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OH HOW SWEET IT IS! I always pick TCU to win games, because I mean blind homerism and (in extreme HOOBASTANK voice) I’m not a perfect person. That being said, I am shocked that we won this game. Not just won, but appeared to control most of this game. Gary never ceases to amaze me.
Had you told me at the beginning of the year that we would go 6-6 and that making a bowl would be considered a success, I would have looked at you very funny. Had you continue to tell me that we would be on our 3rd string QB, incredibly low on depth, and down 7 defenders from the starting line up...I would have responded with “Oh I see.”.
Also...I know we just played two of the lesser teams in the Big 12, and these are teams that aren’t knocking anyone off with their defenses but...HAS THE MULE BEEN THE BEST QB ON THIS ROSTER THE WHOLE DANG TIME?
It’s overreaction season, so again, I don’t really know if that’s true but the Mule played really well.
It looks like the season is not over quite yet folks. The Frogs showed up in a big way on Saturday and extended their season to one more game. Let’s jump in to the good:
The Good:
-Jalen “I am your father” Reagor - That man was out there sonning every single Ok State defender that came across him. JR came out and had a jansport backpack strapped on, because he was carrying this offense almost all night. By the end of the game, he was sporting a Louis Vuitton suitcase because of how much he had to carry. Reagor finished his day with 8 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. On top of that he had 5 carries for 121 yards and another tuddy. I don’t know about you guys, but I am a big fan of the Reagor in the backfield formation. Loved when he lined up behind the center and we ran the Reagor option. He has killer speed, so he was able to pick up some solid yardage just about every time he kept it.
Is it too late for him to throw his hat in the QB race next year?
-Grayson Muehlstein for Hei5man - The 5th year senior showed up and went 16-25 for 180 yards and two touchdowns. The poise in the pocket that GM showed for most of the game, was truly shocking. I truly didn’t know that he had it in him. Not because I doubted his ability, but because I literally had no idea what he was capable of. He showed off his ability to make clean throws, and other than the one fumble at the very beginning, took very good care of the ball. Oh how that would have been appreciated at the beginning of the year.
Last week I said that the Mule should have retired after last week’s win over Baylor, to which I said things couldn’t possibly get any better. Well I was wrong. Upsetting a team that is favored over you at home in a must win game in order to make it to a bowl... ya that is pretty great too. Also, yes I do count this as an upset, since everyone except for a contingent of Ok State fans did not see this coming.
Grayson, my guy, thank you so much. You have given this season life in a way that I did not see coming.
-The defense...again: Other than when the Pokes went up tempo in the second half, our defense put the clamps on the - capable, yet inconsistent - Pokes offense. The defense held Ok State QB, Taylor Cornelius under 100 yards passing until the fourth quarter of the game. Ok State finished with a total of 280 yards of offense.
The play that got the momentum going the Frogs way in this one was without a doubt, the scoop and score on the first drive of the second half. Jawaun Johnson scooped up the backwards lateral, that was dropped, and took it back for 6 points. This score put the Frogs up 14-3 to open up the 3rd quarter and the Frogs were able to play with a nice lead...something that they haven’t had since week 2 against SMU. The Frogs defense finished with 4 tackles for loss, and 1 sack by Corey Bethley.
-The youngin’s stepping up: Other than the defensive touchdown, every one of TCU’s touchdowns were scored by an underclassman. Reagor (sophomore) was responsible for two, then freshman Derius Davis caught the wide open touchdown to seal the game. It’s encouraging to see those young guys step up making plays, the future still looks really bright.
-The offensive line: The offensive line only allowed one sack on the day, and they kept the QB with pretty minimal pressure in his face. He occasionally had to escape the pocket, but those times were few and far between. We have been waiting for this type of performance all season from them. This is why reps are so important, these players look so much better than they did against teams early on, especially the Iowa State game. If anything, this O-line looked a lot better in pass protection than they did at the start of big 12 play. This is HUGE. The offensive line is the catalyst for pretty much every play on offense, and if they can keep improving going in to the bowl game and in to next season it would do a lot to keep my hair from thinning.
-Offensive play calling: FINALLY THANK YOU SONNY I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU YOU BEAUTIFUL MAN. It took the entire season, but I finally saw a play calling performance that I really enjoyed watching. Yes we punted a lot, but we started making our drives count in the second half. Maybe we’ve all been a bit too harsh on the offensive play calling, since again the O-line was booty for a large part of the season, and our young QB was very turnover prone. That all being said, down to his 3rd string QB, Sonny Cumbie whipped out the works on this one. Running fake screens, Reagor hand offs, QB roll outs, etc. We actually tried to push the ball vertically down the field, and we got the ball in to our best playmaker’s hands.
I still subscribe to the school of thought that play calling is just like any other job. The longer you get to have a crack at it, the better you get. You go through ups and downs, but hopefully by the end of it, you’ve learned from your mistakes and you are able to make improvements. I saw a lot of that on Saturday from our play calling. Maybe Ok State’s defense really is that soft, but I’d like to think Cumbie did the most good on Saturday.
-Thank you seniors: Thank you to all of the seniors that have spent the last 4/5 years playing for this team, the fans, and this school. Thank you for all that you have given to us, we are truly thankful.
The Bad:
-The kicking game: Woof. 2 missed field goals, that were both very makable. Buntz missed the first FG attempt and then Song missed the third FG attempt of the game, his second, which would have for sure clinched the win for TCU. The latter was an 34 yarder. That’s not great folks. Instead of being up two scores with only enough time for one drive for Ok State, the Frogs had to make sure to get a stop in order to not risk over time. I’m going to be a nervous wreck in close games in the future if our kicking game doesn’t improve.
The Play of the Game:
Well there were a few, and a lot of them by Jalen Reagor. The 4th and short first down conversion by the Mule, where he got fired up afterwards, was also great. The play where JR mossed an Ok State defender down near TCU sideline was almost our winner, but I gotta give it to the play where Reagor busted the Pokes defense wide open on a sweep and hit em with the cheetah. Bless you JR:
YOU'RE NOT GONNA CATCH HIM. @TCUfootball's Jalen Reagor takes it 83 yards for his second TD of the game. pic.twitter.com/qllBr6m6tv
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 25, 2018
Next time:
WE GOING BOWLING!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know when the actual game will be, but I’m just happy we have post season football.
-Go Frogs