Bone-Crunching Defense Keys TCU's 17-10 Big 12-Clinching Win Over University of Texas

#4 TCU 17,  #18 Texas 10

November 12, 2022
Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium
University of Texas
Austin, Texas
Attendance: 104,203 (second largest in stadium history)

Final stats: here
Game highlights: here
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes discusses TCU's win: here
TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston discusses TCU's win: here
TCU running back Kendre Miller discusses TCU's win: here
TCU quarterback Max Duggan discusses TCU's win: here
TCU linebacker Johnny Hodges discusses TCU's win: here
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian discusses Texas loss: here

Brutal TCU Defense Corrals Longhorns; Frogs Clinch Big 12

What if the Big 12 staged its most significant football game in years and both team’s offenses failed to show up.

Would anybody be impressed?

Well, at least the College Football Playoff National Championship Committee was impressed with then #4 TCU’s smash-mouth 17-10 victory over then #18 Texas in Austin on Saturday, November 12 (Midnite had predicted a 38-37 TCU victory).

And, frankly, at this point of the season, that’s all that matters as TCU continues its quest to play for another national championship.

TCU, which was a seven-point underdog against the Longhorns, improved to 10-0 overall as one of four undefeated FBS teams in the country. The committee again ranked the Frogs fourth on Tuesday, November 15.

And there now is conversation that even if the Frogs stumble in one of their next three games, a one-loss TCU as the Big 12 champion still could make the playoffs.

Who would have thought that, a couple of weeks ago?

The Horned Frogs, by the way, also are ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll and the Coaches poll. 

So, TCU is a unanimous fourth-best team in the country.

TCU is 10-0 for the first time since 2010, when as the Mountain West champions the Frogs went 13-0 en route to winning the Rose Bowl, 21-19, over Wisconsin, on January 1, 2011.

Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

The Horned Frogs are the first Big 12 team to be 10-0 since Oklahoma State in 2015.

At 7-0 in the Big 12, the Frogs have clinched the Big 12 regular-season title and a berth in Big 12 title game. That game will be played on Saturday, December 3, in AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 am (Central).

TCU will play Kansas State, Baylor or Texas in the championship game. With a 5-2 league record, the Wildcats are in second place in the Big 12. Baylor and Texas are in third place, with 4-3 conference records.

TCU and Baylor are scheduled to play this Saturday, in Waco, Texas. Kickoff is set for 11 am (Central). 

For the third week in a row, the Frogs will be in the spotlight of a pregame college football show. The Fox Big Noon Kickoff show will be televised live from Waco prior to the TCU-Baylor game. Fox will televise the game.

ESPN College GameDay was in Austin for TCU's win over Texas and the Big Noon Kickoff traveled to Fort Worth for TCU’s win over Texas Tech on November 5.

Last Saturday was the second time GameDay was on site at a TCU game this season, having also been at the Frogs’ October 8 victory at Kansas. 

TCU's four combined appearances on the two pregame shows is more than anybody in the country.

TCU is 8-1 when ESPN’s College GameDay has been present at its game, including 7-0 when the contest was played on a campus.

The Frogs last played in a Big 12 Conference Championship game in 2017. TCU lost to Oklahoma, 41-17.

TCU last claimed a Big 12 football championship in 2014, when the 8-1 Frogs were declared co-champions with 8-1 Baylor. There was no conference championship game that year (the last conference championship game had been held in 2010). The Frogs and Bears were omitted from what was then the four-team BCS National Championship playoffs. The Big 12 reinstated its conference championship game in 2017.

With the loss to TCU, Texas fell to 6-4 (4-3 Big 12). UT fell out of the College Football Playoff National Championship poll. The ‘Horns are 27th in the Associated Press poll and 26th in the Coaches poll.

Also, as the result of another loss by the Longhorns, Texas' mascot, Bevo, reportedly has entered the transfer portal.

TCU is 8-3 against Texas since joining the Big 12 in 2012. The Frogs are 5-1 against the Longhorns in Austin. Texas has lost five of its last six home games against TCU since 2008.

TCU has won seven-of-nine against Texas for the first time in series history. In that span, the Frogs have outscored the Longhorns 283 to 164.

TCU’s win over Texas was its fifth over a ranked opponent this season, which is tied with Tennessee for first nationally. The Frogs' five wins over ranked opponents equals the combined total of the other three undefeated teams (Georgia, 2; Ohio State, 2; Michigan, 1). TCU previously had beaten ranked Oklahoma, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Kansas State teams.

Sonny Dykes is the first head coach in TCU football history to win his first 10 games and the first Big 12 coach in history to begin with a 10-0 record in his first season.

