Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot in the days of auld lang syne? I’m not going to go into a lengthy explanation of what exactly these popular New Year’s lyrics mean — you can work the Google machine yourself — but it seems appropriate enough because it’s a general query regarding the retaining or releasing of friends while reminiscing on joyous days past.
I’m comfortable representing Frog Nation in acknowledging that none of us were over-the-moon excited upon the announcement that we would play in the New Mexico Bowl against the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns, who finished second place in the mid-major Sun Belt Conference, weren’t the opponent we were hoping for. That was perhaps our collective hubris, wanting the Frogs to prove themselves against SEC mediocrity like Oklahoma, Florida, or Arkansas. Yet as I can attest, Albuquerque — called the ’Burque (pronounced Boar-kay) by those in the know — is a lovely venue to beat up on a much less fortunate team, and the Frogs did exactly that. Sure, it was sponsored by a resort that the majority of onlookers had never heard of, but blue skies and temperate weather made for a pleasing landscape to preview next year’s Frogs against a squad ravaged by injury and transfer-portal theft.
Frog receiving leader and future pro Jack Bech was sidelined with a knee injury, and general offensive weapon Savion Williams has departed to pursue his NFL aspirations, so what remained represents at least a foundational framework for next year before transfer and recruiting pieces are added. Did we like what we saw? Eh, kinda.
Kendal Briles’ offense hummed through the first half, scoring on their first four possessions as Josh Hoover — now TCU’s single-season passing record holder — connected early and often with Eric McAlister, who is now the go-to threat with Bech and Williams moving on from collegiate life.
Saturday was never close. Yet scoring 34 points against U-LA-La seemed disappointing after a 27-point first half. The offense mostly stalled after scoring on their first second-half possession. Why? Because TCU still can’t run the ball consistently, and without Williams in the backfield, it was kind of embarrassing.
The play selection was nearly balanced, 34 passes and 33 rushes, but even with three running backs receiving almost 10 touches each, no one finished with more than 50 yards, and the closest, Trent Battle, broke one nice scamper for 24 yards, which greatly skews his 42 total yards. This, in essence, explains how Hoover can eclipse Max Duggan and Trevone Boykin for Fort Worth’s single-season passing record but finish the year with an unranked team. Duggan and Boykin led their teams to second and third place AP rankings in those years, respectively. As I’ve written in the past, Briles is great at accumulating stats, but the winning-a-lot-of-games part doesn’t necessarily follow.
The Frogs are set to ingratiate UTSA transfer Kevorian Barnes to try to replace Cam Cook, who is transferring, and Trey Sanders, who is graduating. Neither departing Frog made significant headway toward TCU establishing a serviceable ground game, and their snaps had already been stolen by Battle and Jeremy Payne. I expect Cook saw two messages scribbled on the wall: “You’re not effective enough” and “We won’t scheme for your success.”
Despite deficiencies in the backfield, Hoover is acquitting himself as an excellent and maturing passer, as well as a better decision-maker as time goes on. That said, he did toss an interception on Saturday that put the Ragin’ Cajuns in position to knock through a short field goal and spoil a stellar defensive performance and potential shutout by Andy Avalos’ platoon, who have shown steady improvement through the latter portion of the season. The Frog D bullied the Cajuns to 43 total first-half yards and 151 in the second while only allowing a field goal.
Ultimately, no one can be upset about a nine-win season. Actually, eff it. I’m still going to gripe about it. This year could have been better, much better, and the veteran talent leaving, especially on offense, is disheartening considering Briles’ one-trick offense. Hoover finished 51 shy of 4,000 passing yards — are we hoping for 5,000 next season after losing two NFL-caliber receivers? Granted, fewer turnovers, and the conversation surrounding this season could be turned on its head.
Next season, because that’s what really should concern purple people, looks much more difficult, comparatively. TCU transitions back to playing against the Corn Belt teams (Kansas State and Iowa State) and swaps in what was the much better team from Utah this season, BYU. Perhaps most sobering, they’ll start their season against North Carolina, whose new coach might just be the greatest breathing schematic mind in football. Six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick is fresh to the college game with a graduate student-aged girlfriend to match. Belichick focusing his next seven months plotting against Briles’ offense should drive even the most optimistic Frog fanatic to discomfort.
This year’s staff did enough to keep their jobs, and hopes, alive. Frog athletics are undergoing a regime change while the school headhunts a new athletic director, but I’m not convinced this season wouldn’t have been better long-term if TCU had performed worse. In the case of the offense, simply sing that famous New Year’s Scottish ballad with a Champagne buzz and really ponder the rhetorical question posited. I know personally what my answer is, as you probably do, too.
