TEXAS (1-3, 0-1) AT TCU (4-0, 1-0)
11 a.m. Saturday, Amon Carter Stadium, ABC, 104.9
ABOUTTEXAS: It’s already been a long season, which is only four weeks old — a blowout loss at Notre Dame, the play-calling staff shakeup, the firing of an athletic director, and now back-to-back heartbreak losses marred by critical special teams breakdowns (a missed extra point to tie and force overtime; a botched punt snap that turned an overtime into a last-minute loss by a field goal). Maybe the offense will be explosive. Maybe not. Maybe the defense will make big plays. Maybe not. These days, there’s just no telling what each Saturday will bring.
ABOUTTCU: You can’t get any further over the edge without falling off. The Horned Frogs remained undefeated on Saturday by dramatic fashion, a 55-52 win over Texas Tech on a fourth down deflected pass in the end zone with 23 seconds to go. Injuries and arrests have taken a toll, particularly on the defense. But the offense still has Trevone Boykin, Aaron Green and Josh Doctson. All three of them played a part in that winning play.
INJURYWATCH: Texas WR Marcus Johnson, who had been out since the season opener, returned against Oklahoma State and had a 47yard catch. Linebacker Edwin Freeman did not play. RT Kent Perkins (knee) and CB Davante Davis (knee) left the game and did not return. QB Jerrod Boykin missed the post-game press conference because he felt ill, but it wasn’t considered serious. TCU was minus two WRs against Tech — Kolby Listenbee (hip) and Ty Slanina (arm/shoulder) — and CB Torrance Mosley (ankle).
ABOUTTHE SERIES: Texas leads the all-time series, 62-22-1, but the Horned Frogs have won two of the three games they’ve played since joining the Big 12. The Longhorns, however, have won 17 of the last 18 times they’ve played TCU in Fort Worth. The last time Texas and TCU played in Fort Worth was marked by a long lighting delay that forced the game to finish after midnight, and it also was the first game Tyrone Swoopes ever played. THE LASTFIVE RESULTS 2014: TCU, 48-10 2013: Texas, 30-7 2012: TCU, 20-13 2007: Texas, 34-13 1995: Texas, 27-19 THE LASTTIME: Texas is usually money on Thanksgiving, but TCU’s 48-10 win last year was the second straight time the Horned Frogs prevailed in Austin on turkey day. Armanti Foreman, as a freshman, had four catches for 91 yards —both career highs — and a 73-yard touchdown. The No. 6-ranked Frogs snapped Texas’three-game winning streak and started a downward trend for the Horns, who have lost five of their last six games.
— RICHARD TIJERINA