Kyle Hicks ran for two touchdowns and No. 10 TCU rebounded from its only loss, staying tied for the Big 12 lead and in contention for a playoff spot with a 24-7 victory over Texas on Saturday night.
In a game dominated by two of the Big 12's best defenses, Hicks had 41 yards rushing on 11 carries. That included his 1-yard TD to end TCU's opening drive of the game and his 14-yard score that put the Horned Frogs (8-1, 5-1 Big 12, No. 8 CFP) up 17-0 early in the second quarter.
Texas (4-5, 3-3) managed only 263 total yards in its biggest losing margin in coach Tom Herman's first season.
The Longhorns went into the game already 0-3 against Top 25 teams. Those losses were by a combined 11 points, two of them in overtime. Iowa State was still unranked when Texas won 17-7 in Ames at the end of September.
With freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger missing his second straight game for the Longhorns, Shane Buechele completed 21 of 44 passes for 254 yards with a 33-yard touchdown to Collin Johnson . Buechele was sacked seven times.
TCU was coming off a 14-7 loss at No. 14 Iowa State that had created a four-team logjam for first place in the Big 12.
There are now only two teams tied atop the Big 12 with three weeks left in the regular season before the league's championship game. They are TCU and No. 8 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1, No. 5 CFP), who play next week in Norman.
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Darius Anderson ran for 99 yards for TCU, including a 31-yard TD run on a fourth-and-1 play with just over 4 minutes left in the game.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Even without an overwhelming victory, the Horned Frogs will remain a Top 10 team. They could even move up depending on how voters respond to a pair of Top 10 losers from the Big Ten: No. 3 Ohio State, which lost by 31 points, and No. 7 Penn State on a game-ending field goal in a road game that ended nearly 7 hours after it began.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas: The Longhorns, coming off three consecutive losing seasons when Herman was hired last December, are still in that up-and-down mode. They followed an overwhelming 38-7 road win at Baylor last week with another loss. They have to win out (Kansas, at West Virginia and Texas Tech) for a winning season. Two wins gets them to .500 and bowl eligible, for another chance at a winning record.
TCU: Quarterback Kenny Hill was effective as TCU rebounded from its first loss of the season. Hill had three turnovers against Iowa State, including an interception and a lost fumble inside the Cyclones 10. Hill was 18-of-26 passing for 146 yards, and ran for a season-high 43 yards on 12 carries in a turnover-free performance.
UP NEXT
Texas: The Longhorns are home next Saturday against Kansas, the only Big 12 team still winless in conference play.
TCU: The matchup of Big 12 leaders when the Frogs play a primetime game at Oklahoma next Saturday night.
