Texas Falls Out Of AP Top 25 Following Loss To No. 4 TCU
Another week, another loss, and another shuffle in the AP Polls for the Texas Longhorns.
The Longhorns are unranked for the fourth time this season in the latest installment of the polls following their 17-10 loss to No. 4 TCU at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Longhorns entered last week ranked No. 18.
Both teams struggled to find balance offensively, but it was Horned Frogs' Max Duggan who prevailed as the more consistent option, hitting receiver Quinten Johnston for a 31-yard touchdown with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to take a 17-3 lead.
Duggan finished Saturday 19-of-29 passing for 134 yards and a touchdown. Running back Kendre Miller tallied a team-high 138 rushing yards and scored on a 75-yard run with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Quinn Ewers' struggles continued despite playing in front of a packed DRK. He finished 17-of-39 passing for 174 yards and an interception. The run game, spearheaded by Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, managed to combine for 33 yards on 17 total carries.
The Horned Frogs' defense, a thorn in the program's side all season, held Texas to under 200 yards on the night. Ewers averaged 4.3 yards per pass while the run game averaged 1.3 yards per rush attempt. The Longhorns also finished a season-low 1-of-13 on third-down conversions.
"Nobody expected this kind of game," TCU coach Sonny Dykes said postgame. "We have tremendous confidence in our ability to take over the game late."
Ewers, who threw an interception in the second quarter to TCU cornerback Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, completed 43.6 percent of his passes. Since Texas' 49-0 win over Oklahoma, Ewers' roller-coaster season has been on the decline. In his last four games, he's completed 51.4 percent of his throws for 859 yards and seven touchdowns against four interceptions.
Texas (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) coach Steve Sarkisian said postgame he never considered making a switch from Ewers over to Hudson Card despite the redshirt freshman's struggles.
"It wasn't all on Quinn," Sarkisian, who currently is 11-11 with the program in his second year, said. "Everybody took turns tonight. We were just off."
With the win, the Horned Frogs (10-0, 7-0 Big 12) officially clinched one of two spots in the Big 12 title game on Dec.3. TCU is also 10-0 for the first time since 2010, when the Horned Frogs played in the Mountain West Conference, finished 13-0 and won the Rose Bowl over Wisconsin.
The Longhorns could set up a rematch in three weeks in AT&T Stadium, but they'll need to win their final two games against Kansas and Baylor. Kickoff from Lawrence against the Jayhawks is set for 2:30 p.m.
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