TCU Football: Horned Frogs Lose a Heartbreaker in Big 12 Championship

Costly mistakes and inches away from a touchdown in overtime fueled a tough loss against Kansas State in the Big 12 championship Saturday.

TCU needed another miraculous comeback in order to knock off Kansas State. The Frogs sent the game into overtime, but the comeback fell short as the Wildcats kicked  the game-winning field goal to knock off the unbeaten Horned Frogs.

TCU got off to a quick start when Max Duggan found his star wide receiver Quentin Johnston for 53 yards. The drive was capped off via a touchdown pass to Taye Barber. After a missed TCU field goal, the Wildcats responded with a six-play, 63-yard touchdown drive when Ben Sinnott found the end zone. 

Kansas State possessed a 21-10 lead early in the second half and the Wildcats had all the momentum. However, the Frogs punted it away and a costly fumble by Phillip Brooks got the Horned Frogs and their fans right back in the game. Three plays later, Kendre Miller punched it in from six yards out. Miller has scored a touchdown in every game this season. 

The biggest drive in the game came late with TCU trailing 28-20. Max Duggan had one of the best drives in his collegiate career. He ran for a 40-yard gain on 2nd and 20 and finished the drive for an eight-yard score. You could see how exhausted Duggan was, falling to the ground multiple times. He laid it all out there and his competitiveness and passion for this team was on full display tonight. 

Team Leaders	TCU	Kansas State
Passing	Max Duggan: 18/36, 251 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT	Will Howard: 18/32, 199 yds, 2 TDs
Rushing	Max Duggan: 15 car, 110 yds, 1 TD	Deuce Vaughn: 26 car, 130 yds, 1 TD
Receiving	Quentin Johnston: 4 rec 139 yds	Phillip Brooks: 6 rec 48 yds

At the end of the day, some costly mistakes and missed opportunities proved to be too much for TCU to overcome. Many people will point to the controversial calls in overtime, but the Frogs missed out on a lot of chances early in the game. Duggan did miss a wide open Barber for what would've likely been an easy touchdown. A Quentin Johnston fumble and an interception in the end zone were momentum killers.

I also have to give credit to Kansas State. Deuce Vaughn is an incredible talent and his ability to make people miss is special. They stuck to a similar offensive game plan from the last time these two teams played and it worked well. The fans were loud and brought a lot of energy.

TCU now awaits their CFB fate tomorrow. This game is going to be a tough pill to swallow. Following the game Duggan told reporters, "I wanted this one bad, I'm devastated about not bringing the title home to Fort Worth and TCU." Well Max, regardless of the outcome, you and this team have made us proud. This team has gone to heights no one saw coming and they still have an opportunity to play in the CFB playoff. 

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