Before I get into the actual analytical part of the TCU performance from this past Saturday, I do want to give a big round of applause to all of the faculty, staff members, grounds keepers, equipment managers, etc that had a hand in the scheduling, execution, transportation of players and equipment, or contributed in any way to the 2020 TCU season.

Other than the very first game against SMU, TCU had no games cancelled or postponed. In fact, they were able to add in another opponent - LA Tech - on a short notice and still made sure everything was appropriately followed and the game was able to be played. Hats off to those that allowed this season to even be possible for TCU!

Of course, I have to give another tip of the cap to the actual football team itself that played very well this past weekend.

The Good:

-The Freshmen Came To Play: While the whole team played very well, a special shout out has to be given to the three freshmen on offense that took over the game. Zach Evans had 7 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns, one of which came off a 75 yard run that was ripped off at the beginning of the second half.

Kendre Miller of course had something to say about getting carries and finished his night leading the team in rushing and matching Evans with two touchdowns as well as 136 yards. 89 of those yards came on a late touchdown run to put the game EVEN further out of reach for the Bulldogs.

Of course, my heart could not go on without mentioning Quentin Johnston, and the certified DUDE that he is. QJ had 5 catches for 133 yards and one touchdown that came in the form of a bomb from Max Duggan. He added another touchdown on a short end around later on in the first half.

I feel like these days a lot of people are so eager to say things like so & so is “going to be a problem” or so & so “has a bright future” just because they are able to make a single positive play in a game as a freshman. Okay but here is the thing - when you are out here making MULTIPLE positive game breaking plays as a true freshman then...yes you are going to be a problem for other teams in the future. Excited to see how these young playmakers continue to progress.

-CJ Ceasar’s multi pick performance: Again, I will not be afraid to say that a lot of TCU fans were worried about having Ceasar line up across opposing wide receivers after his performance against Texas Tech and Kansas. However, something changed - the corner decided he had seen enough of the number 16 and decided to switch to number 9. Our very own Jamie Plunkett proceeded to tweet out some interesting next gen stats:

We jest about a simple number change, but Ceasar has genuinely been playing better, and has done solid overall all things considered in his past two performances.

-Garrett Wallow, both on and off the field: Man, if it is true that Saturday was Wallow’s final game in the Carter...I may need to take a moment for myself emotionally. The linebacker has had such a solid career here over the last several seasons. Whether it be having to come in and play linebacker right away instead of safety, leading the team in tackles season after season, and of course being the defensive leader for this team - number 30 always brought 100%. Wallow finished his night with a team high 13 tackles (7 solo) and a sack. A night to remember for a career that you can say the exact same for.

-The Defense as a whole: While yes, on paper it was an inferior offensive opponent, but there is something to be said about the Frog defense not allowing LA Tech score a touchdown until there was 11 minutes left in the game. Other than the previously mentioned Garrett Wallow, Ochaun Mathis and La’Kendrick Van Zandt also had some noticeable stat lines by the end of the game. Mathis had 9 total sacks, 5 solo, and two sacks. Meanwhile LVZ had 6 tackles - all of which were solo - as well as a sack.

The Bad:

-The Fourth and short play call on the first drive: This is not a criticism of the decision to go for it on 4th down early on in the game. Especially when you are supposed to win by a ton of points against an opponent such as LA Tech (speed of scheduling be damned). I just cannot imagine what the offensive hive mind was thinking when they took out our very mobile quarterback for Chase Curtis...who proceeded to lose a yard on an incredibly telegraphed play and turn the ball over on downs. Again, weird play call - wasn’t crazy about it, but it will not keep me up at night unlike a certain 4th and 1 RB pass against SMU in 2019 (we don’t talk about that here).

Other than that there was not much bad that caught my eye. In the next MMQB we can dive into more what changes should/need to be made to this team/what the overall consensus of the season was now that it has wrapped up for us (awaiting a bowl appearance.) and most importantly, what the best jersey combination this year was!

Play of the Week:

Max Duggan airs it out to QJ for 76 yards and a touchdown. Easy money.

Next Week: There is no game next week

Since we are still going to be awaiting what bowl TCU plays in until later, the MMQB will resume the Monday after the next game is played. Until then, rest up and enjoy the fact that TCU was able to participate in a 10 game season in the midst of a terrible situation that the world had put on all of us. Way to finish strong Frogs, let’s go win one more!

Go Frogs!