“It don’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning is winning.” Vin Diesel is correct. It is irrelevant how lackluster the Frogs were on Saturday. A win is a win. TCU squeaked past an equally atrocious Kansas State Wildcat team last weekend to achieve their fourth win of this forgettable season.
Blink, and You Could Miss It
Watching this contest was miserable. Victory made the suffering worthwhile. These anemic offenses scored only four times. The upside is that you could easily catch an early-bird dinner after this snoozefest that lasted barely three hours. The West Virginia at Texas game wasn’t even halfway through the third quarter when this debacle ended, despite both games starting in the same time slot. Punting aficionados marveled at the 14 combined kicks into heavy, swirling winds.
4th and None
Frog quarterback Michael Collins was funkified all day. He completed only half of his passes, and his receiving corps didn’t help by dropping numerous catchable balls. The running game performed terribly with 57 yards. Running back Darius Anderson greeted Kansas State defenders in the backfield all game as the offensive line continued to catch defenders instead of push them. The offense was stuffed on 4th-and-1 for the second game in a row. Anderson managed a rushing touchdown in the first quarter after a beautifully designed misdirection allowed him to sashay into the end zone untouched.
Reagornomics
The Wildcats outgained the Frogs by 26 yards, yet in a wild plot twist, TCU won the turnover battle. The Frogs lost one fumble but gobbled up two from K-State and intercepted a ball for a third defensive turnover. Coach Gary Patterson’s purple players ended their three-game losing streak by limiting their mistakes in a game when the offense couldn’t produce. Jalen Reagor snagged an arching pass from Collins in the center of the field and stiff-armed his defender while running backward before unleashing his speed for a 67-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Wildcat placekicker Blake Lynch aided the Frogs by missing the extra point after a fourth-quarter touchdown to keep TCU in the lead 14-13.
Couch-Burning Bout
It was agonizing watching TCU play Oklahoma. Watching them face West Virginia might be worse. The Frogs are traveling to Morgantown to take on the seventh-ranked team in the land in the early game this weekend. The Mountaineers snatched victory from Texas in the closing seconds of their game in Austin last week. Quarterback Will Grier is a legitimate contender for the Heisman Trophy with more than 2,600 yards and 28 touchdowns. Head coach Dana Holgorsen engineers a facsimile offense to TCU and Texas Tech by passing first and asking questions later. The Mountaineers’ sole loss this season came against the Cyclones of Iowa State, who are ranked in the Top 25 in the college football playoff and might be the statement victory for the flailing Frogs this season. No analyst in the country is going to pick TCU to compete with WVU, but weird things can occur in Morgantown (cue: banjos). Holgorsen’s boys are on a crash course for back-to-back games with Oklahoma in their season finale and again in the Big 12 championship. TCU can put up a fight if Collins has a sharp game and the offense continues to secure the football. Grier will throw for at least four touchdowns. The offense will have to surge to life to keep pace. Here’s hoping the Mountaineers are in look-ahead mode.
