TCU Football: Frogs Cruise to Easy Win in Home Opener
TCU football returned to Amon G. Carter stadium and the Frogs offense exploded, defeating Tarleton State 59-17. TCU came in as heavy favorites and they did not play down to their competition.
The offense accumulated 630 total yards with 450 coming from the air and 180 on the ground. This was TCU's most yards of offense since 2016 where they had 688 yards in a win against Baylor. Max Duggan threw for 390 yards and five touchdowns both of which being career highs.
The team throughout the week emphasized the need for the offense to get into a rhythm early. On the first possession of the game, Duggan completed two quick passes to Quentin Johnston for 22 yards. They would eventually face a fourth down situation, but Taye Barber had a 12-yard reception to keep the series alive. The drive would end with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Derius Davis. The Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week finished the game with two catches for 23 yards, one touchdown and a 2-point conversion.
Following an interception by Josh Newton, the Frogs would score on its third possession of the game via a touchdown pass from Duggan to Jared Wiley from six yards out. TCU ended up scoring on 9 of its 12 possessions. The only series that didn't result in points came on a missed field goal, a fumble, and their only punt of the game coming with less than two minutes left.
A 44-yard completion from Duggan to Blake Nowell set up TCU's third scoring drive which resulted in a one-yard score from Kendre Miller. Duggan looked very comfortable in the pocket. Tarleton State didn't record a sack the entire game and Duggan had plenty of time to go through his progressions and find the open receiver.
TCU went up 38-7 at the half. The second half saw a lot of players get some playing time. The Frogs had 88 players see action and 15 players combined for 34 receptions. This was a great opportunity for Head Coach Sonny Dykes to give players opportunities to find their role on the team and bolster the confidence of his players.
True freshman Jordan Hudson led the team in receiving yards hauling in five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. His first career touchdown came on a 29-yard catch. The Horned Frogs also utilized three quarterbacks going with Duggan, Sam Jackson, who had a rushing score, and Josh Hoover.
| Team Stats | Tarleton State | TCU |
|---|---|---|
TIme of Possession | 25:18 | 34:42 |
Total Yards | 295 | 630 |
Passing Yards | 210 | 450 |
Rushing Yards | 85 | 180 |
Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
As for the Tarleton side, it was tough sledding on both sides of the ball. The Horned Frogs' defense was swarming and had great pursuit on the football. The defense had a tough time getting to the quarterback leaving the secondary struggling to guard TCU's receivers. One of the few bright spots was sophomore Darius Cooper who finished the game with an impressive six catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Coach Dykes became the first TCU head coach to win his first two opening games since Dutch Meyer in 1934.
Tarleton State will head back home to take on Eastern New Mexico next Saturday at 6 p.m. The Frogs enter their early bye week before they head to Dallas to take on SMU in the battle for the Iron Skillet.
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