‘Offense did good; defense tried to screw it up.’ Inside TCU’s wild win at Texas Tech.
Vernon Scott had a feeling about what type of play Texas Tech would run. He’d studied the film and knew the formation when the Red Raiders took over on the Frogs’ 20 with 2:23 left.
“Basically I just saw it, and I just reacted to it,” Scott said. “Coach said we had to make a play, and I just put my hand on the ball, and it came out.”
Scott forced a fumble, and fellow safety Trevon Moehrig recovered. That proved to be the game-sealing play in TCU’s 33-31 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium.
At the time, TCU’s two-point lead felt anything but safe. The defense had given up multiple big plays as Tech had rallied from an early 24-3 deficit.
As coach Gary Patterson said afterward: “Offense did good; defense tried to screw it up. I’ve never seen a group try to screw it up, but we found a way to get our stops. The last two stops, that’s what mattered. Offense did a nice job today.”
Yes, the defense delivered when it mattered most. They forced a three-and-out on the second-to-last drive, and then Scott made the highlight play by stripping the ball loose from Tech’s McLane Mannix.
Patterson chuckled when asked about his reaction to the play.
“I mean, what do you think yours would be like?” Patterson asked, hoarsely. “I’m just glad we recovered it. You know, we said on the sidelines with about six minutes left to go, we were going to have to make a couple plays on defense.”
TCU’s offense picked up the necessary first down to run out the clock and keep its once-fledgling bowl hopes alive.
The Frogs (5-5, 3-4 Big 12) are now in position to become bowl eligible for the 17th time in Patterson’s 19 seasons. They have to win one of their final two games. Next up is Oklahoma. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Norman.
The Red Raiders (4-6, 2-5), meanwhile, are in a more dire situation — needing to win out.
Credit deserves to go to Scott and TCU’s offense. Yes, the offense came through on a week when most of the headlines centered on co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie’s job security.
True freshman quarterback Max Duggan had the best game of his young career, going 25 of 42 for a career-best 323 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Senior running back Darius Anderson led the team with 87 yards rushing on 19 carries, including the pivotal first-down run on the team’s final possession.
Sophomore receiver Taye Barber finished with 137 yards receiving on eight catches, while Jalen Reagor added 83 yards receiving and one TD on three receptions.
Asked about Cumbie and the offense, Patterson said: “Like I said, offensively good. We didn’t have a good third quarter; we didn’t score any. But, at the end, we scored, and we did what we needed to do to win the ballgame.”
TCU got off to a much-needed fast start, something that has eluded the team for much of the season.
The Frogs opened with a TD drive on their first series for just the second time this year. Duggan had a 26-yard run to pick up a first down on a third-and-9 play, then scored on a 20-yard run up the middle when the pocket collapsed on third and 6.
The defense started fast, too, with an interception. Safety Ar’Darius Washington broke up a pass by Texas Tech’s Jett Duffey that bounced into the hands of freshman Wyatt Harris.
The Frogs offense turned that into a 36-yard field goal by Jonathan Song and a 10-0 lead.
TCU extended its lead to 17-0 with a TD drive on its third possession, and made it 24-3 on its fourth possession when Duggan and Reagor hooked up for a 55-yard TD.
But that lead didn’t last.
Texas Tech went on a 14-0 run in the second quarter, scoring on TD passes of 26 and 70 yards by Duffey (a Mansfield Lake Ridge product). TCU closed the first half with a field-goal drive and a 27-16 lead.
The Red Raiders rallied to take the lead in the third quarter. Duffey and RJ Turner connected for a 32-yard TD — one play after TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney was ejected for targeting — to pull within 27-22.
Then Tech went ahead on its next drive, scoring on a 33-yard TD pass from Duffey to freshman Erik Ezukanma (a Keller Timber Creek product) for a 28-27 lead.
The teams traded field goals after that.
TCU settled for a 25-yard field goal by Jonathan Song and a 30-28 lead after a 10-play, 68-yard drive. Tech answered with a field goal drive of its own, taking a 31-30 lead on a 24-yard field goal by Trey Wolff.
TCU put together another long drive but failed to punch it in with a first-and-goal from the Tech 5. The Frogs had a TD pass from Duggan to Reagor negated by a pass interference penalty on a pick play by Barber.
“The rule is you can’t just run and go at the person,” Barber said. “What I did, I set up inside of him and put my hands up; it’s like a stop route, so they can’t call it on me. They ended up calling it, and we just lived with it and got three points.”
A 13-play, 69-yard drive ended with a 20-yard field goal by Song. And that proved to be the game-winner when Scott made the interception and Anderson got the ensuing first down.
TCU is now on the cusp of bowl eligibility.
“So important,” Anderson said. “There’s nothing more important than that.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 2:30 PM.
