TCU football is working through major quarterback turmoil in advance of its matchup against Baylor on Saturday, according to reports from the Dallas Morning News’ Grant McGalliard. 

Head coach Gary Patterson, who whistled as he walked into the room, said he expects freshman starter Max Duggan to play on Saturday despite suffering an injury to his throwing hand against Oklahoma State. Even if he plays, Duggan could be the only scholarship quarterback available against the Bears. 

Backup senior Alex Delton has left the program after appearing in six games this season. Delton hasn’t thrown more than five passes since the first Big 12 game of the year against Kansas, a 51-14 blowout. Junior Michael Collins is doubtful to play on Saturday after suffering an injury of his own. Redshirt freshman Justin Rogers left the team last week, per 247Sports.  

That leaves former Lake Travis star Matthew Baldwin. However, Baldwin only started throwing for the first time on Sunday, per the Austin American-Statesman. It’s unlikely that Baldwin would see playing time in anything but an emergency situation. 

Of course, if Duggan is too hurt to play or gets injured against Baylor, that leaves the Horned Frogs in a precarious position. The most likely backup will be walk-on Matthew Downing, The redshirt freshman from Alpharetta, Ga., completed 8-of-10 passes for 88 yards in four appearances at Georgia before transferring to TCU. As a senior at Alpharetta, he completed 58 percent of his passes for 2,569 yards and 24 touchdowns. 

The Horned Frogs entered the year with five scholarship quarterbacks. It was a priority to get bodies in the door after last season, when the Frogs dealt with major quarterback issues. Eight games into the year, TCU might be out of options. 

TCU faces off against undefeated Baylor at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Bears rank No. 1 in the Big 12 with 26 sacks in eight games and No. 15 overall in ESPN's SP+ defensive metric. Two weeks later, the Horned Frogs play Oklahoma, which ranks No. 2 with 23 sacks.