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Perhaps resigned to the fact that his squad will likely have to outscore teams, coach Gary Patterson isn't going to apologize after TCU leans on its prolific offense.
That's not a luxury visiting Texas has as it attempts to turn around its worst start in 59 years.
The fourth-ranked Horned Frogs will try to extend the nation's second-longest winning streak Saturday by beating the Longhorns in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1958-59.
TCU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) has already lost seven defensive starters for various reasons, and has had a nation-high 13 players who have made their first career starts on that side of the ball.
It all seemed to come to a head last Saturday when the Frogs surrendered 607 total yards at Texas Tech. The offense, however, once again made up for those struggles in a 55-52 victory.
Aaron Green made a dramatic diving catch on a four-yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining. The senior running back also finished with 162 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.
Star quarterback Trevone Boykin completed 34 of 54 passes for a career-high 485 yards and four touchdowns, giving him a combined 939 passing yards and nine scores in his last two games.
Boykin has the nation's longest streak with a touchdown pass in 19 straight games. The senior needs three more and 65 yards of total offense to break Andy Dalton's school records.
Josh Doctson also matched a Big 12 record with 18 catches for 267 yards and three touchdowns. The senior wideout has an FBS-best 593 receiving yards on the season.
TCU ranks fifth in scoring (51.0) and second in total offense (636.5) after putting up at least 55 points in three consecutive games for the first time in school history. Now the team hopes to extend its 12-game winning streak that is second nationally behind No. 1 Ohio State's 17.
''Outscoring people for 12 ballgames, why not? Everybody else has been doing it,'' Patterson said. ''I've been having to do it with defense and winning 17-10. How about we go nine and 10 ballgames and outscore people? That would be nice. ... If I win 17-10, I have no offense. Now I win 55-52, and you're going to say we're going to have to ride Doctson and Trevone.''
Patterson might be able to stick to that plan facing a Texas defense that has been vulnerable during the program's worst start since a 1-9 finish in 1956. The Longhorns have given up an average of 35.3 points and 483.0 total yards but also have three defensive scores in four games.
They're trying to recover from back-to-back losses in the final seconds after a couple of defensive penalties helped set up Oklahoma State's game-winning field goal with six seconds remaining in last Saturday's 30-27 defeat. Texas' missed extra point with 1:07 left ruined its fourth-quarter rally in a 45-44 loss to California on Sept. 19.
''It's a cycle we're going though right now, but it's a cycle that can turn quickly and turn in our favor,'' said coach Charlie Strong, who is 7-10 in two seasons at Texas. ''We need everyone behind us. When it flips, which it's gonna flip, then everybody wants to jump on board.''
Jerrod Heard will try to help the Longhorns (1-3, 0-1) take advantage of TCU's porous defense as they try to become the fourth straight road team to win in this series. The freshman quarterback finished with just 167 total yards against the Cowboys after racking up 527 the previous week against the Bears.
Texas has dropped its two meetings with ranked foes this season and 10 of its last 11, including a 48-10 home loss to No. 6 TCU last November. The squad had no answer for Doctson in that contest, as he finished with seven catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.
The Frogs are just 3-3 at home versus unranked conference opponents since 2012, including a 30-7 loss to Texas on Oct. 26, 2013.
TCU reinstated senior defensive end Mike Tuaua and freshman receiver Andre Petties-Wilson on Thursday after their arrests last week on charges of robbery-bodily injury.
The incident occurred the day after the season opener, with Tuaua and Petties-Wilson missing the past three games.
