TCU owns a 3-game win streak against the Longhorns and looks to extend that to four on Saturday evening at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. Texas needs a win to improve to 5-4 on the season while working their way to bowl eligibility. The Horned Frogs are favored by 7.5 points but can the Longhorns play well enough to leave Cowtown with an upset win? The HornSports staff give their game predictions below.
Aaron Carrara
First of all, the Texas win over Iowa State is looking better and better every week. As of late, TCU has Texas’ number and they draw the Longhorns at home this year. The Texas offense is inconsistent, and the lack of a running game has plagued Tom Herman all season. The Texas defense will keep the team in this game but Kenny Hill and a talented Horned Frog offense have the capability to put up points, and a lot of them. Texas plays well on the road and I expect this game to be closer than expected, but it won’t be enough to beat TCU. The transitive property of equality fails us here (Texas beat Iowa State and Iowa State beat TCU, then Texas beats TCU).
Score Prediction: TCU 24, Texas 21
Jameson McCausland
The past 3 times Texas has played TCU, the Longhorns have combined to score 2 touchdowns, and both were garbage time touchdown passes by Tyrone Swoopes in the 4th quarter when the game was long decided. To say Gary Patterson and TCU have the Longhorns number is putting it lightly.
Texas will enter Saturday’s game with question marks littering the offensive side of the ball. When you think about how the last 3 matchups against the Horned Frogs have gone and the type of offense Texas is displaying this season, it shouldn’t give fans much confidence.
The lone hope for Texas is that the defense does to Kenny Hill what Iowa State did to him last week, which I expect to happen. The Longhorns simply need to score 2 or 3 touchdowns and I think they win this game, but I just don’t see it happening. This is one of the better defenses Gary Patterson has fielded and it will show on Saturday.
Score Prediction: Texas 7, TCU 17
Ross Labenske
Another tough game for the ‘horns. Texas is coming into this game with some momentum, beating Baylor last week 38-7, and will hope to continue that going into Ft. Worth to play TCU. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, the Horned Frogs are coming off a road-loss to Iowa State, in which TCU QB Kenny Hill and the Frogs offense struggled mightily against the Cyclones D. Gary Patterson and Company will be playing with a vengeance since their playoff hopes are temporarily out of their hands. The TCU Defense, ranked #10 in the nation in total defense, will force the Longhorns to beat them through the air. Especially without freshman phenom Tonsil Carter, Texas will be passing more frequently than it has been. And that might play out exactly the way the elite TCU secondary wants it to. If Texas wants to leave Ft. Worth with an upset win, they must win on every front, which may prove to be too big of a challenge against this talented Frogs squad. I
predict a close one, but another tough loss for the Longhorns, 27-17.
Score Prediction: Texas 17, TCU 27
Daniel Seahorn
TCU has been a thorn in Texas’ side for several years running now and the Horn Frogs have embarrassed the Longhorns in their recent matchups. This is a monkey Texas desperately has to get off their back if they intend on getting back to competing for Big 12 titles.
TCU’s offense had hung crooked numbers on every opponent they faced up until last week in Ames against Iowa State, in which they only put up 7 points in their first season loss. Their offense is explosive and has several play makers, but it also has a quarterback in Kenny Hill who can be inconsistent and turnover prone at times.
Last week proved that the Gary Patterson’s bunch could be had and if there is any defense in the conference capable of duplicating ISU’s defensive success, it’s Todd Orlando’s group who is playing at a very high level.
This will once again come down to the Texas offense being able to sustain drives and find the end zone. I wish I had more confidence in he offense right now because after last week I would be putting in an upset pick, but I think this end ups being a close game the Longhorns come up short in.
Score Prediction: TCU 24 Texas 21