In a conference where defense usually is an after-thought, hard-knocks football dominated this high-stakes “Battle of the Horns” game that was played before 104,563 spectators, the second-largest crowd in Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium history.

Somewhere in Austin, former TCU Athletics Director and current Texas Athletics Director Chris Del Conte still is counting the massive cash-take from the game.

And no doubt former legendary TCU head football coach Gary Patterson, a defensive genius who is a defensive analyst on the Longhorns’ staff, still is smiling about the defensive performances put forth by both teams.

TCU’s defense, which has been somewhat maligned during the season, limited Texas’ offense to 199 total yards (72 total yards in the first half), the Longhorns' fewest total yards in a home game since the Big 12 began play in 1996, and a field goal (UT’s lone touchdown was scored by its defense late in the game). 

Texas' 199 yards of offense also was its lowest offensive output since the Longhorns' opener against Notre Dame in 2015. 

The 199 yards allowed was TCU’s best defensive effort since holding Duquesne to 137 yards last year in the Frogs' season opener.

Texas was held scoreless in the first half of the brutally physical defensive affair (TCU led 3-0 at halftime, on the strength of a Griffin Kell 34-yard field goal). It was the first time since 1997 that the Longhorns had failed to score in the first half at home.

Texas' three offensive points were its fewest at home since a 66-3 loss to UCLA in 1997.

TCU held an opponent scoreless in the first half for the first time since the Duquesne game last season.

The Horned Frogs hadn't held a Big 12 foe to 10 or fewer points for an entire game since topping Baylor 16-9 on November 17, 2018.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, a former five-star Southlake (Texas) Carroll football player who prior to the season transferred to Texas from Ohio State, completed 17-of-39 passes for 171 yards. He was intercepted once and sacked twice.

Longhorns running back Bijon Robinson, the Big 12’s leading rusher coming into the game and regarded by many as the best collegiate running back in the country, was held to 29 yards (23 yards in the first half, six yards in the second half) on 12 carries. His longest run was for nine yards. 

This was Robinson’s lowest rushing total since October of 2020 against Oklahoma, when as a freshman he had just 17 rushing yards against the Sooners.

Texas didn’t have a 10-yard run all game

The Longhorns had -3 yards rushing in the third quarter and -2 yards rushing in the fourth quarter.

TCU is just the third team to hold Robinson under 100 yards rushing. Alabama previously was the last time to accomplish the feat.

Texas had the fewest rushing yards against TCU since Purdue was limited to 23 in a 34-13 Horned Frogs’ win in 2019. 

UT star wide receiver Xavier Worthy was limited to four pass receptions for 32 yards, with a long reception of 15 yards.

UT had only 14 first downs.

Texas averaged just 3.3 yards per play

Texas was one-of-13 on third downs.

The ‘Horns were one-of-four on fourth downs.

Texas reached the redzone only twice, scoring on just a 22-yard field goal by Bert Auburn near the end of the third quarter.

There were many standouts on defense for the Horned Frogs.

Linebacker Johnny Hodges, a transfer from the Naval Academy, had a TCU career-high 11 tackles. He has led the team in tackles four times this season and leads the team in tackles with 66 for the season.

Hodges' play against the Longhorns earned him Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson had his team-best third interception of the season, all in the last four games. He has taken part in a takeaway in each of the last four contests.

Defensive lineman Dylan Horton, who has accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl, tied a season-high with five tackles, including a sack. He is second on the team with four sacks on the season.

Linebacker Shadrach Banks made his first career start. He had four tackles, including one for loss. Banks started in place of linebacker Dee Winters, who had to sit out the first half of the game because he was ejected for targeting in the second half of TCU’s prior game against Texas Tech.

Texas’ defense matched the Horned Frogs’ defense until late in the third quarter.

TCU’s offense was held to 68 yards in the first half. Duggan was sacked four times. The ‘Horns had 11 tackles for loss.

If not for Kell’s field goal, this would have been the first Big 12 game to be scoreless in the first half since 2007.

Nonetheless, the three points were the fewest points in the first half of a Big 12 game since Kansas vs. Kansas State in 2018.

TCU and Texas combined for 39 total yards in the first quarter, which is the fewest combined total yards in a first quarter for any FBS game this season.

The two teams’ 140 combined total yards were the fewest in any half of a Big 12 game since Colorado-Texas in 2009.

For the game, the Frogs had 283 yards of offense. More than one-third of the total came on two touchdown plays.

TCU took a 10-0 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter on a 75-yard touchdown run by running back Kendre Miller.

Early in the fourth quarter, quarterback Max Duggan threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston to give the Frogs a 17-3 lead.

That lead looked safe as the Horned Frogs were working on running out the clock with under five minutes left in the game.

Then the unthinkable happened and Horned Frogs Nation gasped in horror.

