MMQB: Improvement

The Frogs got back in the win column with a gritty road win over Kansas on Saturday.

The Frogs picked up a big road win in Kansas City this past Saturday over the Jayhawks by a final score of 38-27. TCU moved above .500 with the win and to 1-1 in conference play and now has positive momentum heading into Friday’s game. The Frogs needed a win to stabilize the program and keep the season on track and they found a way to pick up a victory.

The Good

Improvement: The two areas that Frog fans wanted to see improvement in were the rushing attack on offense and the run-stopping on defense. TCU took steps in the right direction in both of those areas on Saturday. The Frogs rushing attack had its best game of the season against Kansas as TCU running backs averaged over five yards per carry for a total of 128 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The offensive line looked much improved in run blocking, opening up holes for TCU ball carriers to run through. Ben Taylor-Whitfield and Remington Strickland both saw more playing time on the offensive line and were contributing factors to this success in the trenches.

Another contributing factor to this improvement was true freshman running back Jeremy Payne getting more playing time. Payne had eight carries for 65 yards against the Jayhawks and was responsible for TCU’s longest rush of the season with a 32-yard burst in the third quarter. Payne had a few nice blocks as well and should see more playing time moving forward. Cam Cook had a strong Saturday with 15 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. For the first time all season, it felt like the TCU running game got stronger as the game moved along with TCU being able to consistently pick up solid yards on the ground in the fourth quarter. There were also adjustments made to the scheme of the running game that helped spark this success. Sonny Dykes and Kendal Briles incorporated more misdirection and jet sweeps to keep the defense on their toes and slow down the reaction time of the Kansas linebackers.

Multiple steps in the right direction were taken in the running game on Saturday. Additionally, while the run defense was far from perfect, it was significantly better against Kansas than it was in the previous two weeks. Kansas did average almost five yards per carry as a team, but the tackling from the TCU defense was improved with Kansas not having a rush for more than 16 yards all game. Abe Camara was a big part of this trend with multiple tackles in open space. Camara finished with four tackles and a pass deflection and defended the speed option well multiple times. Both the run defense and rushing attack still have things to work on, but it was encouraging to see improvement in both areas on Saturday.

Balance: Through the first four games of the season, almost every explosive play that TCU generated came from the passing attack. The defense was not forcing turnovers, opposing special teams units were generating big plays, and the rushing attack from TCU was unable to pick up chunk yardage. That was not the case on Saturday as there was much more balance in the explosive play department from the Frogs. The Frog defense forced an interception for the first time since week two with LaMareon James making an athletic interception to seal the win. JP Richardson took a punt 89 yards back to the house to give the Frogs the lead toward the end of the third quarter. Cam Cook and Jojo Earle both had rushes of over ten yards and as previously mentioned Jeremy Payne picked up 32 yards in one play on the ground. A big reason the Frogs were able to win was that momentum-shifting plays came from players outside of the passing attack.

Passing attack: Not to be outdone, the TCU passing offense also produced plenty of explosive plays with Josh Hoover and the TCU receivers having a very solid day against Kansas. Jack Bech again proved why he is one of the best (if not the best) wide receivers in the conference with 10 catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns. His ability to create yards after the catch and willingness to fight for yards after contact was on full display on Saturday. Eric McAlister had over 100 yards receiving for the second straight game with four catches for 100 yards and one touchdown. McAlister also flashed the ability to break tackles and run away from defenders on a 59-yard touchdown reception where he made the catch about ten yards downfield, broke a tackle, and outran the KU secondary on his way to the endzone.

Josh Hoover had a solid game, completing 28 of 37 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns. Hoover did throw two interceptions but one was more of a miscommunication between him and Savion Williams than it was a bad decision. This performance from the passing attack is even more impressive considering the talent Kansas has in the secondary with two preseason All-Big 12 First Team cornerbacks in Melo Dotson and Cobee Bryant. If the TCU receivers can consistently get open against those corners, I have a hard time seeing any Big 12 secondary slowing them down this season.

Responses: Last week against SMU, the Frogs came out flat and were unable to keep their composure and respond leading to an embarrassing blowout loss. This week, there were multiple times Kansas made big plays to create momentum but TCU calmly maintained focus, and responded which was the difference in the game. The first example was after Kansas forced a fumble on TCU’s first drive of the game and scored a touchdown to go up seven to nothing. The Frogs did not panic and Hoover calmly led the Frogs on a five-play, 92-yard touchdown drive to tie the game.

After Josh Hoover’s first interception, Kansas had the ball at TCU’s six-yard line and the Frog defense did a great job of responding and keeping KU out of the endzone and forcing a field goal. The TCU offense then responded with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that only left eight seconds on the clock in the second quarter to prevent a response from the Kansas offense. After TCU missed a field goal that would have tied the game, the defense responded by forcing a Kansas punt and JPR responded with a house call on the punt return to take the lead. TCU showed resiliency and the composure of a veteran team leading to a solid road win over Kansas.

Defensive endurance: The TCU defense did not have a strong start to the game, giving up touchdowns on both of Kansas’s first two drives. After those two drives, however, the Frogs let up just 13 points the rest of the game. Unlike in the games against UCF and SMU, the TCU defense appeared to get stronger as the game went along. Especially in the second half, TCU’s run defense tightened up, TCU’s pass rush became more disruptive, and TCU’s secondary had better coverage on Luke Grimm. Seeing the improvement in-game from the TCU defense made me much more confident going into the rest of the season.

The Bad

Turnovers: The Frogs have to do a better job protecting the football. The second interception thrown by Josh Hoover was not entirely his fault but his first pick was a late throw on an outbreaking route which is never a good ball to throw. Cam Cook had a solid game overall but needs to eliminate fumbles in future games. Two interceptions and a lost fumble on the road is a recipe for losing games you should win. Thankfully, the Frogs were able to overcome these mistakes and come out with a win, but against better teams, TCU will not be able to get away with three turnovers in a game.

Penalties: The Frogs had another game with a concerning number of penalties with five infractions for 52 yards on Saturday. Kick-off returns have been a consistent source of penalties for the Frogs with holding and block-in-the-back penalties seemingly every time TCU attempts to return a kick-off. Penalties have consistently put both the offense and defense in difficult positions to succeed this season and need to be limited moving forward.

Play of the Game

JPR. Electric.