Big 12 Football

The Texas Longhorns are, in fact, not back.

The No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs defeated the No. 18 Longhorns 17-10 on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium as Texas dropped to 6-4 on the season.

It was an abysmal evening for the Longhorns as both the offense and defense had their fair share of issues.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers completed just 17 of 39 passes for 171 yards and no touchdowns against one interception. Jordan Whittington was the team's leading receiver with six catches for 78 yards, while running back Bijan Robinson rushed for 29 yards on 12 carries.

The Texas defense was particularly poor in the second half, allowing TCU running back Kendre Miller to rush 75 yards for a score and then quarterback Max Duggan to connect with Quentin Johnston for a 31-yard touchdown thanks to a breakdown in the secondary.

Duggan completed 19 of 29 passes for 124 yards and one score, and Miller rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.

Following the game, Twitter ripped Texas for its poor performance:

With a talented roster not living up to expectations, Texas has a lot to figure out before the regular season comes to an end, especially if it wants an outside shot at one of the New Year's Six bowl games.

The Longhorns will next travel to face Kansas on Nov. 19 before closing out the regular season at home against Baylor on Nov. 25.

Arch Manning isn't waiting to get started at Texas.

According to Anwar Richardson of Rivals, Manning will enroll at the school in January:

Manning, the top overall prospect in the class of 2023 according to 247Sports' composite rankings, committed to the Longhorns in June over schools like Georgia, Alabama, LSU and Clemson, among others.

"He does have a big arm," a coach from an opposing school who recruited him told ESPN's Pete Thamel in June. "He's a lot more mobile than everyone thinks. He's not like a Manning who can't move. He can get out of trouble. He's not a statue in [the] pocket. He played basketball and can dunk. He's a prototypical kid that sees the field well. He's not going to make bad decisions and not make bad plays worse and will truly run the offense."

Manning's lineage is well chronicled. His uncles, Peyton and Eli Manning, were each NFL quarterbacks, with Peyton already in the Hall of Fame and Eli a contender for the honor.

His grandfather Archie Manning was also an NFL quarterback, while his father, Cooper, was set to play wide receiver at Ole Miss before spinal stenosis ended his football career in 1992.

Manning will bring to Texas one of the most legendary football legacies any recruit has ever possessed. No pressure or anything.

"What I've been impressed with is him living with the pressure," the coach who recruited Manning told Thamel in June. "He's got to live with that pressure and deal with all that. That may be a good transition for him. He's been doing it his entire high school career. No stage is going to be too big."

Returning Texas to national prominence is a sizable stage to conquer, however.

Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian apologized to the fanbase for not singing the school song after the team's 41-34 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday:

"I owe an apology to Longhorn Nation," Sarkisian said (h/t ESPN's Dave Wilson). "I made a mistake at the end of the game in not singing 'The Eyes of Texas' when the game was done. That was not anything intentional. That was not anything that had to do with our players. I think our players just followed me up the ramp into the locker room, obviously upset by the way the game ended."

Sarkisian was seen quickly heading to the locker room after the final whistle of the road game in Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Only a few players remained on the field for the singing of "The Eyes of Texas."

The loss was certainly disappointing as Texas blew what was at one point a two-touchdown lead. The Longhorns scored just three points in the second half and were outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter.

Texas dropped to 5-3 on the season, with the team holding a fourth-quarter lead in all three of the losses.

Sarkisian is now 10-10 in two seasons with the program, featuring eight losses by eight points or fewer. It's clear the coach's frustrations boiled over when he left the field before taking part in the usual postgame ceremony.

It's particularly noteworthy given that Sarkisian was adamant when he joined the program in June 2021 that he and the players would sing "The Eyes of Texas." His predecessor Tom Herman had allowed players who took issue with the song's racist origins to leave the field or not sing, raising the ire of major donors.

"I know this much, 'The Eyes of Texas' is our school song," Sarkisian said at the time. "We're going to sing that song. We're going to sing that proudly."

Texas running back Bijan Robinson's fantastic college football season continued on Saturday in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Although his No. 20 Longhorns lost 41-34 to the host No. 11 Oklahoma State Cowboys, Robinson dominated to the tune of 140 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in addition to a 41-yard touchdown catch.

Robinson continuously fought off defenders for yards after contact and cruised through the defense when he had room to run.

Robinson now has 1,200 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns in eight games, all of which have featured him gaining 100 or more yards from scrimmage. He's rushed for 100 or more yards in his last six contests.

Robinson's 42-yard touchdown run gave Texas an early 6-3 lead.

Robinson didn't encounter any resistance on an easy 41-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

He did most of his damage in the first half, which featured Texas dropping 31 points en route to a touchdown lead at the halftime break.

However, Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders (391 yards, two touchdowns) went off, and the Cowboys defense held the Longhorns to just three second-half points thanks in part to interceptions on each of Texas' final two possessions.

Still, Robinson's work did not go unnoticed, and Twitter praised his efforts again.

Robinson and the 5-3 Longhorns now have a bye week before visiting Kansas State on Nov. 5.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers is expected to start in Saturday's game against Oklahoma after returning from his shoulder injury, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.

Ewers suffered a left clavicle sprain in the the first quarter of the Longhorns' 20-19 loss against No. 1 Alabama on Sept. 10 and has missed the last three games.

