TCU’s comeback attempt falls short against No. 7 Texas
TCU’s valiant comeback against No. 7 Texas fell short as the Horned Frogs fell 29-26 to the Longhorns in the final Big 12 matchup between the two schools on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
“I’m proud of our guys for fighting back,” coach Sonny Dykes said. “Our team showed a ton of character and mental toughness and fortitude and fight. I asked them at halftime to just play as hard as they can and not worry about the score, just come out and play with incredible effort.”
The Longhorns controlled the game until the final quarter. Trailing 29-13, TCU scored two touchdowns in less than two minutes to pull within 29-26 with 3:28 remaining in the game.
Savion Williams was the one that sparked the final touchdown drive as he made back-to-back dazzling catches.
On the touchdown Williams caught the ball, curled up his body and hung onto to it despite being hit by multiple defenders. On Texas’ following possession, the Horned Frogs had a chance to get the ball back with Texas facing a 3rd-and-12, but Quinn Ewers found Adonai Mitchell for a 35-yard gain that ended up being the icer. Texas then ran out the rest of the clock.
Hoover turns it on too late
It was always going to be difficult for Josh Hoover to exploit an experienced and talented Texas defense. For the third straight game Hoover was unable to recreate the magic displayed against BYU a few weeks ago. There were a few drops by his receivers and the Texas defensive line regularly created pressure which led to the uneven performance.
Hoover also made a critical mistake just before halftime. With TCU trailing 19-6, the Horned Frogs had an opportunity to go into the break down a score but Hoover tried to force a pass into double coverage and it was intercepted. Texas running back Jonathon Brooks scored a few plays later for a 26-6 halftime lead.
“I made a mistake in the second quarter that cost us big time,” Hoover said. “I hate it, I’ve got to get it fixed. I tried to do too much and make a throw not even Jesus Christ himself should try and make.”
TCU had a positive drive to start the second half, but Hoover almost turned it over again as he was sacked on third down.
It was just that type of night for the quarterback. TCU had a chance to make it interesting after getting to the Texas 2-yard line late in the third quarter, but Hoover’s third and fourth down pass attempts weren’t close to being completed as TCU squandered a chance to get back in the game.
Hoover settled down and played better in the fourth quarter as he completed big play after big play. After just one completion of over 15 yards in the first quarter, Hoover had four in the second half, but it was too little too late.
He finished the game 24 of 36 for 302 yards, two touchdowns and the costly interception.
Elite playmakers
Big time players make big time plays in big time games is the saying and all of Texas’ talented playmakers lived up to it. The trio of Xavier Worthy, Jonathon Brooks and Ja’Tavion Sanders were on a different level than the TCU defenders matched up against them.
Josh Newton drew the Worthy assignment and struggled with the individual matchup. Worthy had eight catches for 120 yards in the first half alone. Whether it was deep vertical shots or quick passes underneath Texas coach Steve Sarkisian did an excellent job of finding different ways to get the ball to the fastest player on the field. TCU had no answer for the All-American who finished with 10 catches for 137 yards.
Brooks hurt TCU as a runner and receiver as the league’s leading rusher accounted for 181 total yards. After TCU briefly took a 3-0 lead Brooks answered by taking a screen pass 73 yards to the TCU 2. He walked in from two yards out on the very next play.
Brooks left the game in the second half with an injury, but still finished with 104 yards on 21 carries.
Sanders was a problem in the middle of the field for the TCU defense as he converted a number of crucial third downs like when Texas was facing a 3rd-and-12 and Ewers hit Sanders for a contested catch for almost 20 yards. Ewers hit Sanders again on the same drive for a 18-yard gain that helped set up a touchdown. Sanders showed why he’s the best tight end in the Big 12 as he finished with four catches for 42 yards.
Ewers, who returned to the field after missing the last two games because of injury, completed 22 of 33 passes for 317 yards.
Bailey, Williams shine
There were a few brights for the Horned Frogs against the Longhorns including the play of receiver Savion Williams. The hope coming into the season was Williams would emerge as the team’s No. 1 option, but he had not produced like an elite receiver until Saturday.
In the first half Williams set a career-high with seven receptions and 82 yards.
In the second half Williams made a huge play as took a short catch underneath, raced up field and hurdled a defender for a 42-yard gain that would set up TCU’s first touchdown of the night. He then added his sparkling offensive plays in the fourth quarter as TCU rallied. He finished with 11 catches for 164 yards.
“He’s just been getting me the ball, ever since the first game,” Williams said. “That’s really where it started. When he was getting me the ball in the first half it started a spark and it just kept going.”
Emani Bailey finished the drive off and was TCU’s best offensive option in the second half. On that same drive Bailey bounced out to the right, planted his foot and cut up field for a 17-yard touchdown that made it a two score game at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The touchdown run took Bailey over the 1,000-yard mark and gave TCU a chance for a potential comeback.
Bailey had 21 rushes for 98 yards.
“He’s one of those guys that’s going to pound the rock and run tough,” Hoover said. “He means a lot to us and we wouldn’t be the same offense without him.”
Crucial mistakes
The Horned Frogs made plenty of mistakes against the Longhorns, but none was bigger than one play near the end of the first quarter. With Texas leading 7-6, Quinn Ewers launched a deep pass to Xavier Worthy that was underthrown and picked off by Millard Bradford.
The safety eluded numerous tackles for a fantastic return, but as he crossed midfield and got deeper into Texas territory he was stripped by Jordan Whittington and the Longhorns were able to fall on the fumble. Two plays later Ewers went back to Worthy on the same play and this time it wasn’t under thrown as the speedy receiver picked up 45 yards.
The Longhorns only added a field goal, but the sequence summed up TCU’s season. A great individual play turned into a backbreaking sequence.
“We talk all the time with our players is when a defensive player picks off a pass or picks up a fumble, the offense is going to try and strip them,” Dykes said. “They’re not used to carrying the football. It’s a conversation we have all the time and you’ve got to give Texas credit.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 10:19 PM.
