first half and managed to outgain TCU 144-137. According to Travis L. Brown of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Horned Frogs were on pace for their worst offensive performance of the season:
Two turnovers, one of which went for a touchdown, and going 3-of-10 on third down didn't help the Longhorns, however. They also managed just 69 rushing yards in the half, which is poor for a team averaging 154 yards a game on the ground. Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman in particular praised the TCU defense for stopping Gray and Brown:
After an uneventful third quarter, both teams exchanged scores to start the fourth.
Boykin gave the Horned Frogs a 24-point advantage following a 22-yard TD pass to Doctson.
His score was negated 50 seconds later by Texas wideout Armanti Foreman, who caught a quick bubble screen and then scampered 73 yards to the end zone. The freshman was seemingly gone in a flash, as illustrated by Fox College Football:
While that score did bring the Austin crowd back into the game and build some momentum for the Longhorns, Texas couldn't add anything else. Meanwhile, TCU scored three more times late to pile on the misery for the Longhorns.
The final score belies the true nature of the game somewhat, but the Horned Frogs were unquestionably deserving winners.
There's still some doubt as to whether TCU can make the playoff even if it wins out. The Horned Frogs have to hope that Ohio State doesn't leapfrog them in the event the Buckeyes win the Big Ten. A one-loss Mississippi State could also remain in the Top Four even without a conference championship.
The most TCU can do is win all of its games. It wraps up the regular season next Saturday against Iowa State.
Even with the defeat, 6-6 Texas remains bowl-eligible, which is a nice accomplishment for Strong in his first season. The Longhorns are clearly a work in progress, and a bowl win would be a nice way for them to wrap up the 2014 season and build momentum for 2015.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
