On the same day of the storied Red River Showdown between Texas and Oklahoma, it was a different Big 12 matchup that was providing must watch college football fireworks. The 4-0 TCU Horned Frogs travelled to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the the 5-0 Jayhawks.
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With first year head coach Sonny Dykes leading a TCU team full of players brought to Fort Worth by Gary Patterson, very few people could've seen the Horned Frogs being undefeated by this point in the season, let alone the best offense in the country.
Kansas is one of the pure blue blood "basketball schools," so their football success so far this season is maybe even more impressive. The hype surrounding these two surprising undefeated teams was so large that ESPN brought College GameDay to Kansas University for the first time. And they were rewarded with one hell of an NCAA football game.
TCU Heads to Lawrence for Big 12 Stunner
Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
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At halftime, it seemed like the two high powered offenses were stalling a bit as the score was TCU 10- Kansas 3 at the end of the first half. With KU's star QB Jason Daniels not returning for the second half with an injury, it was hard to see the explosion that happened in the 3rd quarter coming. The Horned Frogs and the Jayhawks both came alive, trading big-play after big-play for a combined 42 points.
Backup KU QB Jason Bean threw three touchdowns in the third and TCU QB Max Duggan responded with two touchdown completions and a touchdown run of his own. Both teams were taking advantage of difficult receptions and broken tackles aplenty. Bean certainly didn't look like a player who wasn't getting the first team snaps, and Duggan is clearly not the player who struggled last season anymore.
In fact, Duggan had lost the starting job to Oklahoma transfer Chandler Morris at the beginning of the season, but after Morris was injured late in the Horned Frogs's Week 1 victory, Max Duggan returned to the job he had last year. Impressive performances against SMU and Oklahoma have led to him keeping that position for now, and increase his NFL draft stock to boot.
After Kansas tied the game at 31 with another Bean touchdown pass late in the 4th quarter, TCU would respond with the best pass and reception in a game full of insane receptions.
THIS GAME!!!
The receivers are THRIVING today
QUENTIN JOHNSTON JUST BROKE THE BROADCAST WITH THIS GRAB OMG 😈 pic.twitter.com/XThmcK7tKz
— The Transfer Portal CFB (@TPortalCFB) October 8, 2022
TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston is able to make a spectacular touchdown grab with a Kansas cornerback draped all over him. This catch would top off a 14 reception, 206 yard game for the Horned Frogs WR Quentin Johnston. Before this game, Johnston only had 12 receptions for 114 yards and no touchdowns on the season, not exactly the stat line you would expect from an All-Big 12 talent, as he was last season.
Pegged to be a first-round NFL Draft pick on many preseason scouting reports, Johnston finally had the type of game worthy of his talents, capped off by an amazing catch that will see TCU top the Big-12 standings heading into their matchup with Oklahoma State. Kansas will look to bounce back against Oklahoma after this setback, albeit one in a game with another surprising, stat-stuffing performance.
