Jaden Craig sprinted 17 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:09 to play as TCU rallied from a difficult first half to beat Kansas 22-16 on Saturday in a Big 12 Conference game in Fort Worth, Texas.
Craig passed to Jordan Dwyer for a two-point conversion to cap the Horned Frogs’ second-half charge as TCU (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) rebounded from a home loss to West Virginia. Craig finished with just 141 passing yards but added a game-high 87 yards on the ground.
Cole Ballard passed for 285 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Kansas (3-5, 1-4), which outgained the Horned Frogs 451-286. The Jayhawks advanced to the TCU 39 on their final possession, but a final pass fell incomplete short of the end zone.
The Jayhawks dominated the first quarter and took a 3-0 lead when Martin Connington booted a 34-yard field goal at the 1:32 mark to cap a 13-play, 47-yard possession.
Connington extended the Kansas lead with a 42-yard field goal with 6:25 remaining in the first half. Ballard then hit Cam Pickett with a 29-yard touchdown pass with 4:20 left in the second quarter to put the Jayhawks up 13-0.
The Horned Frogs used the rest of the quarter to drive 80 yards to the Kansas 2, but were turned away when Jacobe Hayes was pushed out of bounds a yard short of the goal line after catching a short pass from Craig.
Kansas outgained the Horned Frogs 217-129 in the first half, marking the first time TCU had been held scoreless in the opening half since 2018.
TCU kept the game within reach when its defense stopped Ballard short of the goal line on fourth down with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter. After a punt, Max Carroll intercepted a Ballard pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to trim TCU’s deficit to 13-7 with 4:38 left in the third.
Ace Theus’ 29-yard touchdown with 26 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave TCU a 14-13 lead. Connington’s third field goal, a 27-yarder with 4:59 remaining in regulation, put the Jayhawks back on top, but TCU answered with Craig’s go-ahead touchdown run.
