After trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, TCU football went on a 24-7 run, falling just short of an upset against No. 8 Oklahoma in Norman.
“You’ve got to give Oklahoma credit,” head coach Gary
Patterson said. “They’re a good football
team, but I was very proud of our team.”
Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts scored four touchdowns against TCU. Photo by Jack Wallace
The Frogs had a chance to win the game with 3:16
remaining, but first-year quarterback Max Duggan threw his first interception
of the game to end any chance at a victory.
“We lost by four points against a very, very, very
good team,” right guard David Bolisomi said.
“Every loss is tough. It just
hurts that we were right there.”
Duggan finished with just 65 yards passing to go with
the pick, though he did gain 103 yards and a score with his legs.
Quarterback Max Duggan gained 103 yard on the ground against the Sooners. Photo by Jack Wallace
Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts finished with four
total touchdowns, with two coming in the air and two via the ground.
The first half started about as poorly as possible for
TCU. The Frogs punted on each of their first
four, gaining just 17 yards in the process.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma, the nation’s number one offense,
scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives. Before TCU knew what was happening, they were
down 21-0 with 12:56 left in the first half, and the game looked out of hand.
“It’s probably just trying to het back in formations
and see how they are going to come at us,” linebacker Garrett Wallow said about
fixing the slow start. “Every game we
have to come out faster if we’re going to be successful.”
But for a team that had scored in 333 consecutive games
(2nd-longest active streak in NCAA), getting shut out is not an
option.
After the Frogs finally forced the Sooners to punt, first-year
quarterback Max Duggan exploded on a 59-yard run to put TCU deep in Oklahoma
territory. Two plays later, running back
Sewo Olonilua took a direct snap and dove across the goal line to give the
Frogs life.
The TCU defense would stop Oklahoma on their final
three drives of the first half, the second of which came via a forced fumble by
safety Trevon Moehrig.
The turnover resulted in a 24-yard field goal by kicker
Jonathon Song to pull the Frogs within 11 before the half.
TCU came out swinging in the second half. After the defense forced a turnover on downs,
the Frogs went 49 yards in six plays, scoring on an 11-yard run by Duggan on
which the quarterback was carried into the endzone by his linemen.
Hurts responded with a strong touchdown run of his
own, putting Oklahoma back up by 11 just three minutes later.
In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the Sooners
got all the way down to the TCU seven yard line, looking to put the game out of
the Frogs’ reach.
For the second week in a row, safety Vernon Scott made
a play when it mattered. The senior
stepped in front of Hurts’ pass and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown with
just 12:43 left to play.
Safety Vernon Scott (26) returns an interception 98 yards for a touchdown against Oklahoma. Photo by Jack Wallace
The pick was just the second of Scott’s career and the
first he has taken for a score.
Drama would continue to ensue, as on Oklahoma’s next
drive, first-year safety Nook Bradford ripped the ball out of Hurts’ hands to
give TCU the ball right back.
“Takeaways are huge for us, and they bring a lot of
energy to us and our sideline,” Wallow said.
“It hypes up both sides of the ball.”
The Frogs would fail to capitalize though, punting
after a three-and-out.
The TCU defense wasn’t done though. The Frogs stopped the
Sooners on fourth down on their next drive to get the ball back again, this
time with 3:16 remaining.
The Frogs’ comeback attempt was cut short though, as
Duggan’s interception on fourth down gave the Sooners the ball back with 1:41
left.
It appeared that TCU then stopped Oklahoma on 3rd-and-1,
but upon review, the Sooners were granted a first down to put the nails in the coffin
for the Frogs.
“On the TV version, it was [short],” Patterson said about
the play. “It was a poor decision on
their part.”
Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and TCU’s Jalen Reagor, considered
to be two of the best receivers in the Big 12, combined for just three catches
and 25 receiving yards. Lamb did add a
score.
Bradford finished with a career-high 13 tackles to go with
the forced fumble in the contest. Wallow
(15) and safety Ar’Darius Washington (14) also finished with double-digit
tackles for TCU.
With their backs against the wall, the Frogs will have
to beat West Virginia next week to reach bowl eligibility. Kickoff against the
Mountaineers at Amon G. Carter Stadium is scheduled for Nov. 29 at 3:15 p.m.