MMQB: Brought the Saddle Back

The Frogs pulled off an improbable comeback to take down Texas Tech.

The Frogs pulled off a thrilling comeback on Saturday against Texas Tech to storm back from down 17-points to a 35-34 win. The game was a shootout as many anticipated but the TCU defense had some promising moments against Texas Tech as well. TCU has now collected two straight gritty, one-score wins over conference opponents which is something that Frog fans should be excited about. The Frogs now sit at 3-2 in the Big 12 and 5-3 overall with a solid season well within reach.

The Good

Clutch factor: Texas Tech scored a touchdown with about six minutes left in the third quarter to go up by 17 points and the Frogs looked dead in the water. The defense had not been able to stop the Texas Tech offense since halftime and the TCU offense already had three turnovers on the day and had not found success outside of two explosive plays from Savion Williams. From there, however, the Frogs played incredible football. The offense went on a nine-play, 75-yard drive to score a touchdown and cut the lead to ten. The defense then took a step in the right direction, holding Tech to a field goal on their next drive. Josh Hoover led the offense on another touchdown drive thanks, in part, to a great throw from Hoover on a post to Jack Bech for 42 yards.

The defense forced a stop and the offense then gave the Frogs the lead with a 84-yard touchdown catch from Eric McAlister. The final clutch play came courtesy of a forced fumble by Hakeem Ajijolaiya and a recovery by Markis Deal. TCU played their best football of the season down the stretch of this game and showed leadership and toughness to mount a three-score comeback win. Credit to both the players and coaching staff for not panicking, focusing on execution, and making good play after good play to climb back to a win. This was easily the most fun win TCU has had since 2022 and it was very nice to be on the good side of a comeback/blown lead.

Savion Williams: Savion Williams had another excellent week both rushing and receiving as he averaged 6.5 yards per carry for 72 yards and a touchdown on the ground and caught three passes for 81 yards and a touchdown through the air. Using Williams as a running back has tapped into his immense athleticism and allowed him to make plays in space. He consistently forces missed tackles and outruns defenders, providing a spark to the TCU running game that has needed some explosiveness from its ball carriers. I would like to see TCU use him as a true running back more and not as a wildcat quarterback because when Savion lines up to take the snap, defenses know that it is a run play to the side opposite of where Josh Hoover is lined up. Either way, Savion has been the playmaker TCU fans hoped he could be these past two games.

Rush defense: The TCU rush defense had a very solid performance against what has been a dangerous Texas Tech rushing attack. The Red Raiders were able to total 180 yards on the ground but ran the ball 50 times to get to that number, good for an average of just 3.6 yards per carry. Star running back Tahj Brooks was limited to four yards per carry on the day and did not have a run for over 12 yards all game. Texas Tech’s longest run of the game was only 13 yards as the TCU defense did a great job of rallying to the ball and preventing big plays. Devean Deal had a solid game for the second straight week with nine total tackles and one sack. Namdi Obiazor was a key part of this defensive performance with nine tackles of his own. The TCU defense did a good job slowing down the opposing rushing attack for the second straight week.

Receiving Threats: The TCU receivers and tight ends had a very good day catching the football against Texas Tech. No single pass catcher had a huge game on the stat sheet but there were a number of important contributors. McAlister had the big play on a vertical route to give TCU the lead late in the fourth. Bech caught the big post to spark a scoring drive in the fourth. Williams had the 75-yard vertical route out of the backfield in the first quarter. JP Richardson was a reliable third-down target as usual. The tight ends were very involved with both Drake Dabney and DJ Rogers making important catches throughout the game. This is one of the most talented and deepest receiving groups that TCU has had in recent history and it showed on Saturday.

The Bad

Pass protection: Texas Tech entered the game ranked toward the bottom of the FBS in pressure rate and had only totaled six sacks through seven games prior to Saturday. Against the Frogs, they were able to sack Josh Hoover three times and generate pressure consistently. Hoover needs to get to his checkdown faster but the Frogs have to do a better job in pass protection moving forward.

Turnovers: Turnovers have become a real issue for the Frogs. Overall, Josh Hoover played well on Saturday but had three turnovers that were all preventable. It has gotten to the point where my heart skips a beat every time Hoover is hit because I am worried that it will result in a fumble. The Frogs have a very good offense this year but continue to miss out on points because of turnovers. Taking better care of the football will also help out the defense by limiting quick turnarounds and by giving opposing offenses worse field position. TCU needs to play complimentary football and stop shooting itself in the foot with avoidable turnovers.

Target share: TCU has a bevy of dangerous pass-catching options for Josh Hoover to choose from and not every receiver is going to have a huge statistical game every week. That being said, it should not take three and a half quarters for Eric McAlister to get his first target of the game. McAlister has shown great contested catch ability and can create after the catch. Giving McAlister more targets down the field seems like an obvious source of explosive plays that TCU has needed more of this season. Jeremy Payne should also get more carries. The true freshman was the main running back on only one drive against Texas Tech but managed to pick up 17 yards on three carries and catch two passes for 20 yards. There are only so many targets and carries to go around and TCU has plenty of weapons that need touches, but McAlister and Payne should be bigger parts of the offense moving forward.

Play of the Game

Without a doubt, McAlister down the sideline for the lead.