AUSTIN, Texas — No. 18 Texas hosts No. 4 TCU at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, on Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. on KVUE.
The two programs will meet for the 93rd time on Saturday, each of the last three meetings has been one-score games.
Recent History
Texas has gone 2-3 in the last five meetings against TCU:
- 2017 - TCU won 24-7
- 2018 - Texas won 31-16
- 2019 - TCU won 37-27
- 2020 - TCU won 33-31
- 2021 - Texas won 32-27
Odds
Spread: Texas -7
Total (over/under): 64.5
*according to betMGM
Storylines to watch
Back the backs
For the second week in a row, Texas will field one of the Big 12’s top running backs and take the field against one of the Big 12’s top running backs. Last week it was Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn, and this time around it is TCU’s Kendre Miller. Miller is second in the conference, averaging 112 rushing yards per game, and Texas star Bijan Robinson leads the league with 125 rushing yards per game.
“Miller’s a heck of a player, and I really think their offense starts with him and goes through him, especially in the second half. I feel like that’s when the running game really picks up. Bijan’s a competitive guy, but I think, ultimately, Bijan wants to win,” said Texas Head Football Coach Steve Sarkisian.
Redemption time
Midway through the 2021 season, TCU fired now-former head coach Gary Patterson. Patterson is now a defensive analyst at Texas and gets to coach against his former team for the first time this Saturday
“He always drops knowledge, drops a lot of wisdom on us, so having him for sure helps going into this game," Texas edge Ovie Oghoufo said.
“He recruited the guys, so just to pick up on weaknesses and different things,” said Texas running back Bijan Robinson.
Controlling their destiny
Despite some early conference struggles, Texas is back in second place in the Big 12 standings. If the Longhorns close the season with wins over TCU, Kansas and Baylor, they’ll earn a spot in the conference championship game.
“One of the things that naturally can happen is this giant sigh of relief, like, 'Hey, we overcame that, we can relax.' We've got more work to do. You get a win like that and then here comes a top 5 team coming into your own stadium on a Saturday night that's in first place in your conference, to get your attention quickly – it didn't take long for them to recognize and flip the switch quickly and get on to the next," Sarkisian said.
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