Inside the Numbers: Frogs Win Streak Comes to an End

The nation’s longest winning streak came to an abrupt halt on Saturday afternoon as TCU fell to Iowa State 37-23 at Amon G. Carter Stadium. I am not accustomed to this losing stuff, but let’s go inside the numbers anyways.

If you were to just look at some of the stats from this game, you might think TCU won. The Frogs out gained the Cyclones in total yards 455 to 350. TCU controlled the time of possession 35:56 to 24:04, but then you get to the turnovers… The Frogs turned the ball over 5 times, ISU only once. That will get you beat on most days.

As I mentioned above, TCU had 5 turnovers. That’s right, 5!! The pick six by David Irving was an absolute back breaker. The 2 fumbles by B.J. Catalon didn’t help either. The Frogs have now turned the ball over 13 times in the last four games. That is completely unacceptable.

Onto the quarterback…for making his start, I thought Trevone Boykin played decent. He wasn’t great, but he wasn’t terrible. It is basically what you would expect from a redshirt freshman in his first start. Boykin finished 23-40 for 270 yards, 1 TD, and 3 interceptions. Boykin’s 270 yards passing are the most by a TCU freshman since Andy Dalton threw for 298 against San Diego State on Nov. 24, 2007.

TCU had their 25 game conference winning streak snapped. The Frogs dropped their first conference game since a 13-10 decision at Utah on Nov. 6, 2008. It was the Horned Frogs’ first conference home loss since a 27-20 defeat to Utah on Oct. 18, 2007. The Horned Frogs lost at Amon G. Carter Stadium for just the 2nd time in their last 30 games. TCU fell to 58-8 at Amon G. Carter Stadium under Gary Patterson as head coach.

Devonte Fields, who came into the game leading the Big 12 and all freshmen nationally with 8 1/2 tackles for loss and five sacks, added a tackle for loss and a half-sack to his total. He is the lone Horned Frog to take part in a sack in all five games this season.

I was a little weary of Jaden Oberkrom at the beginning of this season, but the kid is really starting to impress me. Oberkrom’s 50-yard third-quarter field goal marked the longest made kick by a Horned Frog since Ross Evans was successful from 50 yards at New Mexico on Aug. 30, 2008. Oberkrom is now 8-of-10 on field-goal attempts this season.

The pressure is now off of this team. This group just needs to go out and focus on improving every week. The rest of the season might be a little rough, but it should be fun, and sometimes agonizing to watch.