COLLEGE FOOTBALL : SOUTHWEST ROUNDUP : Texas Receives a Scare but Also Gets Victory

For the second week in a row, 10th-ranked Texas played poorly in the first half. This time, it almost came back to haunt the Longhorns.

Texas rolled last week against Houston after trailing. But the Longhorns almost blew it Saturday, needing Shon Mitchell’s second touchdown of the game with 2:08 left and an inspired fourth-quarter defensive effort to hold off Texas Christian, 27-19, at Austin, Tex.

Texas, 8-1-1 overall and 5-0 in the Southwest Conference, trailed, 16-13, midway through the third quarter as the offense struggled against the inspired defense of TCU (6-4, 3-3).

Texas, which appeared to gain momentum after a controversial fourth-quarter fumble call that went against it, stopped TCU on its final drive. Tony Brackens, who led Texas with 12 tackles, sacked Horned Frog quarterback Max Knake, jarring the ball loose and recovering it at the Texas 25 with 24 seconds to play.

The Horned Frogs battled back behind Andre Davis, who had a career-high 35 carries for 141 yards and eight receptions for 51 yards in his first game back from a four-game suspension for alleged contact with an agent.

Baylor 34, Rice 6--Jerod Douglas rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns as the Bears (7-3, 5-1) kept conference title dreams alive with a victory over the Owls (2-7-1, 1-5) at Waco, Tex.

No. 18 Texas A&M; 56, Middle Tennessee 14--Albert Connell caught a 61-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game and Leeland McElroy ran 58 and five yards for touchdowns during a 28-point first quarter that led the Aggies (7-2) to an easy victory over the Blue Raiders (7-4) at College Station, Tex.

Texas Tech 45, Southern Methodist 14--Byron Hanspard scored five touchdowns and racked up 260 yards of total offense as the Red Raiders (7-3, 4-2) beat the Mustangs (1-10, 0-7) in the Cotton Bowl’s farewell to the SWC at Dallas.