It was a dramatic finish in a game that the Horned Frogs trailed by eight points with 9:47 left. They scored nine points in the final 2:07 to improve to 11-0 overall, 8-0 in the Big 12.
“We’ve just got a lot of fight, guys never give up,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said after the win. “We knew it was going to be a tough one coming here. They just found way. I think it says a lot about who they are.”
The Horned Frogs rallied for the comeback win without three of their most explosive playmakers. Kick returner and receiver Derius Davis missed the game with a hand injury while leading receiver Quentin Johnston and leading rusher Kendre Miller were knocked out of the game in the second half.
TCU was still able to take a 20-14 lead. However, the Bears scored the next two touchdowns including a one-yard touchdown by Richard Reese that gave the Bears a 28-20 lead with 9:47 to play.
With 1:34 to play. Max Duggan led the offense down the field with big completions to Savion Williams and Taye Barber. His 12-yard gain on a quarterback draw helped set up Kell’s game-winning field goal. On the game’s final play, a fourth down and the clock ticking down, the TCU special teams ran onto the field and perfecting executed the game-winning field goal.
“I didn’t think too much running onto the field, but I’m glad I could bounce back after that the doink on the extra point off the upright,” Kell said. “We practice that every Thursday. We’re ready for it. Our special teams coach, (Mark Tommerdahl), harps on us on a bunch and it was just kind of routine.”
Duggan accounted for 40 of TCU’s final 46 yards to set up the field goal. He finished the day with 327 yards passing, 50 yards rushing and two total touchdowns.
TCU quarterback Max Duggan scores a touchdown during their game against Baylor at McLane Stadium in Waco on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. Madeleine Cook mcook@star-telegram.com
“I was just being confident out there and believed in the guys,” Duggan said. “We believed it was going to happen, Griff makes a huge kick for us. It was exciting.”
The Horned Frogs had a chance to tie the game with 2:07 left after Duggan marched the offense down the field and Emari Demercado capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown touchdown run. On the two-point conversion, Duggan faked a jet sweep to Taye Barber and came back to an open Demercado who had a clear lane to score.
The usually sure-handed running back dropped the pass and TCU trailed 28-26 with just 2:07 remaining. The Horned Frogs were forced to go for the two-point conversion because earlier in the game because Kell missed an extra point, snapping his personal streak of 77 consecutive successful points.
Using their three timeouts, the Horned Frogs held Baylor on downs on the ensuing possession. Thus, the Bears punted to the Horned Frogs to set up the late-game heroics.
The poetic nature of the wacky sport is the reason fans love college football. TCU almost found itself on the wrong side of this poem.
After TCU ended Baylor’s playoff hopes last year in a 30-28 upset last year, the Bears almost returned the favor in Waco.
Griffin Kell’s kick changed the story. For the history books.
Henderson, Barber step up
TCU played without electric kick returner and receiver Davis because of a hand injury. Davis is the team’s third-leading receiver and tied with Johnston for the most receiving touchdowns this season. Then Johnston exited the game early in the second half with an ankle injury.
Running back Kendre Miller was also lost in the second half because of injury.
That’s a lot of production to replace, but the Horned Frogs were able to thanks to Gunnar Henderson and Taye Barber.
Henderson gave TCU its first lead of the game on a two-play sequence late in the third quarter. First Max Duggan zipped a pass to him on a seam route for 20 yards. The Horned Frogs went hurry up after the completion and Duggan pump faked to a receiver setting up for a screen only to turn and find a wide open Henderson for a 26-yard touchdown that made it 20-14 with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
“I saw the corner bite and right when I saw him bite I was like ‘Oh, it’s going to be a touchdown,’” Henderson said. “It always happens so slow when you’re wide open. I was just worried about catching it and getting in the endzone.”
Henderson finished with 52 yards while Taye Barber had a team-high 108 yards, including a crucial catch on the final game-winning drive.
TCU wide receiver Taye Barber completes a pass during their game against Baylor at McLane Stadium in Waco on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. The Horned Frogs won 29-28 against the Bears. Madeleine Cook mcook@star-telegram.com
“We have so much talent and the guys behind them have put in so much work,” Max Duggan said. “You’ve seen guys just make huge plays. Gunnar comes in and makes huge play, Taye had a huge game, all these guys. When they’re in, there’s no second-guessing because you see what they do everyday.”
Situational struggle
Despite the offensive showcase Baylor displayed in the first half, the Bears couldn’t establish an insurmountable lead thanks to the TCU defense. The Bears had chance to go up 14-0 after forcing a three-and-out on the Horned Frogs’ first drive.
Once Baylor hit the TCU 23 yard line, the Bears didn’t gain another yard. In fact they lost five thanks to a false start penalty. Baylor ended up missing a 46-yard field goal and a few plays later Max Duggan tied at 7-7 with his first rushing touchdown since Oklahoma State.
The Horned Frogs squandered a chance to take a lead before halftime as the offense was forced to punt inside the Baylor 40. The Bears drove all the way to the red zone, but Blake Shapen’s pass into the endzone was picked off by Bud Clark as the Horned Frogs forced a turnover in their 10th straight games.
“Baylor had all the momentum early on and we were on our heels,” Dykes said. “Bud made a heckuva play. We were on our heels and that’s just what we’ve done this year. Somebody made a play. It was a heckuva interception, I thought when the quarterback threw it, it was a touchdown.”
Clark knew what was coming and time his interception perfectly to keep the Bears out of the endzone.
“I knew they wanted a big play. (Monaray) Baldwin is a good player, so I was like that’s who they’re coming to. That’s they’re key guy,” Clark said. “So when he broke it off, I broke too and that was it.”
TCU fans react to a field goal in the last minute of their game against Baylor at McLane Stadium in Waco on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. The Horned Frogs won 29-28 against the Bears. Madeleine Cook mcook@star-telegram.com
Smoke ‘N Mirrors
After only allowing 199 yards last week against Texas, the TCU defense allowed more than 300 in the first half against Baylor. The Horned Frogs defense prides itself on flying to the football and the Bears took advantage of that by using a plethora of misdirection to attack the edges of the TCU defense.
Here’s one example. After TCU tied it at 14, on the first play of Baylor’s next possession the Bears picked up nine yards. How? Because one of their offensive lineman started pulling to his left, planted a pivot foot and turned back to pull to his right where he was able to seal a TCU linebacker for the gain. In the blink of an eye, that play went from being your standard power play to a counter. You understand why TCU’s defense was off balance in the first half?
“There was some false keys, pulling people playside and then running the ball where the pullers were,” Dykes said. “They had that counter play where it looked like stretch one way and they start the lineman that way and your backside linebackers are flowing and then they come back and run it out the back end.
“So what that does is make everybody slow down.”
Baylor struck first with a 11-play drive that featured nine run plays. The Bears retook a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter by running a jet sweep to tight end Kelsey Johnson for a short touchdown. The Bears outgained TCU by 100 yards and controlled time of possession, but found themselves tied at halftime.
This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 2:43 PM.
