It was supposed to be an epic clash between the #5 and #6 teams in the country Saturday night, but one of those teams apparently didn’t get the memo. TCU was throttled in the first half on their way to a 38-20 defeat that wasn’t even that close. Now, the Frogs will need to regroup before a tricky trip to Lubbock, and get back to their winning ways.
- The Frogs aren’t out of the Big 12 title race. In fact, they, and the Sooners, control their own destiny when it comes to a rematch in Arlington. Beat the Red Raiders and the Bears, and TCU will get a chance at revenge in December.
- Darius Anderson’s injury was incredibly deflating. While there’s no news as of yet as to the seriousness of it, Anderson couldn’t put any weight on his leg as he was helped off the field, and the play itself looked really bad. Sewo Olonilua got extra reps in the second half, but had just ten yards on four carries.
- Mat Boesen was ejected for the second time this season. While the call was certainly questionable, the fact is, his loss negatively affected the defense as a whole, and seemed to get in the heads of the defensive players for the rest of the half.
- What’s up with Song? Apparently, the kicker tweaked a groin in warmups, and could be lost for an extended period of time. Ryan Graf missed the only field goal attempt of the game for the Frogs, and was replaced by Cole Bunce for the extra points from that point on. TCU will need a reliable place kicking game for the stretch run, so this is something to watch.
- Shawn Robinson has a play-package. Something Frog fans have wanted to see for a long time came to fruition - at the worst possible time. I actually thought Sonny Cumbie called a solid game, but inserting Robinson at a key juncture for three plays was head-scratching. Robinson completed his lone pass attempt - for negative one yards - and ran once for six. Let’s shelve that one for a bit, okay?
- Kenny Hill was fine. The senior QB didn’t turn the ball over, made several great throws downfield, and was exceptional with his legs. Unfortunately, fine wasn’t enough when he was competed with the Heisman favorite on the other side of the field. He misfired a couple times in the fourth quarter, but overall, I thought he played within himself. The offensive struggles should be attributed more to the offensive line than the much-maligned QB, who finished 13-28 for 270 yards and a TD, but rarely had time to set his feet or a clean pocket to work out of. You can hate on him all you want, but this L wasn’t on him. He continually played with toughness and heart, something that was lacking from the rest of the team.
- The Oklahoma offense is no joke. TCU’s defense effort was abhorrent in the first half, but Baker didn’t make things easy on them. I don’t think it’s a question who the best player in college football is, but he had a lot of help, namely from Rodney Anderson. The Sooner running back single-handedly beat the Frogs Saturday night with his four first half touchdowns, and torched what had been a formidable defense through the air and on the ground on his way to 290 total yards. He is a matchup nightmare who seems to get better every week.
- Penalties killed the Frogs again. TCU was flagged seven times for 60 yards, and in a turnover free game, that proved to be a big-time difference maker. TCU’s offense hasn’t been great, so they can’t afford to play behind the sticks and/or give good opposing offenses extra chances. They did both Saturday.
- If the game plan was to keep the ball away from the Sooners, it wasn’t executed. OU had over 500 yards, 21 first downs, and ran 68 plays. They held the ball for 34:09 and punted just five times. And that was all despite the fact that the Sooners took their foot off the gas after their late score in the first half.
- I want to punt on punting. On multiple occasions, TCU had a fourth and short on the OU side of the field and chose to punt instead of go for it. Twice, the Sooners scored on their ensuing possession, the most egregious of which was the call to punt late in the second quarter on fourth and short. The Sooners went 87 yards in four plays and put the final nail in the Frog coffin. It was an insanely conservative call in a game the Frogs were already trailing 31-14, and sent a bad message.
- Chaos reigned Saturday. The good news is, so much craziness happened over the weekend that the Frogs will be old news. Though the defensive letdown will likely plummet them out of the top ten, TCU will hide in the shadows of Georgia, Notre Dame, and Washington when it comes to the national narrative. For this team, getting out of the spotlight and back to business is just what the doctor ordered.
- Patterson apparently threatened a Sunday scrimmage. In his post game presser, GP told reporters that he told the team they could either play to their level in the second half or scrimmage tomorrow, which explains the better performance in the final two quarters. But ultimately, missed tackles, bad angles, and an overall lack of focus did the Frogs in.
It was announced Saturday night that TCU and Texas Tech will kickoff at 11:00am next Saturday in Lubbock. Just go get a win, Frogs, and get yourselves back on track.