Frog Spotlight: Ethan Craw’s punts wreak havoc on Cincinnati’s field position

Craw’s career-day makes life difficult for the Bearcats’ offense.

Special teams recognition is sparse. Praise is hailed whenever a kicker boots a long field goal or a returner breaks off a long return. However, special teams aces who make important tackles and help pin the ball deep in opposing territory are often left out of the already-dimmed limelight. To further illustrate the lack of recognition, the player that pins the ball deep, flips field position, and forces returners to fair catch is rarely praised. That player, the punter, is hardly mentioned as a game-defining player. In this instance, TCU’s Ethan Craw was an absolute game-changer on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Craw was named the Co-Special Teams Player of the Week by the Big 12. He punted five times for 237 yards—averaging a remarkable 47.4 yards per punt. What’s even more remarkable is Craw pinned the Bearcats inside the 20 on four of five punts. Three of those four punts were downed at the six yard line or better.

The TCU junior made his presence felt early. After 50 seconds of action, Craw was called upon to punt from the Horned Frogs’ own 28-yard-line. The left-footed punter kicked a 43-yarder, only to bounce twice before hitting the Bearcat return-man who muffed the bouncing ball. The Horned Frogs recovered, earning a second possession less than a minute into the game. TCU ran six plays before a Savion Williams touchdown capped off the abbreviated drive thanks to Craw and the special teams unit.

After a quick Cincinnati possession, the Frogs got the ball back, beginning a new possession on the 23-yard-line. Five plays later, Craw reentered the game to boot the ball back to the Bearcats. Although not as impactful as his first punt, Craw’s second was more impressive. Punting from his own 30, the ball landed at the Bearcats’ 25-yard-line before bouncing nearly 20 yards, eventually being downed at the six. The Bearcats punted on their ensuing possession.

It wasn’t until the start of the second half when Craw was called on once more. The TCU punter’s next boot forced the Bearcats to begin their second drive of the snowy second-half on their own 16-yard-line. As the conditions began to worsen, Craw entered the game around the nine-minute mark, tasked with flipping field position again. His fourth punt went for 65—a career-long for the Aussie. The Bearcats, starting at the own six, drove down the field to score their second touchdown of the game, cutting TCU’s lead to seven.

The Bearcats kicked off with over five minutes to go in hopes of another possession to tie the game. Cincinnati’s hopes were granted, as TCU failed to convert on a 3rd and 7 with over a minute left. Then came Craw, punting from Cincinnati territory for a change. At the Bearcats’ 39-yard-line, the junior punter booted a near-perfect, coffin corner kick. Although it didn’t go out of bounds within the five-yard-line, Craw’s kick died almost immediately upon impacting the turf, rolling to the Bearcats’ three-yard-line and effectively putting a nail in Cincinnati’s coffin.