Frog Mailbag: Did TCU’s win over Utah move the needle for fans?

We answer Facebook questions and poll our Twitter audience as the Horned Frogs prepare to face Texas Tech.

TCU football needed a win in any form imaginable and the Horned Frogs achieved that goal last weekend, outlasting Utah 13-7 in a defensive battle that saw both teams struggle to move the ball and finish in the red zone on offense. Nevertheless, TCU moved back above .500 on the season (4-3 and 2-2 in the Big 12) and will look to make it two wins in a row when the Horned Frogs host Texas Tech in the Battle for the Saddle on Saturday afternoon. With another pivotal conference matchup on the way, we took questions from Facebook and polled our Twitter followers for another installment of the Frog Mailbag.

TCU turned in arguably its best defensive performance of the season against Utah, holding standout running back Micah Bernard to 55 rushing yards and generating four sacks on true freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, who started in place of the injured Cam Rising. Wilson, who was making just his sixth collegiate start of his career, was largely inefficient outside of one big play to wide receiver Money Parks in the second half, completing just 51.5 percent of his passes for 199 yards with one interception courtesy of TCU’s Bud Clark. As far as the defense is concerned for the Horned Frogs, the pass rush was a positive, as the team was getting to Wilson despite being without starting EDGE linebacker Cooper McDonald. TCU also held Bernard to his lowest rushing output since the Utes faced Southern Utah Week 1.

I’m a little surprised that Utah didn’t try to feature Bernard more, but the TCU defense deserves credit for its performance. Texas Tech is a whole different animal, however, as Tahj Brooks is a true bell-cow back who torched the Horned Frogs for 146 yards on 31 carries last season. Behren Morton is also a far more dangerous quarterback than Isaac Wilson, so this weekend will be a much bigger indicator of whether or not the TCU defense has made genuine strides, particularly against the run.

Continuing with the theme of defense, I do believe TCU’s best plan of attack is stopping Tahj Brooks on the ground. Brooks has rushed for over 800 yards and five touchdowns already this season and he’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Brooks has also eclipsed 100 rushing yards in every single game he has played this season. Behren Morton is having the best season of his career, throwing 17 touchdown passes with just three interceptions over seven games, but he’s been sacked nine times and he’s not much of a running threat. Morton had eight interceptions last season and six interceptions in 2022, so he has a history of turning the ball over. TCU’s defense will be tested at all three levels, but the greatest challenge will be up front. The Horned Frogs will need to continue generating sacks and they’ll have to create negative plays, particularly against the run. TCU’s linebackers have been the core of the defense this season and they’ll need to step up on Saturday.

TCU has tried to give Hauss Hejny a role in the offense this season, but it frankly hasn’t been successful. The four-star true freshman from Aledo took two carries against Stanford before departing with an injury that sidelined him for a few weeks. Hejny returned against Kansas and saw the field against Utah, but he’s totaled just 17 rushing yards on seven carries. Hejny is also approaching the four-game threshold for retaining his redshirt season, so the TCU coaching staff will have an important decision to make as to whether or not he’ll burn that redshirt. Given that the Horned Frogs had success using Savion Williams out of the backfield, as well as the fact that veteran running back Trent Battle returned from injury, I’d expect that TCU will keep Hejny on the sideline in order to preserve his redshirt. I don’t see any reason for the team to burn his redshirt when starting quarterback Josh Hoover is only a redshirt sophomore with two more years of eligibility remaining.

Unsurprisingly, TCU squeaking out a win over a Cam Rising-less Utah squad didn’t do much to alleviate fans’ concerns as the Horned Frogs enter the second half of the season. However, the Utah game was certainly a breakout moment for Tulane transfer Devean Deal, who had otherwise struggled since arriving in Fort Worth. Deal totaled five tackles and two sacks to lead the TCU defense against Isaac Wilson and the Utes. Deal was a playmaker for the Green Wave last season, forcing three fumbles and snagging an interception to go along with four sacks. He’ll need to step up one more time on Saturday, especially if the team is without Cooper McDonald once again.

As I wrote earlier in this piece, what we see from the TCU defense against Texas Tech will determine a lot about how the remainder of the season will play out. Fans are encouraged by the showing against Utah, but don’t appear to be confident in that defense sticking around this weekend. As far as the offense goes, fans have started to lose some confidence in Hoover, who has really struggled since throwing for 402 yards and four touchdowns against UCF last month. I think this weekend is truly an opportunity for him to get right, as the Red Raiders allowed 59 points to a Baylor offense that was among the worst units in the Big 12. Sawyer Robertson threw for five touchdown passes and I think Hoover is just as good a quarterback as Robertson.

TCU has been unable to operate with a true RB1 this season, as starter Cam Cook has struggled and veterans like Trey Sanders and Dominique Johnson have been completely phased out of the offense. It appears that the Horned Frogs will deploy a hot-hand approach where whoever’s playing well will see the bulk of the reps on game day. Trent Battle and Savion Williams were those guys against Utah, combining for 117 rushing yards on 15 carries. Battle, who made his 2024 debut last weekend, is the fan favorite to see more snaps right now.