Frogs stun Longhorns
TCU recovers fumble near goal line to hold on against Texas
AUSTIN, TEXAS » Texas ran out of comebacks against Max Duggan and TCU.
The Horned Frogs quarterback ran for the go- ahead score with 4 minutes left and the defense made it stand with a goal- line fumble recovery to beat No. 9 Texas Saturday in a game that had 26 penalties and ended with TCU taking a safety to run out the final seconds of a 33- 31 victory.
In doing so, the Horned Frogs ( 1- 1, 1- 1) dealt another tough blow to the Big 12’ s College Football Playoff hopes now that Texas and Oklahoma, the league’s highest- ranked teams at the beginning of the season, each have early home losses to unranked opponents.
“Find a way. You’ve got to take ball games,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. He’s now 7- 2 against Texas since TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012.
“Anybody we play in the state ... We know their players, so our kids play hard, and our kids, their families get a chance to come to the ball games,” Patterson said. ” So, you know, it’s one of those games.”
Even with that history, Texas was stunned to walk off the field with the loss after being so close to another big escape. A week ago, Texas rallied late to win in overtime at Texas Tech.
After Duggan’s touchdown, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger marched the Longhorns to the lip of the end zone. A 52- yard pass to Keaontay Ingram put Texas in scoring position, but Ingram then fumbled on the TCU 1yard- line with 2: 32 to play.
Backed up with little room to move, TCU inched its way forward before Taye Barber ran 9 yards to pick up a critical first down that let the Horned Frogs bleed out the game clock. Duggan took a deep snap to the back of the end zone to run out the final 6 seconds.
Patterson never considered punting.
“It was better to take the safety than it was try and punt it and let them be able to get a long throw,” Patterson said.
Duggan led TCU’s upset of Texas last season as a freshman. He made his first start of the disrupted 2020 season after missing much of training camp while treating a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He passed for 231 yards and ran for 79 more and scored twice.
Ehlinger threw four touchdown passes on an otherwise difficult day for him. Ehlinger was just 17- of- 36 for 236 yards. His 14 touchdown passes in three games lead the nation.
Ehlinger’s last touchdown throw to Malcolm Epps gave Texas its first lead early in the fourth quarter. On the final drive, Ehlinger said he had an option to keep the ball instead of handing off to Ingram on the fumble.
“I talked to him. I reminded him that as much as we love this, it’s just a game. It’s not life or death,” Ehlinger said. “I told him it’s certainly not on him.”