Tag: Texas Longhorns vs TCU Horned Frogs

Three things we learned from Texas’ loss to TCU

Tom Herman can take away a lot of things from Saturday’s game against TCU. Here are three things we learned from the Big 12 season opener:

Texas revealed its true colors against TCU on Saturday, falling to the Horned Frogs for the seventh time in nine seasons, 33-31. Tom Herman’s squad struggled in every facet of the game, falling short in what could have been a winnable matchup.

From the offensive perspective, quarterback Sam Ehlinger struggled. The senior admitted “losing bothers [him] the most.” Ehlinger has been the starting quarterback against TCU four times and has lost three of them. Not connecting with his receivers and head-scratching play-calling from Mike Yurcich led to a struggling offense.

Moving to Chris Ash’s side of the ball and the inability to stop Max Duggan ultimately lost Texas the ballgame. Not only having a solid display in the air but the sophomore quarterback led the Horned Frogs in rushing, getting into the end zone three times. With Spencer Rattler on deck, it will only get harder for the Longhorns’ defense.

A lot can be taken away from the TCU loss if Texas wants to get its hat back into the Big 12 championship race. In year four, Tom Herman should be able to identify the problems and adjust quickly.

Here are three things we learned from the TCU loss:

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Texas Longhorns Football: Three reasons Texas lost to TCU

Saturday’s loss to the Horned Frogs was a frustrating loss where UT beat themselves all day. Here are three reasons Texas lost to TCU.

Death, taxes, Gary Patterson beating Texas. Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, TCU has dominated the Longhorns, winning seven of the nine matchups. Saturday’s victory made it two in a row for the Horned Frogs.

A frustrating day all-around, Texas will fall to 2-1 on the season and already behind in the Big 12 standings. In the three seasons Tom Herman has been the head coach in Austin, the Longhorns have never begun a season 3-0.

Since 2017, Texas has lost six games to an unranked opponent as an AP ranked team, the most in the country. While Herman continually shows up in the biggest games of the year, his teams struggle against teams they are expected to win.

Against TCU, the story was the same. The Longhorns beat themselves with penalties and poor moments from both the offense and defense. A lot will need to be fixed before next week’s Red River Shootout against Oklahoma.

Here are three reasons Texas lost to TCU on Saturday:

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Texas Christian vs Texas: Third Quarter Recap

The Texas Christian Horned Frogs finished the third quarter leading the Texas Longhorns 23-21. Texas needs a big quarter to win.

The third quarter between Texas Christian and Texas opened with more running by the Frogs offense. After getting into Longhorns territory, a holding call on TCU stalled their drive. They settled for a 49-yard field goal attempt from Griffin Kell. That made the it 23-14 Horned Frogs.

Facing a 3rd and one from inside their own 20 yard line. Ehlinger ran it 36 yards for a first down in TCU territory. Inside the red zone and Ehlinger’s accuracy issues continued as he couldn’t connect with his receivers. After an offside on the field goal, Ehlinger and the offense went back onto the field for fourth and two. Ehlinger finds Roschon Johnson for the touchdown.

TCU punts the ball right back to Texas after more penalties from the Horned Frogs stalled their drive. After a three and out after a Jake Smith drop, TCU went back to work with good field position. The defense finally gets to quarterback with a strip sack from Joseph Ossai. The Longhorns offense gets a short field.

After an ineligible player downfield was called on a long catch and run by Al’Vonte Woodard, the Longhorns end up punting again. The offense not able to get anything consistent in this game. Defensively the missed tackles were an issue again throughout the game. As the quarter ended TCU’s Blair Conwright caught a pass down the sideline to get back into the redzone.

TCU finished the third quarter driving with a 23-21 lead.

Stats

Ehlinger: 11/27 161 yards 3 TDs 1 INT

Ehlinger: 7 carries, 46 yards

Smith: 5 receptions, 45 yards, 1 TD

WATCH: Brennan Eagles touchdown ties game in second quarter

Sam Ehlinger’s second touchdown of the day against TCU was to wide receiver Brennan Eagles. You can watch the game-tying play here:

Texas’ matchup against TCU is off to a rocky start, many thanks to the officials. 14 penalties have been called for over 100 yards, hurting both the Longhorns and the Horned Frogs.

Outside of the penalties, Sam Ehlinger and the Texas offense has struggled. The senior quarterback has only completed five of his 13 passes. A positive? Big plays have come out of those five completions, totaling 132 yards and two touchdowns midway through the second quarter.

