Texas Football: 3 takeaways from another scare vs. TCU

No. 7 Texas football got off to a good start against the TCU Horned Frogs on the road at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth on Nov. 11. Behind the return of redshirt sophomore starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, Texas jumped out to a 26-6 lead in the first half against head coach Sonny Dykes and the Horned Frogs.

Texas needed a win in this game against the Horned Frogs to take sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings after the No. 15 Oklahoma State Cowboys were decimated by the UCF Knights on the road in Orlando on Nov. 11. And the Longhorns showed that urgency out of the gates.

No. 7 Texas football survives another near-upset loss in Week 11 vs. TCU

But the urgency didn’t stick around in the second half when Texas had a couple of chances in the third quarter to put the Frogs away. Texas had to punt the ball away for back-to-back drives for the first time in this game to start the third quarter.

TCU capitalized on one of Texas’ stalled drives with a touchdown run from running back Emani Bailey. And that’s when things started to fall apart for Texas again in the second half. TCU rattled off a fourth quarter where they outscored Texas 20-3.

Texas was able to hang on thanks to an incredible late catch on a deep ball from Ewers to junior wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. That sealed the 29-26 win for the Longhorns over the Horned Frogs.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns stay alive in the race for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game and for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Texas is 9-1 for the first time since 2009.

Here are three takeaways from the Longhorns win over TCU on the road on Nov. 11.

Jonathon Brooks has another impactful game receiving and on the ground

Before suffering an unfortunate ankle injury in the fourth quarter, redshirt sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks had a sensational game in multiple phases for the Longhorns. Brooks gave the Longhorns a spark in the receiving game and on the ground with nearly 200 total yards from scrimmage and two rushing touchdowns in the win over TCU.

Brooks registered his sixth 100-rushing yard game of the season. He also made major contributions in the receiving game, with 74 yards on three catches.

It was also his second game of the season with at least 75 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards.

What made this effort so impressive for Brooks was the fact that TCU sold out to stop the run. On most early down plays, TCU had seven or more guys in the box, but Brooks still managed over 100 rushing yards and better than five yards per carry.