Duggan fumbled the football on a routine play. He dove for the pigskin, but it eluded his grasp.

As the Hesiman Trophy candidate lay helpless on the ground, with his eyes wide with horror and his face paralyzed by grief, Duggan watched the ball roll slowly away from him and Longhorns defensive back Jahdae Barron pick it up and run 48 yards away from him for a UT touchdown.

In mere seconds, TCU’s lead has been sliced to 17-10, with 4:25 left in the intense battle.

The abrupt swing in momentum sent Longhorns Nation into a frenzy and caused a mass exit of UT fans from Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium to briefly cease.

But, have no fear, hypnotoad!

Eight plays and three first downs later (two on runs by Emari Demercado and one on a nifty catch by Johnston), Max and Company had run out the clock and season on the Longhorns.

Duggan, who made his 38th career start, completed 19-of-29 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. For the season, he has thrown 25 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. 

Duggan has been named a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Football Foundation's Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest college football award.

The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award annually recognizes the top senior or upperclassman quarterback based on performance on and off the field. 

The Davey O’Brien Award is named after TCU’s 1938 Heisman Trophy winner who guided the Horned Frogs to the national championship that season.

Duggan is sixth in the nation in passing efficiency (172.6). He leads Power 5 quarterbacks with 15 touchdown passes of at least 20 yards. He has accounted for at least three touchdowns in seven of nine starts.

In addition to passing efficiency and touchdown passes, Duggan tops the Big 12 in yards per completion (14.1) and yards per attempt (9.3). He is second in passing yards (2,531) and yards per game (253.1). His 65.9 completion percentage is a career high, while his 0.73 interception percentage is on pace to shatter TCU's season record.

With a 73-yard touchdown pass to Taye Barber and a 67-yard scoring run just 1:18 apart against Oklahoma earlier in the year, Duggan became just the second player nationally in the last 15 years and first since Lamar Jackson in 2016 to have a touchdown pass and touchdown run of at least 60 yards in the first quarter of a game.

Against the Longhorns, Miller had a team-best 138 yards rushing on 21 carries for his fifth consecutive 100-yard game, the longest streak by a Horned Frog since Lonta Hobbs with five in 2002. Miller has topped 100 yards in seven of the last eight contests and has 11 career 100-yard games.

Miller's performance earned him an Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Honorable Mention Player of the Week honor.

Miller's touchdown gallop against Texas gave him a rushing score in all 10 games this year, the second-longest streak to begin a season in TCU history. TCU Board of Trustees member LaDainian Tomlinson ran for a touchdown in all 12 games in 2000.

Miller's 11 consecutive games with a rushing touchdown rank second all-time at TCU, behind only Tomlinson (15, 1999-00).

Miller has 1,147 yards on the season, the most by a Horned Frog since Aaron Green had 1,272 in 2015.

Miller has a team-best 13 touchdowns on the season.

Wide receiver/returner Derius Davis topped the Horned Frogs with four receptions. Davis, and offensive lineman Steve Avila, have accepted invitations to play in this season's Senior Bowl. Avila has been named a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy, presented annually to the nation's best interior lineman on offense or defense.

Johnston had three catches for 66 yards, including the 31-yard touchdown reception. He has five touchdown catches this season.

Receiver Taye Barber had three receptions. He has 148 catches in his career, the most by a current Horned Frog.

At the end of the Frogs’ victory over the Longhorns, there weren’t many happy folks dressed in burnt orange.

But there was one beaming ‘Horn. It was none other than Patterson, who removed his UT visor and congratulated several TCU players, including an emotional meeting with Duggan that was caught on camera by ABC.

Patterson, who recruited Duggan and many of the current Frogs to TCU, reportedly told Duggan that if he led the Frogs to the college football playoffs, he would be there to see him play.

The Horned Frogs are three wins away from earning a berth into the national semifinals.

The first of those three games is this Saturday’s “Revivalry Game” against Baylor, which still has a chance at meeting TCU in the Big 12 championship game.

Baylor, the defending Big 12 football champion and this year’s preseason favorite, is coming off a surprising 31-3 home loss to Kansas State, which ended a three-game winning streak by the Bears.

In addition to losing to K-State, the 6-4 Bears have lost to: BYU, in Provo, Utah, 26-20 (2OT); Oklahoma State, in Waco, 36-25; and West Virginia, in Morgantown, West Virginia, 43-40;

Baylor has beaten: Albany, in Waco, 69-10; Texas State, 42-7, in Waco; Iowa State, 31-24, in Ames, Iowa; Kansas, 35-23, in Waco; Texas Tech, 45-17, in Lubbock; and Oklahoma, 38-35, in Norman, Oklahoma. 