His second touchdown was to wide receiver Brennan Eagles. The junior wide receiver ran a stop and go route over the middle of the field. Once TCU’s linebacker was frozen, Eagles took off and ran into the endzone untouched.

After a Cameron Dicker extra point, Texas tied the game up 14-14. To this point, the Longhorns have not taken a lead against the Horned Frogs. It will be another tough battle against TCU.

You can watch the play here:

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Texas Longhorns vs TCU Horned Frogs: Three defensive keys

The Longhorns’ defense will need to improve after giving up 56 points against Texas Tech. Here are three defensive keys for UT on Saturday:

Texas will be playing its second home game of the season on Saturday afternoon, hosting TCU. The Horned Frogs played their first game of the season against Iowa State and are 0-1 for the first time since 2013.

Against Texas Tech, the Longhorns had a rough day defensively, giving up 56 points to the Red Raiders. Matt Well’s offense had success both in the air and on the ground all day. With TCU in town, Chris Ash’s defense will need to improve.

If a Gary Patterson offense can score 56 points, his defense is going to be sitting in a comfortable position. The Longhorns will need to match the Horned Frogs’ defensive performance to secure their second Big 12 win of the season.

Here are three defensive keys for Texas when playing TCU on Saturday:

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Throwback Thursday: Texas upsets No. 17 TCU in 2018

In 2018, TCU came into Austin ranked the No. 17 team in the country, and left unranked. The game is our throwback Thursday before UT vs TCU.

Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, TCU has had Texas’ number as they’ve won six of the eight matchups. However, two seasons ago the Horned Frogs came into Austin ranked the No. 17 team in the country and left unranked.

Going into the locker room down 13-10 at halftime, Texas’ second half performance pushed them towards a conference opening win. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger and the offense fed off three second half turnovers, scoring 14 points off of them.

Safety Caden Sterns picked off both Horned Frog quarterback Shawn Robinson and wide receiver KaVonte Turpin on a double pass attempt. Opposite side safety B.J. Foster also nicked one off Robinson. add in a Brandon Jones fumble recovery and Texas’ defense totaled four turnovers.

Wide receiver Collin Johnson made the spectacular play of the day, diving for an Ehlinger pass in the middle of the endzone for a touchdown. Johnson finished with seven catches and 124 yards and this amazing touchdown.

Wide receiver Lil’ Jordan Humphrey sealed off the victory for Tom Herman’s squad with a 38-yard fourth quarter touchdown. It put the Longhorns ahead by 15 points with three minutes left and remained that way, ending in a 31-16 win in favor of Texas.

The 2018 win against TCU was just Herman’s second against a ranked opponent during his tenure in Austin. It was also the beginning of the Longhorns’ first Big 12 championship appearance since 2009.

You can watch the full highlights of the 2018 win over TCU here:

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The Texas Longhorns open as two score favorites per BetMGM

The betting lines from BetMGM are out and the Texas Longhorns are two touchdown favorites against TCU.

After Saturday’s win in Lubbock, Texas all attention for the Longhorns shifts to the Texas Christian Horned Frogs. They rolled out Matthew Downing at starter in this game but Max Duggan eventually came in to the game. He was nearly able to salvage the first game of the year. The Iowa State Cyclones escaped with their first win on the season.

This game looks to be a bit of retribution for the Texas Longhorns after dropping last year’s game 37-27 in Fort Worth. They appear to be a better team with plenty of things they need to clean up before they host their first Big 12 home game of the season.

Opening lines for the game per BetMGM

Line: Texas (-13)

Over/Under: 59.5

The Longhorns are 1-1 against the spread this year. They didn’t cover the 17.5 point spread against Texas Tech. TCU always plays the Longhorns tough so looking at the cover, I might be more inclined to take TCU to cover but the Longhorns to win outright.

Other Big 12 Games Spread:

Favorite Underdog Spread O/U
Baylor at West Virginia (-3) 55.5
at Kansas State Texas Tech (-3.5) 63.5
Oklahoma State at Kansas (-21.5) 55.5
Oklahoma at Iowa State (-8.5) 62.5

Texas and Kansas State are the only two home teams that are favored this week according to the betting odds.

Looking for some action on this game or others? Place your legal sports wagers online at BetMGM in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey and West Virginia. Bet now!

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