Frog Recap: What we learned from TCU’s comeback win over Texas Tech

The Horned Frogs overcame their turnover issues to win the Battle for the Saddle against the Red Raiders.

The TCU football team erased a 17-point deficit against Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon, overcoming three turnovers and scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to outlast the Red Raiders 35-34 and win the Battle for the Saddle in Fort Worth. Big plays sparked the TCU offense in the second half, where wide receiver Eric McAlister took a catch-and-run for an 84-yard touchdown and a 52-yard completion to wide receiver Jack Bech led to tight end DJ Rogers hauling in an 8-yard touchdown reception. Despite its struggles throughout the game, the TCU defense forced a big turnover late in the fourth quarter, where defensive lineman Hakeem Ajijolaiya forced a fumble on freshman quarterback Will Hammond.

While it hasn’t been pretty at times, TCU has now won two straight Big 12 games and moves within one more victory of clinching bowl eligibility for the 2024 season. Currently 5-3 and 3-2 in the conference, TCU will head to Waco for the Bluebonnet Battle on Nov. 2. Here are three things we learned from the comeback victory against the Red Raiders on Saturday.

Savion Williams: RB1?

TCU introduced a new wrinkle to the offense against Utah, when 6-foot-5 wide receiver Savion Williams led the Horned Frogs with 72 rushing yards on seven carries. Williams was a lone bright spot on offense in an otherwise ugly game for the Horned Frogs, who escaped Salt Lake City with a 13-7 win over the Cam Rising-less Utes. Fans wondering whether or not TCU would continue to feed Williams the rock got their answer on Saturday, when Savion ran for 72 yards and one touchdown on a team-high 11 carries while adding three catches for 81 yards and another score through the air.

While Williams continued to be effective as both a receiver and a runner, Cam Cook took a season-low number of carries against Texas Tech, rushing just one time for 19 yards. Head coach Sonny Dykes said after the Utah game that TCU is still looking for one of its running backs to take control of the starting job. But with the Horned Frogs eight games into the season, TCU appears to have adopted a whatever-it-takes-to-win approach on the ground, and that means featuring Savion Williams out of the backfield.

The TCU defense fell back to Earth on Saturday

Fans who saw the Horned Frogs shut down Micah Bernard, Isaac Wilson and the Utah offense last weekend wondered whether or not TCU could repeat that success on defense against the Red Raiders. The answer was largely no, as the Horned Frogs allowed 439 total yards and 25 first downs to the Texas Tech offense, which operated for a chunk of the game without starting quarterback Behren Morton, who sustained a game-ending shoulder injury.

While TCU did generate two sacks and force a fumble late in the fourth quarter, the Horned Frogs largely struggled to defend true freshman signal caller Will Hammond, who went 10-for 15 and threw for 121 yards and a touchdown while rushing for a touchdown as well. Hammond’s success allowed Texas Tech to score 28 points over the second and third quarters and take a 31-14 lead over TCU on the road. Tahj Brooks also went over 100 yards for the seventh consecutive game, rushing for 121 yards and a score on 30 carries.

Up next are the Baylor Bears, who hung 59 points on the Red Raiders last weekend and compiled 565 total yards during their 38-28 victory against Oklahoma State on Saturday. TCU will have a tough task in defending Sawyer Robertson, who has thrown 11 touchdown passes with just two interceptions over Baylor’s last three games.

Josh Hoover has a turnover problem

Josh Hoover has now thrown two interceptions in four of his last five games this season. Hoover, who launched eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions over his first three outings of the season, also lost his nation-leading sixth fumble. All three of the TCU turnovers on Saturday came from Hoover, who now has 14 total turnovers in eight starts this season. That’s an average of almost two turnovers a game for Hoover, whose Horned Frogs are among the worst in the country in turnover margin and total turnovers this season.

Barring something crazy or unforeseen, Hoover will continue to be QB1 for the TCU offense now and in the future. But with 14 career starts now under his belt, Hoover’s turnover issues have to be addressed. The flashes are still there, as Hoover has thrown for 2,614 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 66.3 percent of his passes this season, all of which are improvements from the 2023 campaign. If Hoover can find a way to shake the turnover issues that have plagued him in recent weeks, then the Horned Frogs will be well positioned to earn bowl eligibility and perhaps make a run for the Big 12 title game this season.