No. 17 TCU football moved on to 5-0 after winning its highly-anticipated matchup against undefeated No. 19 Kansas.

It was a dogfight for a full 60 minutes of football as the Frogs and Jayhawks matched each other point for point until the fourth quarter when TCU stopped the Kansas offense on fourth down to secure their victory.

TCU led the game with 3 points as kicker Griffin Kell nailed a 39-yard field goal, but that would be all the scoring for the first quarter from either side.

In fact, the scoring never picked up until there were five minutes left in the half.

TCU recovered a fumbled ball by Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels at the 1-yard line. Quarterback Max Duggan and company put together a 99-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. Kansas responded quickly but settled for a field goal, making it 10-3 in favor of the Frogs.

The fumble recovery then led to a 1-yard rushing touchdown by running back Kendre Miller.

The Frogs attacked in the air and on the ground despite being out-rushed (189-144) and out-passed (351-308) by Kansas.

#TCU was out-rushed (189-144) and out-passed (351-308) by #Kansas. The #Jayhawks also had about 8 more minutes of possession time. Both teams had 1 interception and 1 fumble lost.

— Micah Pearce (@micah6p) October 8, 2022

In the first half alone, wide receiver Quentin Johnston made his presence known with 8 catches for 139 yards. He finished with a career-high and team-best 14 receptions and 206 yards, including one touchdown.

The defense was also stellar, led by the secondary and safety Abe Camara, who held the KU offense to a mere 194 yards of offense and a late field goal before the half.

The half ended on a Hail Mary play to Johnston that was intercepted by the KU defense.

After the half, Kansas’ Daniels did not emerge from the locker room with the team after suffering a shoulder injury before halftime.

KU head coach Lance Leipold noted at the half that it was a “50/50 chance” that he could return to the game. He returned to the sidelines during the 3rd quarter but did not reenter the game.

Kansas’ offense was in the hands of backup QB Jason Bean, who orchestrated a touchdown drive that ended with a 12-yard TD pass to tight end Mason Fairchild.

TCU could not stop the turnovers, as a fumble by tight end Geor’quarius Spivey gave the ball back to a hot Kansas offense.

The turnover proved to be critical, as Bean and the KU offense marched down the field and scored another touchdown, this time an 8-yard pass to wide receiver Luke Grimm.

After taking a 17-10 lead, the TCU offense responded with some speed from wide receiver Derius Davis, as he took a screen pass 51 yards for a TCU touchdown to tie the game at 17.

The TCU defense followed this up with an intercepted pass by linebacker Jamoi Hodge on 3rd and 21.

This turnover led to a 3-yard touchdown run for QB Max Duggan, which gave TCU a 24-17 lead.

Kansas struck right back as Jason Bean fired a 38-yard TD pass to WR Quentin Skinner, tying the game once again.

This game quickly turned into a shootout, as Duggan threw a dart to WR Taye Barber for a 25-yard TD pass.

The contest truly became a true nail-biter, as Kansas responded once again with a 29-yard touchdown reception by Skinner.

Johnston continued to be the story of the game as he hauled in the game sealing touchdown pass while having pass interference committed against him. The Frog wide receiver finished the game with 14 receptions for 206 yards and topped it off with that game winning touchdown.

KU had little time to respond to the Johnston TD as the TCU defense responded with a stop to seal in the win for the Frogs.

“Our guys showed great resolve,” said head coach Sonny Dykes in response to the stop, but added that “we have a lot of stuff to clean up on defense.”

“He had such a great week of practice, and Max [Duggan] got him the ball,” said Dykes on Johnston’s performance.

Duggan finished the game going 23-33 for 308 yards with 3 TD passes.

Dykes reminisced on how the Frogs got to this point.

“Our guys bought in from day one,” said Dykes. “I was incredibly impressed with their attitude and work ethic.”

#TCU has had six season when @CollegeGameDay has been present at a game. In 5/6 of those seasons, they’ve appeared, and won, a bowl game. The other season, they appeared in, but lost, the Fiesta Bowl in 2009.

— Micah Pearce (@micah6p) October 8, 2022

UP NEXT

TCU, now ranked at No. 13, is one of two remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12 Conference along with No. 8 Oklahoma State, who they will face on Saturday in Fort Worth.