No. 4 TCU clinches Big 12 Championship appearance with win at No. 18 Texas

Kendre Miller rushed for 138 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown in the third quarter that broke open a tense defensive struggle, and No. 4 TCU beat No. 18 Texas 17-10 on Saturday night to clinch a berth in the Big 12 championship game.

TCU quarterback Max Duggan, who was sacked four times in the first half and hounded all game, connected with Quentin Johnston for a 31-yard touchdown over broken coverage in the fourth quarter.

The TCU defense turned in its best game of the season. The Horned Frogs held Texas running back Bijan Robinson to 29 yards, gave up just 199 total yards, and forced Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers into a miserable passing night. The Horned Frogs allowed Texas a single field goal on consecutive drives inside the TCU 10 in the second half.

The win keeps the Horned Frogs (10-0, 7-0) undefeated and in the hunt for even bigger things under first-year coach Sonny Dykes. They are No. 4 in the College Football Playoff ranking.

Texas (6-4, 4-3, No. 18 CFP) hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in the second half of each of the last three games. The Longhorns’ only touchdown against TCU came on Jahdae Barron’s scoop-and-score on a 48-yard fumble return late in the fourth quarter.

THE TAKEAWAY

TCU: Duggan stayed composed. TCU was grinding the game away when his unforced fumble resulted in the Texas touchdown that nearly swung the game. But Duggan came back with a critical third-down completion that helped TCU’s run game grind out the final four minutes.

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Texas: Ewers has had a wildly up-and-down freshman season but he’s now had another bad outing in the second half of the season as he struggles with accuracy. He was 17-of-39 passing for 179 yards and an interception, but it appeared coach Steve Sarkisian never considered going to backup Hudson Card.

UP NEXT

TCU plays at Baylor next Saturday.

Texas plays at Kansas next Saturday.