TCU Football: Keys to the Game at Baylor
Head Coach Sonny Dykes and the Horned Frogs clinched a berth in the Big 12 Championship game with their 17-10 victory over the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.
In a game that was dominated by defenses, the Frogs shut down an explosive Texas offense, holding them to only 199 total yards of offense. Despite this victory, the offense was severely halted with the exception of a 75 yard rushing touchdown by Kendre Miller and a 31-yard touchdown catch by Quentin Johnston.
Nonetheless, the Frogs secured a massive victory in enemy territory and improved to 10-0 on the season. With this, TCU Football will make its way to Waco to face the 6-4 Baylor Bears. For the Frogs to make it eleven wins on the season, they will have to execute these keys to the game on Saturday.
Establish the passing game early:
One issue TCU ran into against the Longhorns was the offense’s inability to establish the passing game.
Max Duggan started the game 0-6 before getting his first completion which went for a loss of six yards. On top of careless offensive penalties, this set the Frogs back in the first half, putting the team in difficult positions on the field.
By establishing the passing game, whether that be through short completions just to get the ball rolling, the Frogs must have a better start against the Baylor Bears. Furthermore, once the passing game is established, it will open up the game for TCU to utilize the ground game through Miller, who had 138 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Alternatively, Emari Demercado also contributed to the Frogs’ offense, primarily in the fourth quarter, accumulating 65 rushing yards on 11 carries.
With the Bears conceding an average of 132.8 rushing yards per game, the Horned Frogs will have a tough matchup on Saturday.
Play disciplined defense:
The Frogs did a phenomenal job in limiting the Longhorns passing game by its cornerbacks and safeties playing smart and disciplined.
Trev’ius Hodges-Tomlinson, a player that has struggled somewhat this season, had a tremendous performance where he picked off quarterback Quinn Ewers. While Hodges-Tomlinson has been the headline name among TCU’s corners, Abe Camara and Josh Newton have put together quite exceptional seasons themselves.
While these three players will be crucial to TCU’s defense, linebackers Jamoi Hodge, Johnny Hodges, and Dee Winters have played a shutdown role throughout the season and will also be key factors in Saturday’s game.
Apply pressure on the offensive line:
If the Frogs can replicate what they did against the Longhorns offensive line on Saturday, the team will be in great shape to pick up another victory. By putting pressure on the offensive line, Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen could find it difficult to get any sort of rhythm and move the football.
TCU’s defensive line broke through numerous times against the Longhorns which truly unsettled Ewers. Forcing him to make rash decisions, TCU was able to limit his ability and that of his offensive weapons. Additionally, the Frogs picked up sacks from Dylan Horton and Tymon Mitchell, who will both be called upon to apply pressure from the edge rush.
If the Frogs rush Shapen and shut down the passing game, it will make the defensive plan to stop the run that much more straightforward. Just as they did against Texas, the Frogs limited the passing game and were able to focus on preventing big plays on the ground from Bijan Robinson, who was held to a mere 29 rushing yards.
Disrupting Shapen and preventing Baylor running back Richard Reese and the ground game will be crucial in the Frogs’ quest to victory in Waco.
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Visit the Inside the Bears site, another FanNation site, to see what they are saying about the upcoming game with TCU.
