No. 25 Houston misses late field goal in 17-14 loss to TCU

HOUSTON (AP) – Josh Hoover threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns and TCU took advantage of No. 25 Houston’s missed field goal in the final minute to beat the Cougars 17-14 on Saturday.

After stopping TCU (7-4, 4-4 Big 12) on the 5 with just under two minutes remaining, Houston (8-3, 5-3) drove to the TCU 20 and had a chance to tie it, but Ethan Sanchez’s 38-yard attempt with 46 seconds remaining went wide left.

Houston coach Willie Fritz said he didn’t talk to Sanchez after the game, but he patted the kicker on his back.

“He’s won us some games, and you don’t want it to come down to a field goal,” Fritz said, adding that Sanchez, who missed a 49-yard field goal earlier in fourth quarter, “had a lot of confidence.”

TCU coach Sonny Dykes said he thought the Horned Frogs got some pressure on Sanchez off the end on the kick.

“We’re fortunate to get the win,” Dykes said. “I assumed the guy was going to make it, and we were talking about what we were going to do when we got the ball back with 40 seconds left after they kicked off. We’re putting together a script to drive down the field and kick a game-winning field goal, but fortunately, we pressured them a little bit, and he missed it.”

Nate McCashland hit a 29-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to give TCU a three-point lead.

Hoover completed 24 of 33 passes, throwing scoring passes of 33 yards to Eric McAlister and 17 yards to Jordan Dwyer in the first quarter as TCU built a 14-0 lead.

Jeremy Payne ran for 103 yards. Joseph Manjack IV caught nine passes for 95 yards, and McAlister had four receptions for 79 yards.

TCU snapped its two-game losing streak and won its first game over a ranked opponent on the road since beating No. 18 Texas, 17-10, in Austin during the 2022 season.

Conner Weigman was 15 of 29 for 161 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 114 yards for Houston. Dean Connors ran for 75 yards and caught five passes for 47 yards and a touchdown, and Amare Thomas had five receptions for 72 yards and a score.

“We didn’t make the plays when we needed to,” Fritz said. “We had some opportunities to win it or tie it or whatever the case may be, and we didn’t do it. We’re disappointed.”

TCU: The Horned Frogs overcame four turnovers and seven penalties for 70 yards. TCU held Houston to 4 of 17 on third downs.

“We found a way to overcome four turnovers,” Dykes said. “It’s hard to win when you do that, but the only way you can do that is when you play hard and believe, and our guys did that.”

Houston: The Cougars, who were No. 23 in the CFP rankings this week, will drop out of the rankings following the loss. Houston’s slim chances of making the Big 12 Championship game ended with the loss.

TCU: Hosts Cincinnati on Saturday in its regular-season finale.

Houston: At Baylor on Saturday in its regular-season finale.