Texas vs. TCU: Prediction and preview

Texas vs. TCU is getting the College GameDay treatment on Saturday in Austin. It will be the second time the popular ESPN pregame show has been on the Texas campus this season, with the first coming in Week 2 when Alabama came to town.

This time, though, the focus will be on the Horned Frogs, who are legitimate College Football Playoff contenders at 9-0. They currently sit at No. 4 in the CFP rankings.

The Big 12 showdown kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday night and can be seen on ABC.

Texas vs. TCU preview

Texas is ranked No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings, so don’t let the Longhorns’ 6-3 record fool you. This is a tough team that only lost to Alabama by 1 point earlier this year.

But, TCU is a different animal. The Horned Frogs lead the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 43.1 points per game. Texas is No. 5 in the league at 36.1 points per contest.

Players that will be betting Texas-TCU can accept the FanDuel promo code offer to get $1,000 of first bet insurance. To take advantage of this opportunity, click this link to activate the FanDuel promo code automatically. Then, complete the formalities to opt in, and you will receive a $1K no-sweat bet.

The Horned Frogs run for 219.7 yards per game, second in the Big 12 and just a shade behind Oklahoma’s 219.8 yards-per-game average. They throw for 289 yards per game, which is third in the conference. All of those marks are ahead of Texas.

But, the Longhorns play better defense. They’ve allowed 21.8 points per game (third in the Big 12), while TCU has given up 26.9 (fifth in the conference). Thus, when the Horned Frogs have the ball, it’ll be a good-on-good matchup against Texas’s defense.

The battle between TCU QB Max Duggan, a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, and Texas’s Quinn Ewers will be another good-on-good battle. Duggan is a dual-threat quarterback. He’s compiled 2,407 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, adding 282 yards and 4 scores as a runner.

Ewers is a more traditional quarterback, but still dangerous. In 6 games, Ewers has thrown for 1,336 yards, 13 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He missed some time after the Alabama game with a shoulder injury, but is showing off his massive amount of talent in recent weeks.

There are countless college football betting opportunities today with key matchups like Texas-TCU, and the DraftKings promo code offer will give you an advantage with 40-1 odds for any game on a $5 moneyline bet. When you click this link or one of the others on this page, you will activate the DraftKings promo code. After that, you will receive a $200 payout on a $5 wager if you can pick an outright winner. Click here to trigger the DraftKings promo code for new users that will lock in a $200 bonus for a $5 winner.

This game could come down to which defense can force a timely turnover in the second half. We’ll see which team is up to the task in this super-important matchup in the Big 12.

Texas vs. TCU prediction

The stakes are high in this one, as the Horned Frogs can clinch 1 of the 2 spots in the Big 12 Conference Championship Game with a win on Saturday night. Expect the Longhorns’ crowd to be rowdy, but things will turn sour when Duggan and the Hypnotoads pull away in the fourth quarter to send Texas to its fourth loss of the season.

Prediction: TCU 34, Texas 24