The Sports Xchange
Nov 18, 2017
No. 12 TCU turned to its defense and the Horned Frogs virtually silenced Texas Tech on the way to a 27-3 victory on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.
TCU held the Red Raiders to 327 yards of offense and zero points for the final 51 minutes of the contest.
The Horned Frogs, who were without injured starting quarterback Kenny Hill and leading rusher Darius Anderson, did enough on offense behind freshman Shawn Robinson, who made his first collegiate start.
Robinson found wide receiver Jalen Reagor wide open for a 12-yard touchdown that gave TCU (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.
Robinson passed for 85 yards and rushed for 84 in his starting debut.
When the Horned Frogs freshman QB made his biggest mistake, fumbling inside his own 20, the TCU defense erased the miscue.
Horned Frogs cornerback Jeff Gladney knocked a pass away from Texas Tech wide receiver Dylan Cantrell in the end zone and TCU stuffed two rushing plays. Red Raiders kicker Clayton Hatfield then missed a 20-yard field goal.
Early in the fourth quarter, TCU recovered a fumble by Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek at the Horned Frogs' 14, stopping the Red Raiders' late bid to climb back into the game.
Gladney put an exclamation point on the win as he took the ball away from Cantrell and returned the interception 93 yards for a touchdown with 4:39 left in the fourth quarter.
The Horned Frogs frustrated Shimonek all day as he completed 17 of 33 passes for 137 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.
Texas Tech (5-6) used a deliberate drive to chew up almost nine minutes of the first quarter on its opening possession.
However, the Horned Frogs' defense stiffened inside its own 10, forcing incomplete passes on second and third down and making the Red Raiders settle for Hatfield's 22-yard field goal.
That's all the points TCU allowed in the first half as the Horned Frogs constantly pressured Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek, sacking him three times in the first two quarters.
The Horned Frogs' offense responded to the Red Raiders' game-opening drive as TCU marched 63 yards for a touchdown on its first possession.
Horned Frogs wide receiver KaVontae Turpin took a reverse handoff 2 yards for the touchdown to cap the drive and gave TCU a 7-3 lead.
TCU kicker Cole Bunce nailed a 42-yard field goal to boost the Horned Frogs' lead to 10-3 with 1:14 left in the second quarter and they took that margin to the break.
The Horned Frogs limited Texas Tech to 48 passing yards in the first half.
NOTES: TCU and Texas Tech renewed their Saddle Trophy as part of their annual matchup. The trophy was awarded to the winner of the game from 1961-70 when the two schools were both members of the Southwest Conference. The Horned Frogs and Red Raiders each won it twice before it was discontinued because the trophy was lost. ... Texas Tech entered with a 31-25-3 lead in the all-time series versus TCU. The Red Raiders had defeated TCU twice in overtime games and led the series 3-2 since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 in 2012. ... TCU, which lost to Oklahoma in its previous outing, entered the game with a 36-12 record following a loss during coach Gary Patterson's 17 seasons at the school.