TCU Dominates Texas
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AUSTIN, Texas — The TCU Horned Frogs took advantage of their opportunities Thursday night, beating the Texas Longhorns 48-10 to move one step closer to winning the Big 12 Conference.
More importantly, the No. 5 Horned Frogs hope the performance can help nudge them up at least one spot in the College Football Playoff rankings.
TCU (10-1, 7-1) forced a season-high six turnovers on a night the offense sputtered at times.
Coming into the game, TCU head coach Gary Patterson said the talk throughout the week was about Texas’ defense.
“Our guys took it as a challenge on defense, he said. “We can still play defense at TCU.”
TCU’s defense wrapped up the win well before sophomore defensive end Josh Carraway capped the unit’s strong night.
With 2:19 left in the game, Carraway intercepted Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes and strolled into the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown. It was the second defensive touchdown Carraway had a hand in in the game, also forcing a fumble that defensive end Terrell Lathan returned for a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.
Carraway’s fourth-quarter interception return capped a quarter that
saw TCU rack up 28 points — also including quarterback Trevone Boykin’s touchdown pass to receiver Josh Doctson, a Boykin touchdown run and a touchdown by running back Aaron Green.
Boykin finished 20 of 34 passing for 233 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Swoopes struggled for the Longhorns (6-6, 5-4). He was 20 of 34 passing for 200 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.
“You look at Tyrone, you know, he has some games where it’s been up and down for him,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said. “Tonight wasn’t his night.”
Texas’ defense kept TCU’s offense from finding a rhythm for much of that first half.
After the Horned Frogs settled for two field goals from kicker Jaden Oberkrom, TCU’s defense provided the first touchdown of the first half.
Lathan’s fumble recovery was one of two turnovers TCU forced in the first quarter. Safety Sam Carter also had an interception in the first 15 minutes. Carter had another interception later in the game, but he fumbled the ball on his way to the end zone and Swoopes recovered.
“Whenever you play a football team like that, you have to play clean football,” Strong said. “We didn’t do it tonight.”
Strong said he thought about taking Swoopes out for maybe one or two series to regroup, but his quarterback just needed to settle down. Strong said that didn’t happen in time.
The Horned Frogs’ last drive of the first half turned out to be their best one. TCU pieced together a nine-play drive that finished with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Boykin to wide receiver David Porter along the back of the end zone. The score that came with 1:34 left in the in the second quarter gave the Horned Frogs a 20-3 lead at halftime.
“We just came out strong,” TCU senior linebacker Marcus Mallet said. “We knew as long as we kept with the game plan and played our hardest that we had a chance.”
That margin was more than plenty on a night where TCU’s defense outscored Texas’ offense.
“We go out there every Saturday and we try to be the best defense on the field at the time,” Mallet said. “Sometimes we get overlooked, and that motivates us to go even harder.”