The Horned Frogs have won six of their last seven games against Baylor, with the lone loss in that stretch coming in triple overtime in 2019. 

TCU is 7-3 against the Bears in Big 12 play. 

TCU is 10-4 versus Baylor since the Southwest Conference dissolved after the 1995 season.

With 117 games played, TCU has faced Baylor more than any opponent in its history. TCU holds a 57-53-7 series advantage.

Last season, TCU upset then 12th-ranked Baylor, 30-28, in Fort Worth, on November 6, in the Frogs’ first game after Patterson resigned as TCU’s head coach. It was Jerry Kill’s first game as interim head coach of the Frogs. Chandler Morris started at quarterback for TCU in place of an injured Duggan.

Baylor went on to play Oklahoma State in the 2021 Big 12 Conference Championship Game. The Bears beat Oklahoma State, 21-16, then defeated Ole Miss, 21-7, in the Sugar Bowl. They ended their 2021 campaign as the nation's fifth-ranked team.

Baylor also played in the 2019 Big 12 Conference Championship game. The Bears lost to Oklahoma, 30-23.

In 2014, TCU and Baylor played an “Instant Classic” in Waco, with the #5 Bears coming back from 21 points down in the fourth quarter to stun the #9 Frogs, 61-58, on as Chris Callahan 28-yard field goal as time expired.

Remarkedly, it was the first game in the series with both teams ranked and it became the highest scoring game ever between two teams in the Associated Press top 10.

TCU and Baylor finished the season with identical 8-1 records. There was no conference championship game that season. The Big 12 had ended its conference championship game in 2010. It reinstated its conference championship game in 2017.

The Frogs and Bears were declared co-champions of the Big 12 in 2014. Bother were left out of the BCS National Championship Playoffs. Baylor was ranked fifth and TCU was ranked sixth in the final rankings. Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State and Florida State were the playoff teams.

The 2022 Bears are scoring an average of 34.8 points per game.

They have accumulated 1,996 rushing yards, for an average of 199.6 rushing yards per game. The Bears have scored 31 rushing touchdowns.

Baylor’s offense has passed for 2,373 yards, for an average of 237.3 passing yards per game. The Bears have scored 14 touchdowns through the air.

Baylor’s offense has given up 16 sacks of its quarterbacks.

Baylor’s offense is led by sophomore quarterback Sophomore Blake Shapen (#12): He has completed 183-of-278 passes. He has thrown 13 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

Senior tight end Ben Sims (#8) has caught 29 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Monaray Baldwin (#80) has caught four touchdown passes. Sophomore wide receiver Hal Presley (#16) and sophomore wide receiver Gavin Holmes (#6) each have three touchdown receptions.

True freshman running back Richard Reese (#29) leads Baylor’s rushing attack. He has carried the football 165 times for 852 yards, with a long run of 52 yards. He has scored 13 rushing touchdowns.

Junior running back Qualan Jones (#28) has rushed for 373 yards, with a long run of 27 yards. He has scored six rushing touchdowns. Sophomore running back Craig Williams (#0) has 418 rushing yards, with a long run of 51 yards. He has scored four rushing touchdowns.

Baylor’s defense is allowing 25.2 points per game, 132.8 rushing yards per game and 227.2 passing yards per game. The Bears have givn up 14 rushing touchdowns and 15 passing touchdowns. They have sacked opposing quarterbacks 19 times and intercepted 12 passes.

Senior safety Al Walcott (#13) leads BU with 66 tackles. He has nine tackles for loss and one sack.

Senior linebacker Dillon Doyle (#5) has 64 tackles. Junior linebacker Matt Jones (#2) has 53 tackles, including four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Junior linebacker Garmon Randolph (#55) has six tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

Junior defensive lineman Gabe Hall (#95) has 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Sixth-year senior linebacker Bryson Jackson (#7) has 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

Fifth-year senior safety Christian Morgan (#4) leads the Bears with three interceptions. Doyle and redshirt freshman safety Devin Lemear (#20) each have two interceptions. Fiver other Bears have one interception each.

Fifth-year senior John Mayers (#95) is Baylor’s field goal kicker. He is seven-of-seven on the season, with a long field goal of 49 yards. He has not had a field goal attempt blocked.

The TCU-Baylor betting line: TCU is a three-point favorite. The over/under is 56.5 points.

Midnite’s TCU-Baylor Prediction: TCU wins, 38-24.

TCU quarterback Max Duggan (left) is congratulated by former TCU head football coach Gary Patterson after Duggan led TCU to a 17-10 victory over Texas in Austin on Saturday, November 12. Patterson, who resigned at TCU after the Frogs' eighth game of the 2021 season, is a defensive analyst on the University of Texas' football staff. Patterson recruited Duggan and many of the other current Frogs to TCU.