Inside the Numbers: TCU Reclaims the Skillet

The Frogs squeaked out an ugly 24-16 win over SMU to reclaim the iron skillet and push the nation’s longest winning streak to 12 games. I don’t know how much you can take from this win due to the weather situation, but let’s go inside the numbers.

It was not the best of games for Casey Pachall. Not many QB’s would have been good throwing in that kind of rain, but Pachall finished 10-26 for 107 yards and 2 TD’s. The receivers didn’t help out much either, but they didn’t drop near as many passes as SMU did.

A big concern for me is the running game. In all four games this season, TCU has passed for more yards than rushing. The Frogs had 47 rushing attempts but only managed to gain 56 yards. Can you blame the weather for this? I thought TCU should have been able to move the ball better on the ground.

TCU finished with 156 yards of offense, its lowest total since compiling 151 in a 17-10 loss at Kansas on Sept. 6, 1997. Saturday marked the first time TCU failed to top 200 yards of offense since a 27-21 win at New Mexico on Nov. 11, 2006.

Enough about the offense, let’s take a look at the defense because at times, I thought they looked pretty good. The Frogs defense recorded 5 interceptions in a game for the first time under Patterson. SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert became the fifth opposing signal caller in TCU history to throw five interceptions in a game against the Horned Frogs and the first since Houston’s Jimmy Klingler in 1992. TCU got interceptions from Jason Verrett, Elisha Olabode, Jon Koontz, and Chris Hackett.

I thought Hackett had a very solid game for making his first career start. Hackett had a fumble recovery to go along with his interception. Another star from this game was DE Devonte Fields. Fields totaled a team high 7 tackles with 2 1/2 sacks. The true freshman is quickly becoming a standout player for this defense.

I don’t really know what to make of this game. I am extremely disappointed with how the team played, but how much was weather a factor? It seems games between TCU and SMU are always close, so was this win really an indication of anything? The level of competition is about to pick up, so the Frogs need to get this thing going in the right direction real quick.