ARLINGTON, TEXAS • TCU quarterback Max Duggan was battered and bloodied, physically exhausted and mentally drained. And still unsure if the third-ranked Horned Frogs had done enough to get into the four-team College Football Playoff.

Duggan dropped to his knees in the end zone after his 8-yard TD run ended his gutsy game-tying drive late in regulation of Saturday’s Big 12 championship game, and buried his facemask into the turf after diving and coming up just inches short of another touchdown in overtime. He then stood alone in the middle of the field with both hands on his helmet when his running back Kendre Miller was stuffed for the second play in a row, on fourth down, to give No. 13 Kansas State the ball one last time.

Ty Zentner then kicked a 31yard field goal as the Wildcats beat TCU 31-28.

“We got beat today and now it’s out of our hands. That’s something that we wanted to do is be in control,” said Duggan, who had to gather himself after starting to talk on the podium. “All we can do

is kind of watch.”

Deuce Vaughn ran for 130 yards and a touchdown and Will Howard threw two TDS for the Wildcats (10-3, No. 10 CFP), who six weeks earlier had jumped out to a 28-10 lead early in the second quarter before TCU scored the game’s last 28 points.

That was one of five games the Horned Frogs (12-1, No. 3 CFP) won when trailing after halftime. But they couldn’t do it again with the chance to guarantee being the first Big 12 team other than Oklahoma to make the playoff.

TCU, the first Big 12 team to complete a regular season

undefeated since Texas in 2009, could still get into the playoff. While their case was helped when fourth-ranked Southern California (11-2) lost 47-24 to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game Friday night, the Frogs now have to wait until the final CFP rankings come out Sunday.