TCU Beats Kansas 22-16 as Jaden Craig's Late Touchdown Run Lifts Horned Frogs

For three quarters, Kansas did almost everything it wanted at Amon G. Carter Stadium except put TCU away. The Horned Frogs made them pay for it. Jaden Craig ran 17 yards for a touchdown with 1:11 left, then threw the two-point conversion to Jordan Dwyer, and TCU held on for a 22-16 win over Kansas on Oct. 31 in Fort Worth.

The result flipped a game Kansas had controlled on the stat sheet. The Jayhawks outgained TCU 451 to 286 and held the ball for 38:57, nearly 18 minutes longer than the Horned Frogs. But a third-quarter pick-six swung the game, Kansas settled for field goals on three of its four scoring drives, and TCU found one more long drive when it needed it.

Both teams entered at 3-4 and 1-3 in the Big 12, each coming off a one-score game decided late. TCU had lost 24-20 at home to West Virginia when a strip-sack in the final minute ended its comeback. Kansas had beaten Baylor 25-24 on Blake Herold's blocked field goal to end a 14-game skid. This time, the late break went TCU's way. The Horned Frogs moved to 4-4 and 2-3 in league play, and Kansas fell to 3-5 and 1-4.

How the game unfolded

Kansas owned the first half. The Jayhawks opened the scoring with a 13-play, 47-yard drive that ended in a 34-yard field goal from Martin Connington with 1:32 left in the first quarter. Connington added a 42-yarder at 6:25 of the second quarter after a 10-play, 55-yard march.

Then Kansas found the big play. Cole Ballard hit Cam Pickett for a 29-yard touchdown at 4:18 of the second quarter, capping a three-play, 73-yard drive that took just 1:08. Kansas led 13-0 at halftime, and TCU's offense had little to show for the first 30 minutes.

The second half started the same way until one throw changed everything. With Kansas driving midway through the third quarter, Ballard's pass was intercepted by Max Carroll, who returned it 60 yards for a touchdown at 4:38. In one play, a game that looked headed for a two-score Kansas win became 13-7.

TCU's offense finally caught fire on its next possession. The Horned Frogs went 72 yards in three plays, and Ace Theus broke a 28-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. The extra point gave TCU a 14-13 lead, its first of the day.

The turning point

Kansas responded the way a team that had controlled the game should. Starting deep in its own territory, the Jayhawks went 83 yards in nine plays and ate 5:35 off the clock. But the drive stalled close to the goal line, and Connington kicked a 27-yard field goal with 4:59 to play. Kansas led 16-14, but it had left the door open.

That drive is the one Kansas will replay. A touchdown there would have forced TCU to answer with a touchdown just to tie. Instead, the Horned Frogs needed only a field goal to win, and they had nearly five minutes to get one.

They did better than that. TCU put together its best drive of the game when it mattered most: 13 plays, 84 yards, 3:43. Craig carried the load. The quarterback, who had struggled through the air for much of the afternoon, kept the ball on a 17-yard run and crossed the goal line with 1:11 left. Rather than kick the extra point for a three-point lead, TCU went for two, and Craig found Dwyer to make it 22-16. That conversion meant a Kansas field goal could no longer force overtime.

Kansas got the ball back at its own 28 after a 25-yard kickoff return by Micah Johnson, needing a touchdown with just over a minute left. The Jayhawks could not find the end zone, and the score held at 22-16.

Key stats

Ballard completed 20 of 35 passes for 285 yards with a touchdown and the costly interception. Nahzae Cox was his most dangerous target, catching five passes for 145 yards, including a 50-yard gain. Pickett caught 10 passes for 113 yards and the touchdown. Wide receiver Keaton Kubecka was Kansas' leading rusher, gaining 58 yards on three carries, including a 40-yard run.

Kansas moved the ball on almost every possession, but third downs were a struggle in key moments. The Jayhawks converted 7 of 20 third downs and 1 of 3 fourth downs. Kansas committed two turnovers to TCU's one: the pick-six and a lost fumble by Ballard. TCU's lone giveaway was a fumble by Ed Small. The interception return was the only touchdown either defense produced.

The Kansas ground game never got going outside of Kubecka. Running back Dylan Edwards carried 20 times for 42 yards, and Ballard added 36 yards on 13 carries, many of them scrambles. The Jayhawks averaged 3.6 yards per rush on 46 attempts, which helps explain why so many of their drives bogged down short of the end zone. TCU, by contrast, averaged 5.2 yards per carry, with Theus needing just two carries to gain 30 yards and score.

Craig's day was a mix. He completed 13 of 29 passes for 141 yards, but he was TCU's best runner, finishing with 87 yards on 15 carries and the decisive touchdown. Tight end Kari Ashley caught three passes for 50 yards. TCU went 5 of 14 on third down and never converted a fourth down, but its offense made the plays it needed in the final 20 minutes.

Defensively, TCU safety Jamel Johnson led all players with 10 tackles, and linebacker Koron Hayward had a sack. Kansas linebacker Trey Lathan had seven tackles and half a sack. Each team was penalized seven times; Kansas for 63 yards and TCU for 74.

What it means

For TCU, this was a needed result after a week that stung. The Horned Frogs had outgained West Virginia by more than 200 yards and lost. On Saturday they were outgained by more than 160 and won. The difference was finishing: a defensive score, a quick strike in the third quarter and a winning drive in the fourth. The defense deserves much of the credit. After allowing 13 points in the first half, TCU gave up only one field goal after halftime, and it forced Kansas to settle for three points on an 83-yard drive in the fourth quarter. At 4-4, TCU is back to .500 with four games left and bowl eligibility still in reach.

For Kansas, the loss is a hard one to absorb. The Jayhawks did enough to win on most measures, and after the emotional finish against Baylor, they had a chance to string together league wins. Instead, they head into November at 3-5, with an offense that can move the ball but needs to turn more of its drives into touchdowns. Three field goals and one touchdown on four scoring drives was not enough against a team that only needed a few big plays.

Up next

TCU travels to No. 22 Arizona for a Friday night game on Nov. 6 at Casino Del Sol Stadium in Tucson. Kansas returns home to host UCF on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The bottom line

Kansas played the cleaner game for most of the afternoon and still lost, because TCU made the three plays that changed the score: Carroll's interception return, Theus's 28-yard run and Craig's late keeper. After losing a game it should have won a week ago, TCU won one it probably should have lost. That evens out the ledger in Fort Worth, and it keeps the Horned Frogs' season pointed in the right direction.

For full stats, see the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and game summary (opens in a new tab).

Sources: ESPN, Fox Sports. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Kansas Athletics.