MMQB: Frogs Going Bowling at Charlie Strong’s Expense

It’s always nice to beat Texas. It’s even better when you’re team hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, and you still thump Texas by 22.

It’s best when you beat Texas by 22 to become bowl eligible, while simultaneously keeping Texas out of a bowl and getting their head coach fired.

Now, a quick side note to the “Texas is back because Tom Herman” crew. I’m sure he’s a good coach. He proved that at Houston (kinda. I mean, he didn’t go undefeated in the AAC either year, but what does that really matter?). But let’s pump the brakes a bit, ok?

After all, Herman isn’t the first former-Urban Meyer assistant coach to win a national championship then head to a smaller school as a first-time head coach, win a bunch of games, including an upset win in a BCS/New Year’s Six bowl over a Florida powerhouse, only to be shown $5+ million by Texas to come be the head coach.

And hey, at least Charlie Strong’s Louisville team won back to back conference championships.

Yes, Texas has far more talent than they did three years ago when Strong took over, so the rest of the Big 12 should absolutely be on notice. I’m not going to be making any “Texas 2017 Big 12 Champs” predictions quite yet, though.

Now, back to TCU being 4-1 against the Longhorns since joining the Big 12.

The Good

TCU beat Texas on Friday for two reasons: First, their ground game was bonkers, with four players rushing for at least 50 yards, and the team totaling 309 rushing yards on 46 carries. All four Frog touchdowns came on the ground, and two were on rushes of 40+ yards.

Essentially, TCU literally ran Texas out of their own building.

Two of those rushing touchdowns came from Kenny Hill, who ran for 78 yards on 13 carries before he had to exit the game due to an ankle injury.

Another came from freshman Darius Anderson on a 70-yard sprint, where he just dusted everyone else on the field. Trevorris Johnson collected the other rushing touchdown, as he wound up getting the bulk of the rushing duty in the fourth quarter, when Kyle Hicks exited with an injury to his midsection.

Second, the defense had it’s best day of the year. Ranthony Texada had a stellar day (minus the PI), allowing just two completions on 9 targets. Jeff Gladney filled in very well for the injured Julius Lewis. The defensive line got tons of pressure on Texas QB Shane Buechele, sacking him four times, and overall, the defense forced Texas to be insanely one-dimensional on offense.

Yes, D’Onta Foreman rushed for 165 yards on 31, carries, but just eight of those carries and 65 of those yards came in the second half (inexplicably, as Texas was only down one possession for the majority of the third quarter), and the Frogs kept him out of the endzone.

Two big goal line stands for TCU’s defense also swung momentum towards the Frogs, as in both instances Texas would have taken the lead with a touchdown.

The Meh

For the most part, the offensive line did enough to allow the Frog running backs + Kenny Hill to get loose and make an impact, but on the whole, the line played less than great. Hence, the “meh” instead of the “bad.”

Four penalties (three holding calls and a false start) were officially added to their ledger, in what has become a common theme for this unit throughout the season.

They picked their game up when it mattered in the fourth quarter, though, as TCU’s running game really began to assert itself.

The Bowl Possibilities

This all hinges on whether or not TCU beats Kansas State on Saturday, but the bowls in play at this point (and possible opponents) are as follows:

• Texas Bowl - Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina
• Liberty Bowl - Texas A&M, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky
• Cactus Bowl - Colorado State, North Texas