Halftime: TCU 20, Texas 14

TCU and Texas broke a record Saturday, but not one either team will be posting in their respective Halls of Fame.

The two teams combined for 13 penalties in the first quarter, and it could have been worse as several flags were picked up through the first 15 minutes of play. Through the first seven minutes, they had combined for just 25 yards of offense and 64 yards in penalties. The game was ugly.

But with a drive under their belts, Max Duggan and the Frogs finally found some juice, with Duggan connecting with Taye Barber, Derius Davis, and Daimarqua Foster for big gains, while Darwin Barlow gained nice yardage on the ground and took his team into the end zone. Duggan showed great poise on the drive, finding Derius Davis on third down despite the Texas line bearing down on him. He also used his feet, picking up 15 yards to set up the Barlow score from the one.

Texas answered though, as Sam Ehlinger found his mojo. The senior quarterback, who went 0-for his first two drives, connected with Jake Smith once for a 34 yard gain and again for a five yard touchdown. The Frogs answered the Texas score with a touchdown drive of their own, highlighted by Quentin Johnston’s — excuse me, former Texas commit Quentin Johnston’s — 50 yard reception and some penalty chaos in the red zone that ended with a Texas player ejected and Max Duggan in the end zone on a designed keeper.

The Longhorns weren’t done yet, driving 63 yards on two plays and scoring easily from 45 yards out when Garret Wallow got matched up on Brennan Eagles in the middle of the field. The teams traded punts on the ensuing drives before Duggan led his team to three, and the Frogs made it a 20-14 game at the half after benefitting from a Sam Ehlinger reception that Lakendrick Van Zandt took to the five. It should have been six, but LVZ’s unsportsmanlike penalty moved the drive back to the Texas 20 and forced the Frogs to settle for three after they were unable to secure a first down in three passing attempts.

Duggan threw for 144 yards and ran for a score, while Ehlinger was just 5-16, though he threw for two scores as well. Duggan led the Frogs with 52 yards on the ground, with Barlow and Kendre Miller picking up 22 each.

We will be back for more action in the second half!