STEPHEN HAWKINS, AP Sports Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU quarterback Casey Pachall never knew for sure if he was going to play for the first time since breaking his non-throwing arm seven weeks ago.
When Trevone Boykin was sacked for the second time in three plays, fumbling to set up a short touchdown for Texas midway through the first quarter, Pachall got back on the field.
The senior quarterback’s return wasn’t nearly enough for the Horned Frogs, who lost 30-7 in a game that ended early Sunday morning following a weather delay of 3 hours, 6 minutes in the second quarter.
“Just that wasn’t what we expected coming out here. What nobody expected,” Pachall said. ” But you’ve got to live with what happened and now the only thing we can do is move on to next week.”
TCU (3-5, 1-4) has consecutive losses for the first time this season. The Frogs hadn’t had five losses through eight games since a 10-game losing streak to start the 1997 season.
Malcolm Brown ran for two touchdowns, Case McCoy threw for 228 yards with a long score and the Longhorns (5-2, 4-0) won their fourth consecutive game to remain undefeated in the Big 12.
Pachall hadn’t played since breaking his left arm Sept. 7 against Southeastern Louisiana.
Texas, coming off an open date that followed a win over Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry in nearby Dallas two weeks ago, took the lead for good midway through the first quarter when Brown scored after Boykin’s fumble. Boykin had already been sacked once on the drive, and was pressured and in trouble again when he was surrounded by three defenders and hit. Adrian Phillips recovered the loose ball at the 3.
“You can’t spot a good football team points,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said.
When TCU took the field for its third series, Pachall replaced Boykin.
The Horned Frogs had only 5 total yards on seven offensive plays before that. They finished with 246 yards, with Pachall going 13-of-34 for 140 yards and an interception.
“Maybe a little rusty, but for the most part I felt good,” Pachall said. “Whenever things went well on most plays and I was able to do what I was able to, then I was able to feel comfortable with it.”
After Anthony Fera kicked a 43-yard field goal to make it 10-0 late in the first quarter, the Frogs scored on their next drive on a double pass. Pachall threw to Cameron Echols-Luper in the backfield, and the receiver hit LaDarius Brown for a 38-yard TD.
With Texas up 17-7, the game was stopped in the second quarter Saturday night because of lightning that was part of an approaching storm. The game resumed just after 11 p.m., and ended after 12:30 a.m.
It was the second time this season the Longhorns had to endure a long weather delay. They handled this one much better.
The start of their game at BYU on Sept. 7 was delayed 1 hour, 47 minutes before the start. The Longhorns lost that one 40-21 while giving up a school-worst 550 yards rushing.
Brown’s 3-yard TD run with 9 minutes left in the third quarter gave Texas a 27-7 lead. He also had another 3-yard score more than four hours before that, one play after a TCU fumble midway through the first quarter.
Anthony Fera kicked three field goals for the Longhorns, who remained tied atop the Big 12 standings with sixth-ranked Baylor (7-0, 4-0). The Bears won at Kansas on Saturday night while No. 10 Texas Tech lost for the first time, at No. 17 Oklahoma.
“We want to win, we want to win this Big 12. That’s what we’ve been working on,” defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat said. “We’re not just happy with one win, we’re going to try to get more and more.”
TCU announced a crowd of 48,212, the second-largest ever at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Texas played there for the first time since 1994, when both teams were in the old Southwest Conference.
The stands were well less than half full when play resumed.
The final 6 minutes of the second quarter were played swiftly, with three punts before Fera kicked a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
There was then a break of less than 5 minutes for halftime, with the teams remaining on the field, before starting the second half.
“Obviously we didn’t come back and play very well after having the rain,” Patterson said. “We warmed them up, we ran, we met with them, we walked through with them. Obviously they did a better job of that than we did.”