No. 8 TCU moves to 7-0 and takes control of Big 12 with 38-28 win over No. 17 K-State
TCU is all alone atop the Big 12 after a massive comeback against No. 17 Kansas State.
The No. 8 Horned Frogs scored 28 consecutive points after Kansas State had taken a 28-10 lead to win 38-28 on Saturday night and remain one of six undefeated teams at the top level of college football.
TCU cut K-State’s lead to 11 with 20 seconds to go before halftime and got the ball to start the second half. The Horned Frogs then went on a drive that took nearly half the third quarter before a Kendre Miller TD that cut K-State’s lead to four. Less than five minutes later, QB Max Duggan found — who else? — Quentin Johnston on a 55-yard TD pass to take the lead.
Kansas State’s offense struggled in the second half as the Wildcats were down to their No. 3 quarterback. Adrian Martinez left the game after the first drive due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Will Howard.
Howard was fantastic as soon as he replaced Martinez. He threw for two TDs and ran for one on his first three drives as the Wildcats scored three consecutive TDs to start the second quarter.
But Howard suffered an apparent left shoulder injury on a QB run in the third quarter. KSU missed a field goal on the play after his injury and TCU took the lead four plays later.
Howard was replaced by freshman Jake Rubley for multiple drives before coming back into the game after Rubley threw an interception and TCU extended its lead to 10. But KSU missed another field goal and Howard threw an interception after he returned.
Rubley’s pick was the first of the season in over 230 pass attempts by Wildcat quarterbacks.
Duggan threw for 280 yards and three TDs on Saturday night while Miller rushed for 153 yards and two scores in the team's second consecutive comeback win. TCU trailed 24-7 in the second quarter a week ago against Oklahoma State before coming back to win 43-40 in double overtime.
TCU in a great position to make the Big 12 title game
The Horned Frogs have what’s effectively a two-game lead over everyone else in the Big 12. KSU is tied with Oklahoma State in second at 3-1 behind TCU at 4-0. But TCU now has wins over both teams in second place and the top tiebreaker. And OSU and KSU play each other in Week 9. Unless it somehow loses out on a group tiebreaker, TCU will likely have to lose three times over its final five games of the season to not make the Big 12 title game.
A Big 12 title game appearance would be just the second in school history. The Horned Frogs were in the first edition of the reincarnated Big 12 title game in 2017 and lost to Oklahoma. A conference title would be the first outright Big 12 title in school history; TCU and Baylor infamously split the 2014 Big 12 title as both missed out on the College Football Playoff.
