KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Josh Hoover threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns, JP Richardson returned a second-half punt 89 yards for the go-ahead score, and TCU pulled away to beat Kansas 38-27 on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Jack Bech had 131 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and Cam Cook had a touchdown run, helping the Horned Frogs (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) improve to 11-1 against the Jayhawks (1-4, 0-2) since they became conference rivals 12 years ago.
“We just kept fighting. There was no panic,” said TCU coach Sonny Dykes, whose defense had just allowed a 101 combined points in back-to-back losses to UCF and SMU. “Guys stepped up and they were tougher and grittier and more determined to win, and sometimes teams that lose two games in a row don’t respond that way.”
The Horned Frogs shut down Jalon Daniels, who was 15 of 34 for 179 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Daniel Hishaw and Devin Neal had TD runs for Kansas, but they were unable to carry the load alone.
The Jayhawks, who have lost four straight, are playing their home Big 12 games at the home of the Kansas City Chiefs. And their current losing streak may have been a big reason why there were plenty of empty red and yellow seats.
“Extremely down, but why wouldn’t you be? We put all this time in and we’re not making it happen,” Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold said. “It starts with the head coach. I’m not getting it done and I need to be better.”
Leipold spent much of the second half livid with referee Michael VanderVelde. The officials first overturned a long third-down catch by the Jayhawks after discussing the play, and the on-field call stood upon video review. A few minutes later, Hoover was hit from behind and fumbled, but VanderVelde overturned that call and gave TCU the ball back.
“Did it drastically change the momentum of the game? Yes. Did we still need to make plays and didn’t? Yes,” said Leipold, who spent several minutes blasting the officiating. “They can fine me today. I don’t really care.”
Kansas was fortunate to be within 21-17 at halftime thanks to a couple of TCU turnovers — a fumble on the opening series that Daniels turned into a touchdown pass to Luke Grimm, and a pick by O.J. Burroughs that turned into a field goal.
Otherwise, the Jayhawks were unable to slow down Hoover and the Horned Frogs.
The prolific sophomore was 21 of 26 for 227 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. His favorite target was Bech, who had seven catches by that point, including a 35-yard TD reception and a 7-yard scoring strike with 12 seconds to go.
The teams swapped scores to start the second half — Hishaw had a TD run for Kansas, Richardson answered with his punt return to retake the lead for TCU. But ultimately, mistakes and missed opportunities doomed the Jayhawks once again.
Their biggest missed chance came early in the fourth quarter, when the Horned Frogs were clinging to a 28-24 lead. Kansas had to settle for a field goal, rather than take the lead with a touchdown. Two plays later, Hoover hit Eric McAlister near the sideline, and he slipped tackles by Burroughs and Mello Dotson on his way to a 59-yard touchdown reception.
“We had some adversity today and fought through,” Hoover said. “I’m really proud of our guys.”
The takeaway
Kyle Lemmermann atoned for an earlier miss with a 29-yard field goal with 3:02 remaining to put the game away.
“I can’t say enough about our players,” Dykes said. “I’m proud of them for how hard they worked all week. They never blinked, just with all the stuff last week, having my back personally. I really appreciate it.”
TCU overcame three turnovers thanks largely to a defense that was able to clamp down on the Kansas passing game. “Very seldom do you win a football game when you turn the ball over three times,” Dykes said. “We were very fortunate that way.”
Kansas only had six penalties for 50 yards, but they came at especially bad times. And when open players are dropping passes and the defense is blowing assignments, the accumulated mistakes became too much to overcome.
Up next
TCU returns to face Houston on Friday night.
Kansas heads to Arizona State on Saturday.