Sophomore Hudson Card has been the team's starter over the last three weeks, totaling six touchdown passes with one interception while the squad went 2-1.

Ewers is now set to return, with Thamel reporting the quarterback has been "practicing without limitations this week."

A highly touted transfer from Ohio State, Ewers beat out Card for the starting job coming into the season. In his first career start against Louisiana-Monroe to open the 2022 season, Ewers completed 16 of 24 passes for 225 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to help lead Texas to a 52-10 win.

A native of Southlake, Texas, Ewers was the No. 1 overall recruit coming out of high school, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

He had originally committed to the Longhorns as a member of the class of 2022, but he reclassified to the 2021 class and signed with Ohio State after the state of Texas prohibited high school athletes from earning money from their name, image and likeness. Ewers didn't attempt a pass in his lone season with the Buckeyes.

Ewers is now ready to show what he can do after returning to the field, trying to help the Longhorns get back on track after a 3-2 start.

Oklahoma has lost its last two after starting 3-0, including 0-2 in conference play, but the Red River Rivalry should be as intense as ever.

The Kansas Jayhawks are 5-0 on the season following Saturday's win over the Iowa State Cyclones, and they're being rewarded with the College GameDay treatment.

ESPN announced Saturday night that its College GameDay broadcast is headed to Kansas for next weekend's game against the 4-0 TCU Horned Frogs. It marks the first time that College GameDay will be live from Lawrence, Kansas.

The Jayhawks are rolling with wins over Tennessee Tech, West Virginia, Houston, Duke and Iowa State. It is Kansas' first 5-0 start since 2009, when it finished 5-7 under head coach Mark Mangino.

Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels is having a solid start to the season, completing 71 percent of his passes for 890 yards and 11 touchdowns against one interception. He has also rushed for 320 yards and four scores.

As for TCU, the Horned Frogs are off to a 4-0 start following an upset of No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday. They have also defeated Tarleton State and SMU.

Next weekend's matchup between Kansas and TCU will mark the 39th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Horned Frogs lead the series 25-9-4, and they last beat the Jayhawks 31-28 on Nov. 20, 2021.

The No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners were obliterated 55-24 by the unranked TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel completed seven of 16 passes for 126 yards before exiting the game in the second quarter after taking an illegal hit from TCU linebacker Jamoi Hodge, who was ejected from the game.

Gabriel scrambled for yardage, and as he began his slide, Hodge hit him hard and directly in the helmet. He walked off the field under his own power before being replaced by Davis Beville, who completed just seven of 16 passes for 50 yards.

Oklahoma's leading receiver was Brayden Willis, who caught two passes for 81 yards. Jovantae Barnes led running backs with 18 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns, while Eric Gray had 13 carries for 60 yards and one score.

TCU quarterback Max Duggan threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 116 yards and two scores. Running backs Kendre Miller and Emari Demercado combined for 198 yards and three scores.

Taye Barber led TCU receivers with three catches for 107 yards and one score.

The Horned Frogs offense was unstoppable, posting 668 yards of total offense compared to Oklahoma's 355.

Following the disappointing performance, Oklahoma was slammed on social media.

Oklahoma is 3-2 following back-to-back losses to Kansas State and TCU.

The Sooners will look to get back on track next weekend against the Texas Longhorns, who enter Saturday's game against Virginia with a 2-2 record following losses to No. 2 Alabama and Texas Tech.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is reportedly expected to miss Saturday's game against West Virginia but hopes to return from a shoulder injury for next week's rivalry clash with Oklahoma.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Ewers was able to practice on a limited basis throughout the week but isn't quite ready to retake the reins of the Longhorns' offense.

The redshirt freshman suffered the injury during a Sept. 10 loss to Alabama and reportedly received a four-to-six-week recovery timetable, which lines up with a possible return against the Sooners next Saturday.

Ewers transferred to Texas in December after spending his first college season at Ohio State, making just one appearance. It was highly unlikely he'd overtake Heisman Trophy contender C.J. Stroud on the Buckeyes' depth chart, leading to the move.

The San Antonio native put together a solid debut for UT. He completed 16 of his 24 throws for 225 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a Week 1 blowout win over UL Monroe. He went 9-of-12 for 134 yards before getting hurt against Alabama.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday that Ewers, the consensus top-ranked prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, has been pushing to play every week.

"I think there's no doubt Quinn wants to play," Sarkisian told reporters. "He's wanted to play since he first got injured against Alabama. He wanted to go back in that game. Mentally, he's a highly competitive young man. He's worked at trying to get himself healthy. He's been throwing now for about two, two and a half weeks and has gradually improved."

The Longhorns are a sizable favorite against West Virginia (-7.5, per DraftKings Sportsbook). Backup Hudson Card has also played well since stepping into the lineup, completing 66.3 percent of his attempts with three touchdowns and one interception.

So it makes sense for UT to give Ewers another week of recovery time to get as close to full strength as possible ahead of the Red River Showdown.

Texas is coming off a 37-34 overtime loss to another rival, Texas Tech, last week that dropped its record to 2-2.

The Horns still have a chance to make an impact on the season with four games left against currently ranked opponents and Kansas, one of the year's surprise teams at 4-0, has a chance to join that group in the coming weeks.