Well, Saturday was something. Halloween Saturday in a pandemic didn’t disappoint. My 3-year-old rejected even the suggestion of napping in anticipation of his impending Hershey’s coma that evening. I participated in socially distanced trunk and trick-or-treating, and I leapt from opposing ends of the emotional spectrum as I spectated our Frogs in their holy struggle against the Bears in Waco.
Gary Patterson’s one-win Toads received the ball and promptly sputtered — luckily for purple faithful, Baylor have proven themselves to be an even more inept offense this season. Wrought with COVID protocols, the Bears’ offensive line featured all expected starters for the first time this season. It made little difference as the green and gold mirrored their religious rivals by doing nothing positive with the football, but on the follow-up attempt by Max Duggan (#15), success followed. The purple QB and company marched down the field in chunks and closed a forceful drive with a Darwin Barlow (#24) touchdown. For a team who scored only twice against the Sooners last week, an early TD was akin to government stimulus arriving in your bank account: You know it’s supposed to be coming, but you’re skeptical it will really arrive. Baylor’s senior quarterback Charlie Brewer (#5) tossed three passes, completing only one worth two yards before kicking it back to TCU. Derius Davis (#12) thought the Bears required more attempts on offense, so he returned their punt 67 yards for a Frog score. If Davis isn’t a perfect model for Christian generosity, I don’t know who is. Brewer attempted twice as many passes on the next drive before he was intercepted by LaKendrick Van Zandt (#20). Five plays later, Duggan and teammates celebrated in the end zone again, though it was short-lived when Griffin Kell (#39) Ray Finkle’d the extra point. Sitting with a 20-nought lead, TCU continued to impress by adding another 10 points for a season-best 30 points in the first half. Even five-star freshman Zach Evans (#6) ripped off a 30-yard touchdown sprint for his first collegiate points. It was after Evans’ score, surrounded by my loving family, when I felt the primal urge to duct tape every mouth in my household. My loving daughter, a mere 10 years old, uttered the unforgivable phrase “Man, TCU is crushing them” more than once. The horror I felt in that moment eclipsed any haunted house I’d ever visited or even the fright experienced watching the Mr. Boogedy movie on television as a young child.
“We don’t say that, sweety,” I calmly reminded her through clenched teeth. “There’s a lot of time left.”
My suspicions and skepticism were confirmed when Duggan fumbled the ball shortly before halftime, awarding the Bears a short field leading to an inspirational touchdown for the home squad heading to the locker room. The opening drives of the second half delivered comfort as Patterson called in extra pressure against the past-his-prime Brewer, sacking him repeatedly. The next Frog drive added a Kell field goal to extend TCU’s lead to 33-7 before something went amiss. Duggan and company started misfiring while the Bears stacked plays leading to longer and more successful drives. First a field goal, then a touchdown, and what was once a comfortable lead dwindled to two possessions with no execution from Sonny Cumbie’s offense. Another Baylor touchdown followed by a failed conversion advanced the anxiety as the score went to 33-23 in favor of the Frogs. The momentum had obviously oozed toward the home sideline.
It was that moment when I pondered about the mindset of the Oregon Duck during the Alamo Bowl as his team’s once-commanding lead evaporated. Luckily for Patterson, Cumbie, and all Frog faithful, the purple defenders clung to life and prevented further damage, and this scary Saturday ended with a Frog victory, improving to a 2-3 record and one step closer to a sweep of Texas’ Big 12 squads. But it was hard to feel good about this victory. Winning by one point should still be great, but when you were up 30, it doesn’t feel as positive. This is a rivalry, and watching TCU dominate long enough to lose their wind and allow what can only be described as the worst Baylor squad in a decade to fight their way back is demoralizing if nothing else. These Frogs aren’t the best we’ve had recently, that’s an understatement, but if they can tap into their first-half energy through the second half of the season, more wins are on the horizon. Second-half TCU was terrible, will-struggle-against-Kansas-if-that’s-who-shows-up terrible. The next and final in-state test for TCU is Saturday afternoon when the Red Raiders ride into town. The tortilla tossers are essentially tied with the Frogs when evaluating their performance against common opponents, minus Tech’s Longhorn loss in overtime. Lubbock high school notched its first conference win two weeks ago against the Mountaineers before their Sooner shellacking. There’s been quarterback shuffling in West Texas as starter Alan Bowman is riding the bench in favor of transfer junior Henry Colombi. Colombi is safer with the football but less dynamic. The Raider attack is more balanced than in past years, and they’ll mirror the Frogs in trying to split their run and pass reps equally. The most concerning overall stat is that TCU has yet to protect their home turf this season.
Around the league, our friends continue to burn the Big 12 to the ground with infighting. Oklahoma State, who was declared the team to beat after shutting down Iowa State last week, fell in overtime to Texas. It is now my prediction, as it has been in years past, that this dumpster fire of a season will culminate with Oklahoma winning the conference yet again by beating their in-state rival twice. The Sooners started this year with losses to ISU and KSU but are steadily improving behind their freshman quarterback. The Cyclones and Wildcats will sustain enough damage by the end of the season to vault the crimson and cream to at least a second-place position, allowing OU to win the conference championship game. In many ways, this season is shaping up like a standard-issue horror film: twists, turns, bloodshed, carnage, and a predictable ending delivered in an unfamiliar way.
