Whew! No. 7 Texas holds off TCU 29-26 behind big nights from Quinn Ewers and Xavier Worthy

FORT WORTH — According to the participation report, 52 Texas players appeared in Saturday night's 29-26 win over TCU at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

In the end, though, this was a story about a receiver who made a big play and another receiver who didn't catch a single pass. With Saturday's win and Oklahoma State's 45-3 loss at Central Florida, Texas (9-1, 6-1) claimed sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings. The Longhorns have games against Iowa State and Texas Tech left on the schedule.

"Just to be where we're at and the record we have, it's a blessing," UT defensive back Jahdae Barron said. "Just to come on the road and get another tough win in an environment like this, it was a blessing to do that."

The catch heard ’round the conference

First things, first. Let's talk about the big catch.

Texas built 26-6 and 29-13 leads, but a three-touchdown blitz by TCU (4-6, 2-5) in the fourth quarter trimmed that advantage to three points with 3:28 left. After an ill-advised kickoff return set the Longhorns up at their 15-yard line, Texas ran two plays, drew a holding call and faced a third-and-12.

Coming out of a timeout, Texas opted to throw it. Instead of a safe check-down, UT went for broke; with TCU playing man-to-man coverage, Quinn Ewers threw downfield. Wide receiver Adonai Mitchell adjusted to the football and was able to haul it in for a 35-yard gain and a first down as he was going to the ground.

TCU had only one timeout left. The Longhorns ran three more plays and killed the rest of the clock.

"Credit to Quinn for just giving me a chance," Mitchell said. "We work that a lot and we took the practice field to the game and ultimately great things happen."

More: Our staff takeaways from Texas' 29-26 win over TCU

The catch was Mitchell's third of the evening. In the first half, he hauled in his ninth touchdown pass of the season on a 6-yard hookup with Ewers. Now tied with six others for eighth place on UT's single-season chart, Mitchell is four touchdown catches shy of Jordan Shipley's school record.

That touchdown and the game-sealing grab were two of Mitchell's three receptions. Xavier Worthy led the passing attack with his 10 catches and 137 receiving yards.

"When you have guys like AD and X and all those guys in that room, they're all playmakers as you guys can tell," Ewers said. "That just makes my job a whole lot easier. I've just got it to the playmakers, and they do everything else. They make me look good."

No catches, but still a big game

Now let's talk about the receiver who didn't catch a pass.

Texas was up 26-6 by the time the TCU Twirlers were performing with batons on fire during the halftime show. In the first half, the Longhorns recorded plenty of highlights. The biggest moment, though, occurred on a play that began as a lowlight.

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With Texas leading 7-6 on a first down at its 39-yard line in the first quarter, Ewers lofted a pass downfield that was intercepted by TCU's Millard Bradford, who returned it 40 yards back into Texas territory.

While returning the interception, Bradford slipped an attempted tackle by UT receiver Jordan Whittington along the way. But Whittington didn't give up on the play and eventually ran down a meandering Bradford from behind and stripped the TCU defensive back of the ball. Worthy, who was Ewers' target on the pass, jumped on the fumble.

"There's so much that (Whittington) does that a lot of times doesn't show on the stat sheet," UT coach Steve Sarkisian said. "Jordan hasn't been 100%. He's going through something. That's why we haven't seen him as much on special teams, but he's an invaluable piece to what we do. I'm grateful that he was able to make that play because that was a critical play at that juncture."

Instead of TCU taking over past midfield, Texas was given a fresh set of downs and a second chance. Bert Auburn eventually kicked a 30-yard field goal to extend the lead in a game that Texas eventually won by three points.

"I actually walked over and told him that was the game-changing play right there," Mitchell said. "To contribute even when the ball isn't in your hands, that really shows how complete of a player you are and how much he wanted it, just how much heart he has."

Ewers finished with 317 yards on 22-of-33 passing. The third-year quarterback had missed the previous two games with a shoulder sprain. After the game, he told reporters that his shoulder felt all right and that he "was just as comfortable as when I left."

Said Mitchell: "He was delivering the whole game. I'm not going to lie, that dude is a dawg. He is a straight soldier. To come back and have that type of performance while you're still dealing with something is amazing."

Despite keeping pace in its chase for a conference championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff, Texas still left Fort Worth with some concerns. After losing 20-point leads in games it eventually won over the past month against Houston and Kansas State, the Longhorns nearly stumbled again. And running back Jonathon Brooks also left in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury. Sarkisian said further testing would be needed and he would have an update Monday. Brooks contributed 178 yards of offense and two touchdowns.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football keeps Big 12 and CFP hopes alive with a win over TCU