TCU gets Big 12 title shot with 45-22 win over Baylor
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Jalen Reagor #18 of the TCU Horned Frogs scored a touchdown against Jameson Houston #11 of the Baylor Bears in the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Kenny Hill threw touchdowns to three different receivers and ran 3 yards for another score as No. 10 TCU clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game with a 45-22 win over Baylor on Friday.
The Horned Frogs (10-2, 7-2 Big 12, CFP No. 12) will play No. 3 Oklahoma for the Big 12 title on Dec. 2. That will come three weeks after TCU's 38-20 loss to the Sooners.
Baylor (1-11, 1-8) jumped out to a 9-0 lead within the game's first 2 minutes, including a safety when Hill was sacked and fumbled in the end zone. But TCU was ahead for good after Hill's 7-yard TD pass to Jarrison Stewart made it 14-9 with 26 seconds left in the first quarter.
Defensive end Mat Boesen set a TCU single-game record by recording 5 1/2 of the eight sacks by the Horned Frogs.
Hill completed 26 of 36 passes for 325 yards, including TD passes to Desmon White and Jalen Reagor in the third quarter, a week after he didn't even travel to Texas Tech because of an apparent concussion.
Baylor true freshman quarterback Charlie Brewer was 19-of-29 passing for 301 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
THE TAKEAWAY
Baylor: Only four seniors started the finale of what has been a transition season for the Bears in coach Matt Rhule's first year. Baylor started 11 true freshmen this season, including Brewer and RB John Lovett, and half of their starters over the course of the entire season have been freshmen or sophomores. There were 27 players who made their first-ever collegiate starts this season, the third-most in Division I football.
TCU: After sharing a Big 12 title with Baylor in 2014, when there was no championship game, the Horned Frogs get their much-desired rematch with the Sooners. TCU wasn't completely sharp against Baylor, but that often can happen in rivalry games.
FIGHT!
Things got chippy with a bit of a brawl late in the third quarter when Baylor's JaMycal Hasty was being pulled down near the Bears sideline by another defender when defensive tackle Chris Bradley came in and hit him hard from behind. A Baylor lineman then shoved Bradley, and another TCU defender got involved.
After a lot of shoving and a few punches thrown, and TCU coach Gary Patterson among those trying to keep his players from running all the way across the field into the fray, officials announced that every player on both teams had been assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
UP NEXT
Baylor: With the season over, Rhule and his staff immediately went on the road recruiting and were watching prep football playoff games Friday night. The 2018 season opener is Sept. 1 against Abilene Christian.
TCU: The Frogs will be about 20 miles from their campus for the Big 12 championship game at the Dallas Cowboys' home stadium, where TCU has gone 2-1 in regular-season games.
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