Max Carroll’s Pick Six Rescued TCU Before Craig Finished the Job

Midway through the third quarter, TCU had just survived the sort of possession that can make a 13-0 deficit feel heavier. Kansas had driven 71 yards in 10 plays, reached the TCU 1-yard line and failed on fourth-and-2 when Cole Ballard was stopped short. The Horned Frogs then gained three yards in three plays and punted.

For TCU, the defensive stand had bought time. The offense promptly spent very little of it.

Then Max Carroll supplied the shortcut. After the punt, Kansas took over at the TCU 44 and gained five yards before another difficult decision: Ballard faced fourth-and-5 at the TCU 39. With Koron Hayward applying pressure, Ballard’s pass was intercepted by Carroll at the TCU 40.

Carroll returned it 60 yards for a touchdown, cutting Kansas’ lead to 13-7 with 4:38 left in the third quarter.

That score was the hinge in TCU’s 22-16 victory Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. Carroll’s return did not mean TCU’s defense had dominated. It meant the defense had rescued a team that had spent much of the afternoon watching Kansas possess the ball and occupy its side of the field.

Kansas had sustained offensive success for much of the afternoon. Kansas finished with 451 yards, 20 first downs and 38:57 of possession. TCU had 286 yards, 19 first downs and the ball for only 21:03. Kansas ran 81 plays to TCU’s 57. The Jayhawks punted four times; TCU punted eight.

Those figures make Carroll’s play more valuable, not less. TCU needed points from somewhere while its offense was stuck in short possessions. The interception return produced six without asking Jaden Craig to complete a pass, sustain a drive or solve Kansas’ defense. It was a rescue contribution, not a statistical verdict on the entire unit.

Kansas had been productive even when it failed to finish. Its first touchdown came on a three-play, 73-yard possession, ending with Ballard’s 29-yard pass to Cam Pickett. The third-quarter drive before TCU’s goal-line stand reached the 1 before Kansas ran out of answers.

After Carroll’s return, Kansas moved from its own 25 to its own 49 in five plays, then punted again. That sequence matters: the pick six interrupted Kansas’ control, but it did not suddenly turn TCU into the team dictating every possession.

TCU capitalized on its next offensive possession. After Kansas’ next punt, TCU went 72 yards in three plays, with Ace Theus running 28 yards for the touchdown and giving the Horned Frogs a 14-13 lead. The possession featured a 36-yard completion from Craig to Kari Ashley and Craig’s 15-yard run before Theus broke free.

It was a sharp burst, but still a burst—three plays, 72 yards, 1:15 off the clock.

Kansas answered with the more methodical response. Its next scoring drive lasted nine plays, covered 83 yards and consumed 5:35. A 50-yard completion to Nahzae Cox moved the ball from the Kansas 8 to the TCU 42, and Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman converted fourth-and-1 at the TCU 33. Martin Connington’s 27-yard field goal put Kansas back ahead 16-14 with 4:59 remaining.

That was the uncomfortable truth for TCU: even after the pick six and Theus’ run, Kansas could still move the ball. The Horned Frogs needed one more playmaker, and Craig eventually became one.

His final possession began at the TCU 16 with 4:54 left. It covered 84 yards in 13 plays and included a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty, but TCU still had to create the rest of the answer. On third-and-10 at its own 41, Craig found Ed Small for 17 yards.

On third-and-4 at the Kansas 36, he hit Jordan Dwyer for seven more. Then, after two short runs, Craig converted third-and-5 at the Kansas 24 with a seven-yard rush.

The touchdown came immediately afterward. Craig ran 17 yards into the end zone with 1:11 left, and TCU completed its two-point conversion for a 22-16 lead. Craig’s legs were central to the finish: he rushed 15 times for 87 yards and a touchdown.

His passing line—13 completions on 29 attempts for 141 yards, without a passing touchdown or interception—describes an uneven afternoon that found its most important answer late.

Kansas still had one possession. Ballard completed four passes to cross midfield, but a holding penalty created third-and-15 at the TCU 49. One final incomplete pass ended the threat.

Carroll’s return gave TCU the leverage its offense could not manufacture. Craig’s drive converted that leverage into a win. In a six-point game, the defensive score was the difference between Kansas’ control remaining meaningful and TCU having just enough room to finish the escape.

Sources

TCU: official game book and play-by-play