Josh Hoover passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns and visiting TCU overcame four turnovers to upset No. 23 Houston 17-14 on Saturday.
TCU (7-4, 4-4 Big 12) survived after Houston kicker Ethan Sanchez missed a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter, including a 38-yard attempt he pushed wide left with 46 seconds remaining. The Horned Frogs snapped a 14-14 deadlock with 11:21 left when Nate McCashland nailed a 29-yard field goal after Jordan Dwyer returned a punt 53 yards to the Houston 29.
Hoover tossed three interceptions and the Horned Frogs had two touchdowns negated by penalties. Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman passed for 161 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 114 yards, but Julius Simms picked off Weigman’s fourth-down pass late in the first half in the end zone to preserve the Horned Frogs’ 14-7 halftime lead.
Houston (8-3, 5-3) responded to the McCashland field goal by pushing deep into TCU territory only for Sanchez to leave a 49-yard kick short. After Houston’s Latreveon McCutchin made a fourth-down stop at the Cougars’ 5-yard line, Weigman found Amare Thomas for a 23-yard gain before scrambling for 38 yards to set the table for Sanchez, who missed again.
TCU enjoyed a rousing start, particularly Hoover. The Horned Frogs covered 75 yards in eight plays on their opening possession, a march capped by a 33-yard scoring pass from Hoover to Eric McAlister at the 11:20 mark of the opening period. Hoover went 5-for-5 on that drive.
The Horned Frogs extended to a 14-0 lead later in the first when Hoover moved the chains with passes of 26, 17 and 11 yards, the latter two connections involving Joseph Manjack IV. On the 10th play of that drive, Hoover hit Dwyer for a 17-yard scoring strike with 1:45 left in the opening quarter.
Hoover was 12-for-14 passing with 148 yards and two touchdowns entering the second quarter. The Horned Frogs amassed 176 yards and averaged 8.4 yards per play in the first period but the avalanche of turnovers and penalties enabled Houston to work its way back into contention.
