MMQB: Let it Snow

The Frogs finished the regular season on a high note with a 20-13 win over Cincinnati.

The Frogs closed out the regular season with a win on the road over Cincinnati by a final score of 20-13. Snowy conditions in the second half slowed down both offenses but the Frogs’ defense played well allowing TCU to hold on for the win. While this game was not the most comfortable win for the Frogs, conference road wins are not easy to come by, especially in less-than-optimal weather conditions. TCU moved to 8-4 with the win and 6-3 in the Big 12 and will now await their bowl destination.

The Good

Defense: It was not a perfect performance from the TCU defense on Saturday but the Frogs played well overall, holding Cincinnati to just 13 points. Markis Deal had a great game against the Bearcats with four tackles, three of which were for a loss, and one sack. Since being moved into a starting role, Deal has been the best defensive lineman for the Frogs with excellent work in run defense and solid pass rush up the middle. Bud Clark and Jamel Johnson both had solid games each with eight tackles. Clark also picked up a forced fumble and Johnson had a tackle for loss. Abe Camara played very well coming down from his safety spot to stop the run, picking up a forced fumble in the process. Multiple players for the Frogs showcased excellent ball skills in pass defense as Namdi Obiazor and Cam Smith both had key pass breakups while LaMareon James had two of his own. Channing Canada made an impressive interception in the end zone to force a red zone turnover and prevent points from Cincinnati. The Frog defense did a great job protecting the lead in the second half despite some struggles from the offense.

Forcing turnovers: Forcing turnovers has not been a strength for the TCU defense this season but against Cincinnati, the Frogs did a good job stealing extra possessions for the offense. The TCU defense forced two fumbles, recovering one of them, and picked off a pass on Saturday. Special teams deserves some credit as they took advantage of a muffed punt to give the TCU offense a short field, sparking the first touchdown of the game. The turnovers forced by the Frogs were the difference in the game.

Ethan Craw: In a low-scoring, defensive battle in bad weather conditions for offense, field position becomes very important and Ethan Craw kept the Frogs ahead in that facet of the game. Craw had distance on punts that needed distance and touch on punts to pin the Bearcats near their own end zone. Craw had four punts downed inside the Cincinnati 20 and a punt that went 65 yards on Saturday. Craw did an excellent job limiting returns as the Bearcats did not pick up a single yard on punt returns against the Frogs. Craw slammed the door on Cincinnati with a punt downed on the Cinci three-yard line with one minute left in the game and the Frogs up by seven. It was a great game from Frog punter Ethan Craw.

Hauss Hejny: TCU’s rushing offense did not have a good game on Saturday. The Frogs averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and the usually reliable Savion Wildfrog offense was not as successful as normal. The one aspect of the TCU rushing game that was solid on Saturday was true freshman Hauss Hejny in the quarterback running game. Hejny had eight carries for 48 yards against the Bearcats. Hejny flashed solid patience and vision running between the tackles and lightning quickness to accelerate away from defenders. Hejny was clocked in high school running a 4.45 40-yard dash and showed off that rushing potential on Saturday. The coaching staff trusts Hejny as they put him into the game on TCU’s final drive to put the game away and TCU fans should be very excited for the future with Hejny eventually under center.

Pass Protection: While other parts of the offense were up and down against Cincinnati, pass protection was consistent throughout the game. Cincinnati had no sacks on the day and Josh Hoover had a clean pocket to work with all game. This is even more impressive considering Cincinnati has been a solid pass-rushing team this season, entering the game against TCU with 21 sacks as a team. The TCU pass protection unit was rock solid against the Bearcats.

The Bad

Run defense: The one hiccup for the TCU defense against Cincinnati was stopping the run. The Bearcats totaled 214 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, averaging 5.5 yards per carry as a team. Corey Kiner was very effective, picking up 110 yards and a touchdown on the ground and averaging almost five yards per carry. The Frogs struggled to stop both the designed quarterback run and quarterback scramble as Brendan Sorsby averaged 7.8 yards per carry on his way to 93 yards and a touchdown. A consistent issue for the Frog defense was stopping the second effort by Bearcat ball carriers. There were plenty of plays on Saturday where the defensive line for the Frogs clogged up inside rushing lanes but the ball carrier was able to change directions in the backfield, bounce the run outside, and pick up chunk yardage. Credit to Kiner and Sorsby for staying patient and finding cutback lanes, but the Frogs needed to do a better job making tackles when the initial momentum of the run was stopped. The TCU defense played well overall, but the run defense has some things to improve on.

Rushing attack: After a few weeks of a successful running game sparked by the involvement of Savion Williams in the backfield, TCU’s rushing attack was stopped by the Cincinnati defense. Yes, Savion was not 100% in this game and yes the conditions were not ideal, but the Frogs needed to do a better job running the football, especially in the second half. Outside of Hauss Hejny, TCU ball carriers averaged just 3.2 yards per carry on the game and totaled under 100 yards rushing. To have success offensively in the bowl game, the Frogs will need to get more push from the offensive line and more broken tackles from the running backs.

Second-half offense: The TCU offense was held scoreless in the second half, allowing Cincinnati to come back and make this game more stressful than it should have been. Jack Bech and Savion Williams being hurt in this game did play a role in the offensive struggles, but wide receiver is the position with the most depth for the Frogs and they should’ve been able to move the ball better even with those injuries. Hoover did not play his best game of the season with some accuracy struggles. The receivers dropped at least three passes that would have resulted in first downs and chunk yardage. The running game struggled as mentioned above. After a solid first half from the offense, TCU could not move the ball to put the game away in the second half.

Play of the Game

Channing Canada tracking a pass down to create a red zone turnover.