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After a confident win over BYU in which TCU outperformed the Cougars in all three phases, the Horned Frogs fell down to Earth in a blowout loss against Kansas State on Saturday. The Wildcats torched the TCU defense for 587 total yards including 343 yards on the ground in a 41-3 spanking of the Horned Frogs, who were blown out on the road for the second straight occasion. TCU (4-4, 2-2 Big 12) will attempt to bounce back after a bye week before hitting the road once again for a conference showdown against Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Sonny Dykes says he didn’t see this coming.
— S. Johnson (@StevenMJohnson_) October 22, 2023
Said the team had a great week of practice and he thought they would play well.
“Shocked, surprised.. I’m embarrassed, I think our players are (too).”
Kansas State rotated quarterbacks on Saturday, with starter and TCU killer Will Howard having success along with four-star freshman Avery Johnson. The two signal callers had a combined 135 rushing yards in the game, with Howard gaining 62 yards on only four totes. Howard completed 10-of-16 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns, while Johnson went 5-for-10 for 90 yards and one touchdown. TCU had no answers for the Kansas State backfield, which saw DJ Giddens and Treshaun Ward team up for 174 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. The Wildcats managed to carve up the TCU defense without starting tight end Ben Sinnott, who exited the game in the first quarter with an injury.
Dykes on the defense: "It was a bad performance, we never slowed them down. They could've scored as many points as they needed to beat us."
— S. Johnson (@StevenMJohnson_) October 22, 2023
The TCU offense struggled throughout the game, finishing without a touchdown and once again shown an inability to score in the red zone. The lone points of the game came on a 32-yard field goal from Griffin Kell late in the first quarter. Despite a strong performance from running back Emani Bailey, who rushed for 100 yards on only 12 carries Saturday, TCU conceded two sacks and struggled to protect quarterback Josh Hoover, who was 23-of-43 for 187 yards and one interception. Savion Williams led the wide receiving corps for the Horned Frogs, finishing with four catches and 60 yards in the loss against the Wildcats.
Dykes: "I'm a little miffed how we can play as well as we did last week and as poorly as we did this week. Don't really understand it."
— S. Johnson (@StevenMJohnson_) October 22, 2023
Kansas State held TCU to 300 total yards and the Horned Frogs were just 2-for-13 on third-down attempts in the game. It was the first game without a touchdown for the Horned Frogs since 2016, when TCU lost against Kansas State.
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