Alamo Bowl: Bram Kohlhausen leads TCU to historic comeback vs Oregon
TCU Horned Frogs had the biggest comeback in college football bowl game history and shocked the Oregon Ducks in the Alamo Bowl.
The high-octane offense of the Oregon Ducks met its match in the TCU Horned Frogs in what was a crazy edition of the Alamo Bowl that ended in a wild, improbable and historic finish. TCU fell down 31-0 at halftime without star quarterback Trevone Boykin and receiver Josh Doctson and it looked like it would be curtains on Gary Patterson’s team.
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But Bram Kohlhausen led the Horned Frogs to 31 unanswered points, including the game-tying field goal with 19 seconds to go to force overtime. And with the game in triple overtime, Kohlhausen scored the game-winning touchdown from eight yards out to win 47-41.
But before he became a bowl game legend, Oregon was in total control and it looked like Vernon Adams would be the player of the game with Oregon established their dominance early with 21 points in the first quarter.
A touchdown pass from Adams to Darren Carrington and two rushing touchdowns from Royce Freeman paced Oregon who had 244 yards in the quarter while a depleted TCU offense only 64 yards.
Adams was in control and the Ducks looked unstoppable until he took a helmet-to-helmet hit when he was scrambling and had to leave the game in the second quarter. Adams had 197 yards and a touchdown before the injury.
Backup quarterback Jeff Lockie came in and the offense stalled. The Ducks had 376 yards in the first half but only had 18 yards from the offense in the second half when TCU mounted their comeback behind backup quarterback Kohlhausen.
The second half was a complete role reversal as TCU scored 17 points in the third quarter with the biggest play of the quarter coming on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Kohlhausen to Jaelan Austin to make it a 31-10 game and give the team a spark.
The fourth belonged to TCU as their offense stormed back to make it a close game. An Aaron Green run combined with a field goal continued the offensive shootout, and now it was a 31-28 ballgame. TCU continued to gain momentum and mounted a final drive that saw them tie the game at 31 in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter. TCU outgained Oregon in the quarter 197-19, setting the stage for a dramatic overtime.
In the first overtime, the Ducks and Frogs traded touchdowns, while, in the second overtime, field goals were the equalizers. Finally, a Kohlhausen run from eight yards out sealed the deal in a game that will be talked about for year as TCU completed the biggest comeback in bowl game history.
Kohlhausen had 351 yards, two touchdown passes, one interception and 45 rushing yards and two more scores.
Running back Aaron Green had a team-high 101 yards and a touchdown and Oregon’s Royce Freeman had a game-high 130 yards and three touchdowns.
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TCU finishes the year 11-2 after so many injuries to key players and playing the bowl game without Boykin after his suspension speaks to the level of Gary Patterson’s brilliance and what he was able to do with this group of players.
Meanwhile, Oregon finishes the year 9-4 and has to wonder how things could have played out differently this season if Adams was able to stay healthy, because when he was 100 percent, they were one of the most dangerous teams in the country.