MMQB: Savion Wildfrog > Wildcats

The Frogs took care of business at home against Arizona

The Frogs cruised to their second straight blowout victory with a 49-28 win over the Arizona Wildcats this past Saturday. TCU was clicking on all cylinders as they outgained the Wildcats by over 100 yards of total offense. The Frogs have won four of their last five games and have a chance to reach eight wins on the season on the road against Cincinnati this week.

The Good:

Halftime adjustment: Arizona’s defensive game plan coming into the game was to send exotic blitzes early and often, to try and overwhelm a TCU offensive line that has struggled at times in 2024. In the first half, the Wildcats slowed down the TCU passing attack, forcing a few errant throws from Josh Hoover and picking up a couple of sacks. The TCU coaching staff made a key adjustment at halftime to employ 12 personnel (two tight ends and one running back) more often in the second half. Having two tight ends on the field helped the pass protection unit considerably, and the Frogs had no issues moving the ball in the second half. DJ Rogers and Drake Dabney did a solid job chipping edge rushers before releasing to their route and pass-blocking when called upon. Credit also needs to be given to Josh Hoover for his toughness and willingness to stand in the pocket and take hits to deliver the ball on time.

Rushing attack: TCU’s rushing attack had one of its best games of the season, totaling over 150 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Savion Williams again boosted his draft stock with a great game rushing the football with nine carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Williams forced plenty of missed tackles and averaged almost nine yards per carry. Trent Battle had two touchdowns of his own and brought much-needed physicality to the running back room. Battle’s return from injury has been an underrated spark for the TCU running game. Both Jeremy Payne and Cam Cook had touchdowns and ran the ball well against Arizona. The offensive line generated solid movement against the Wildcat defensive front and TCU ball carriers took full advantage on Saturday.

Safeties: A pair of TCU safeties had great games on Saturday with Bud Clark and Cam Smith playing well. Clark collected his third interception of the season on the first play from scrimmage by Arizona. Clark undercut an out-breaking route and generated instant momentum that TCU never let go of. Clark nearly picked up a second interception and had six tackles to go along with solid work in pass coverage. It was great to see the long-time Horned Frog show out on Senior Day. Smith had a couple of very impressive open-field tackles against the Wildcats and finished with six total tackles, one of which was for a loss. The transfer from Memphis has been a solid rotational player for the Frogs since returning from an early-season injury.

Run defense: The much-maligned TCU run defense was excellent against Arizona, holding the Wildcats to 1.9 yards per carry as a team. Arizona managed just 39 total rushing yards and did not have a rushing touchdown against TCU. Markis Deal’s return from injury was key for the Frogs as he was tremendous in run defense against Arizona. The redshirt freshman figures to be a big part of the TCU defense for the rest of 2024 and future seasons. Cooper McDonald also returned from injury and had a solid game picking up half a sack and a couple of solid tackles. Credit to the TCU defensive front for making Arizona completely one-dimensional on Saturday.

JPR: Another senior who showed out in the final home game of their TCU career was JP Richardson. JPR racked up six catches for 107 yards and a touchdown and had excellent punt returns on Saturday. An underrated aspect of JPR’s contributions to TCU has been his steadying of the punt-returning job. After the departure of Derius Davis to the NFL, the Frogs tried out multiple punt returners in 2023 who struggled with muffs and fumbles before JPR took over, and he has been very reliable ever since. Richardson has been a reliable target in the passing game and a great returner during his time at TCU.

Penalties: At the beginning of the 2024 season, preventable penalties were a large issue for the Frogs. TCU has made a concerted effort to cut down on those mistakes and that was on full display on Saturday as TCU was called for just two penalties against Arizona. The in-season improvement in presnap penalties and penalties as a whole has been encouraging to watch.

The Bad:

Pass protection: While the coaching staff made a good adjustment to counter the blitzes Arizona was sending, those blitzes should not have been as successful as they were in the second half. The pass protection unit for the Frogs had far too many miscommunications leading to free rushers and big hits on Josh Hoover. Arizona did a good job mixing up their looks and sending pressure from different places, but TCU needs to do a better job protecting the quarterback moving forward.

Play of the Game:

JPR putting a defender on skates for a touchdown. Also, shoutout to Josh Hoover for standing in the pocket and taking a hit after the throw.