‘That’s an Aaron Rodgers play.’ Max Duggan shines as TCU football upsets No. 9 Texas
Taye Barber called it an Aaron Rodgers play.
That’s exactly what TCU needed and quarterback Max Duggan delivered. Duggan checked into a QB draw at the perfect time — late in the game after Texas had taken its first lead and TCU had to respond — and proceeded to sprint 26 yards through the heart of Texas’ defense and into the end zone.
That score proved to be the difference in TCU’s 33-31 victory over No. 9 Texas on Saturday afternoon at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
“I saw him check the play and thought, ‘You go do what you do Max,’” Barber said. “That’s an Aaron Rodgers play. That’s his favorite quarterback, so that’s what I told him.”
Said Duggan: “In that formation, we knew that check would’ve been good for us. We had a call in that formation and I saw an opening and I did a check and had room for it. We were just really excited to take the lead.”
TCU is now 7-2 against Texas since joining the Big 12 in 2012. This is a series that started back in 1897 with UT going 13-0-1 in the first 14 games. The Frogs won only seven games in the 41 meetings between the schools from 1956-2007.
Saturday also marked the first time an unranked TCU team knocked off a top-10 team on the road since 2011 at Boise State.
“Anybody we play in the state — Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas — we know their players, so our players play hard,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “And our kids, their families come to the games. ... It’s one of those games.”
Duggan finished with a game-high 79 yards rushing on 17 carries with two TDs. He had a 5-yard TD run in the first half. He also was 20 of 30 passing for 231 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
But Duggan, who made his first start of the season after missing a significant portion of training camp fixing a heart condition, will be remembered for the TD run late.
That gave the Horned Frogs a 33-29 lead with 4:01 left, a score that held up as the game winner. TCU’s defense came through on the ensuing possession by forcing a Texas turnover at the goal line, and the offense ran out the clock — barely.
The Longhorns left feeling they let a win slip away at the 1-yard line. Following Duggan’s TD run, Texas running back Keaontay Ingram had a 52-yard reception to get the ball deep into TCU territory, and followed with a 16-yard run to set up a first-and-goal from the 1.
But Ingram lost the ball on the next play as he tried to stretch it across the goal line. TCU linebacker Garret Wallow was credited with a forced fumble, and defensive tackle Corey Bethley recovered.
“I knew from the formation that it was going to be a downhill play,” said Wallow, who finished with six tackles. “I played my gap and then shot back out of it once the running back didn’t come into it. I honestly didn’t know I knocked it out until I saw my teammates pointing, but I knew that the stop was made.
“It felt good to make a big-time play when my teammates needed me most.”
TCU had a couple other big-time plays to close out the victory.
Barber ended the game by gaining a first down on an end-around run on third-and-7 on the last series, allowing TCU to run out the clock. The Frogs had 6 seconds to kill on the final play with Duggan losing 15 yards on a run and taking a safety.
“We practice that a lot during the week,” Barber said. “It feels great in a game for something we practice week in and week out to close the deal out and get the job done.”
Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger didn’t have his best day, completing less than half his passes (17 of 36) for 236 yards. Ehlinger had four TDs and one interception, as well as rushing for 49 yards on eight carries.
Ehlinger had time most of the day. TCU failed to record a sack, but the Frogs made plays when they needed to.
“You’ve got to take ballgames,” Patterson said. “You’ve got to find a way to win if you want to win. It wasn’t pretty, but we found a way to win.”
Pretty wouldn’t be how anybody would describe it. Referee Brad Van Vark and his crew stayed busy by calling a number of penalties all day (TCU and Texas combined for 26 penalties).
The opening kickoff was run three times because of penalties. TCU was called for sideline interference. The Frogs also had an offside on a UT field-goal attempt, a penalty that resulted in the Longhorns going for it on fourth down and scoring a TD.
A few flags were picked up or not thrown at all on what appeared to be clear holding and pass-interference penalties. At the end of the day, though, it came down to TCU making the plays at the right time.
Look no further than Duggan checking into the QB draw and going almost untouched into the end zone.
“That was a great check,” Patterson said. “They gave us a certain look, and he checked the call. It’s just a great check. You’ve got to put it all on his shoulders — it was a great check.”
TCU is set to face Kansas State next Saturday in Fort Worth. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 3:58 PM.
