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Only one week removed from upsetting Baylor and inching closer to clinching bowl eligibility, TCU faced another ranked opponent on the road, with Oklahoma State dominating the Horned Frogs in all three phases and stampeding for nearly 700 total yards in a 63-17 victory. Now 4-6 overall, TCU must beat Kansas and Iowa State over the next two weeks to avoid missing a bowl game for an unprecedented third consecutive season.
Here are three things we learned from Saturday’s beatdown in Stillwater.
Physical dominance on offense: #okstate's eight rushing TD vs. TCU were the most scored by an FBS team in a game this season.
— OSU Stats and Information (@OSUStatsInfo) November 15, 2021
Physical dominance on defense: #okstate's eight sacks vs. West Virginia were the most allowed by a Power Five team in a game this season. #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/LUQQ8122K6
1. The Cowboys are front-runners for the Big 12 Conference title
Three teams have distinguished themselves for the conference championship this season: Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are playing the best football of those three programs, however, fielding one of the nation’s top defenses and an experienced quarterback in Spencer Sanders who’s having his best season with Oklahoma State.
With the Cowboys defeating Baylor earlier this season and the Bears exposing the Sooners in Waco on Saturday, Oklahoma State emerges in the driver’s seat of the conference. The regular-season title will likely come down to the Bedlam matchup between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys should be favored to win due to the Sooners’ quarterback issues and overall inconsistencies as well as Oklahoma State’s all-around play.
Jaden Nixon might have just broken a tackle from every single player on the TCU defense on this TD run
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 14, 2021
cc: @CowboyFB pic.twitter.com/tR6KkXrzl9
2. TCU continues to have zero answers in the run defense
The Horned Frogs have been dominated on the ground all season long. Even when TCU upset the Bears last weekend, Baylor’s Abram Smith topped 100 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry. Fast-forward to the matchup against Oklahoma State, who whopped TCU’s run defense for a season-high 447 rushing yards. Jaylen Warren went off for 113 yards and three touchdowns, while third-string running back Dominic Richardson exposed the Horned Frogs for a team-leading 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
There are 130 FBS schools. TCU ranks 114th in scoring defense, 121st in total defense, and 124th in rush defense. For perspective on just how out of ordinary that it is:
— TCU Sports (@TCUSports) November 15, 2021
2005: 16th
2006: 3rd
2007: 11th
2008: 2nd
2009: 6th
2010: 1st
2011 through 2020 ranged from 8th to 66th.
TCU has allowed at least one 100-yard rusher on the opposing team in eight consecutive games. The Horned Frogs haven’t generated much pass rush, but TCU’s interior defensive line has been an increasing disappointment as the season has progressed. An experienced unit with multiple returning starters (Corey Bethley, Terrell Cooper) as well as four-star recruits (Patrick Jenkins and Jaquaze Sorrells) and talented transfers (Kenny Turnier) should not be gashed on a week-by-week basis as frequently as TCU’s unit has been. Alas.
FINAL: Kansas 57, Texas 56
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) November 14, 2021
The first time the Longhorns have lost five consecutive games since 1956.pic.twitter.com/3Tg5me7tlg
3. Kansas will not roll over for the Horned Frogs this weekend
While TCU was being crushed in Stillwater, Kansas went into Austin and stunned the Texas Longhorns with a 57-56 overtime victory for the program’s first conference road win since 2008. Sophomore quarterback Jalon Daniels enjoyed his best collegiate start for the Jayhawks, throwing for 202 yards and three touchdowns while running for a touchdown. Devin Neal stepped up on the ground, rushing for 143 yards and three touchdowns.
TCU will host Kansas for its Senior Night game this weekend and the Horned Frogs shouldn’t take the Jayhawks lightly. Kansas could be playing its best football of the season and the Jayhawks have some recent history of success against the Horned Frogs, knocking them off 27-26 in 2018. Should TCU find a way to lose, it would be perhaps the lowest low of a forgettable 2021 season that has featured plenty of them.
KANSAS WENT FOR TWO AND GOT IT.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 14, 2021
THE JAYHAWKS STUN TEXAS. pic.twitter.com/h6VlqqWiQA