From the other side: Horned Frogs seek rebound after loss at Iowa State

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas head coach Tom Herman never would admit it, but it’s not unrealistic to suggest that he would have preferred to play TCU last week instead of this week.

Make no mistake: TCU was a good team then and is a good team now, and will present a daunting challenge for the Longhorns. But prior to last weekend, the Horned Frogs were undefeated, creeping their way through the nation’s top 10 teams, with an eye on what they hoped would be a possible invitation to take part in the four-team college football playoff. That plan was ruined — or at the very least, stalled — when the then-No. 4 Horned Frogs then went up to Ames, Iowa and lost, 14-7, to Iowa State.

Part of what made the game sting for the Frogs was [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]the fact that TCU lost in an un-TCU-like performance in which the offense seemed a little out of sync, the normally stout defense missed tackles, and the normally disciplined Horned Frogs were flagged for 11 penalties.

The Frogs’ potentially perfect season was wrecked. TCU players and coaches said what was expected after the game, about how their goals all remained in reach, and the way top teams have been getting upset this year, they’re probably right. But now the Horned Frogs need help from other teams to get back among the ranks of the nation’s top-ranked teams.

Anyone who thinks the Horned Frogs aren’t going to show up Saturday looking to prove a point with a strong performance and a convincing victory have not spent much time watching TCU head coach Gary Patterson, whose team has seven victories for the ninth time in his 17 years as the team’s head coach. Patterson is a solid defensive coach, a stickler for detail who can’t stand losing and a coach who gets his team ready for big games in Fort Worth: TCU is 19-0 in Patterson’s career in home games against top-10 teams (in the Associated Press poll). No, Texas isn’t a top-10 team, but after watching the Frogs jump the tracks against Iowa State, it wouldn’t be surprising if Patterson and his coaching staff have convinced their players that the Longhorns are as good as any team in the country.

The Frogs reflect their coach. In an era in which just about every team is running an offense with elements of a quick-strike spread formation, TCU can score in a hurry, but it’s built around a running game that averages 195 rushing yards per game, and the Big 12’s best defense, a unit that has surrendered just 14.8 points per game this season.

The TCU offense is piloted by quarterback Kenny Hill, who has completed 158 of 233 passes (67.8 percent) this year for 1,863 yards and 15 touchdowns, while coughing up just five interceptions.

Hill has a balanced approach to the passing game, as the top four receivers have similar numbers: John Diarse shares the team lead with 23 receptions and has a team-leading 367 rushing yards. KaVontae Turpin also has 23 catches (for 236 yards), followed by Desmon White (22/248) and Jalen Reagor (19/308 and a team-leading four receiving touchdowns).

The rushing attack is led by 5-11, 205-pound sophomore Darius Anderson, who leads the team in carries (103) and rushing yards (627) and is tied with bruising (6-3, 225) Sewo Olonilua for the team lead with six rushing touchdowns.

The TCU defense is led by senior linebacker Travin Howard (6-1, 213), an honorable mention All-Big 12 honoree last year and the Defensive MVP of last year’s Valero Alamo Bowl. Howard is typical Patterson linebacker in that he makes up for less-than-ideal size with good speed and a motor without an off switch. He leads the Frogs with 60 tackles through eight games; only two teammates have more total tackles than Howard’s 39 solo tackles (safety Nick Orr has 43 and safety Ridwan Issahaku has 40). Orr also has two interceptions.

The defensive front is led by junior defensive end Ben Banogu, a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe who has 9.5 tackles for loss and has a team-leading 4.5 sacks; Issahaku is second with 5.0 tackles for loss, while linebacker Mat Boesen is second with 4.0 sacks.

On special teams, most opponents try to avoid kicking to Turpin, who might be the best returner in the country and the guy who prevented TCU getting shut out by the Cyclones last week when he took returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. He averages 16.3 yards on punt returns — one of which he returned 90 yards for a touchdown — and 35.0 yards on kickoff returns.

Kicker Jonathan Song is perfect this season on seven field goal attempts with a long of 39 yards and has converted 36 of 38 extra points, while Adam Nunez has averaged. 38.6 yards on 36 punts, with a long of 58 and 17 dropping inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

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