I will say, it is really nice knowing that you can relax and enjoy the game since your team has the game wrapped up by the end of the first quarter. It’s a feeling I haven’t really felt since 2015! Of course, this team isn’t half as good as the 2015 team, but it is always nice to run over a conference opponent...even if the other team is barely a FCS team.

The result was not surprising to anybody, so I’m not super overjoyed or super disappointed like I have been over the past couple of weeks, so let’s just get right into it!

The Good:

-Zach Evans first 100 yard day: From what we had seen from him in the OU, Baylor, and Texas Tech games we knew that number 6 was good at football. He showcased elite acceleration and his ability to break tackles/not go down. On Saturday he showcased both of those by cranking out 100 yards on 12 carries (averaging 8.3 YPC). Zach Evans being good is not breaking news to anyone, and I’m sure we’ll see more of him down the line. The running backs group is good and could be on the cusp of being great. It’s looking more and more like Evans is the go to guy along with Barlow.

-The get the ball to Pro Wells play: Hey remember when Pro Wells used to get the ball multiple times a game? Well look what happens! Wells had two receiving touchdowns, both of which were so wide open it kind of makes you wonder if they were supposed to be that wide open but again it’s Kansas so take everything we see here with a grain of salt. Pro Wells finished his day with 2 catches for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns. Get him the ball more.

-CARTER WARE FULLBACK LINED UP AS A TIGHT END TOUCHDOWN:

That’s all the analysis I can give on what was truly a beautiful moment in TCU Football history.

-Every Max Duggan Completion Was a Touchdown: This is a hilarious stat line, and while it is also sad considering that Max only had 3 completions (3 passing touchdowns) all of which were to players that were wide open by about half of the field. The TCU offense showed no interest in passing the ball, something that they desperately needed to work on. That being said, it’s hard to work on quick middle of the field routes when your down the field plays work like a charm leading your tight end to be hugely wide open. Duggan probably would have had a 4th TD pass as well if it were not for an under-throw - but staying positive here, it was his first multiple passing TD performance since game one against Iowa State where he played only a half.

-Ochaun Mathis another multiple sack game: Mathis has now had two multi sack showings in the past three games. While those games were not against the steepest competition, it is worth noting that he can still punish opposing tackles. It’s called development, and it is awesome to see him taking steps in the right direction. Also oh my goodness he crushed the KU backup quarterback on a two point conversion.

-Special Teams touchdowns are good: Derius Davis had a nice return from KU’s side of the field after the Jayhawks punted from their own endzone, and he honestly made it look way to easy as he went almost untouched into the KU endzone.

-Defensive touchdowns are also good: Now CJ Ceasar may be a sensitive subject in the TCU community right now, but he made a damn fine play by jumping a route, telling a KU receiver to “Get off me child’s play” and took back an interception for six. In a season where CB depth is getting thinner and thinner (which by the way seems to happen to TCU every damn year) this was a highlight.

The Bad:

-The lack of passes from Duggan: Okay, when you blow out a team and the game is basically over by the first quarter it is hard to be upset about certain things. The great thing about Kansas is that we already know that we are going to dominate them at the line of scrimmage on both ends due to the sheer talent difference - this is more of a comment on the current state of the KU program - so of course we were going to be able to run the ball on them at ease. We did just that on our first couple of drives, and made Evans and Barlow running look so easy! This is not a bad thing!

However, what does make me annoyed is that we only let Duggan throw the ball 11 times during this game. Our run game is already a proven commodity. What we need to do is to help get our young QB some easy throws, get him some confidence, and get him comfortable passing the ball. While Duggan as a passer seemed to have taken steps forward in the offseason, as evident by the first couple games of the season, ever since the Kansas State game we haven’t seen him consistently hit throws. Now I don’t put all of that on him since again the O-line is bad (sorry not sugar coating anymore) and we don’t like to scheme our WR’s open that much. WELL IF THERE WERE A TIME WHEN THEY WOULD BE OPEN AND THE O LINE WOULD HAVE AN EASY TIME YOU WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE AGAINST KANSAS RIGHT?

Right.

We won the game handily and so of course I am happy with the win. I just want to see us put our QB that needs development in the best chance to succeed. Because it feels like we have only done that once all year long and that was against Texas. This is going to be a very important off season, especially if we get shellacked by Ok State next week, but I want us to put Max in the best position to be great as a passer (or as great as he can be as a passer) and it just doesn’t seem like our offense has any interest in doing so.

Bottom line: Let Max cook with both his arm and his legs, but stop making it so hard for him to do it with his arm.

-The Secondary: So there were times in the secondary where TCU didn’t look great. Specifically on one side. That one particular side was penalized 3 times within 4 snaps, which is not great. While one of them was a very SOFT and not good call, the one snap where that part of the secondary wasn’t penalized, they got burned and gave up a deep touchdown giving KU their first points of the game. I’m really trying to dance around this one guys.

I did follow up with our very own Jamie Plunkett about what he was going to tweet after we gave up a later passing TD, and I’ll just say that it Jamie hopes our secondary plays better next week! Because if not, then YIKES!

Play of the Week:

Can I interest you all in this clip of Emari Demercado committing a capital M murder?

Next Week: Likely The Last Game of the Regular Season

Wow, it is hard to believe that TCU has already gone and played 8 games this year, with only one of them being postponed/cancelled. Not sure if we will play against SMU this year, but the Frogs have a chance to end their season on Saturday with a win pushing them to a winning regular season record for the first time since 2017. It’s against a stout Ok State defense and a good WR core. Let’s hope the Frogs come to play tough and make a game out of it.

Go Frogs!