TCU Football: What Did We Learn Against Oklahoma State

After a 38-13 dismantling of Oklahoma State, what can Horned Frog fans take away that doesn't appear in the stat sheet?

TCU defensive line against Oklahoma State 11/10/2024 / Tony Beblowski, KillerFrogs

Finally, it happened, and fans got to watch the TCU Horned Frogs play a complete game. It took ten games into the season, but it's better late than never. So, let's dive into it and find out what you learned from this game.

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The Good

TCU is Bowl Eligible

After a disappointing 2023 season, one that saw the Frogs miss out on a bowl game, Sonny Dykes and Co. rectified it and reached bowl eligibility with two games remaining in the 2024 season. Post-game, Dykes talked about how big of a goal that is for his staff, and not because that is what they are aiming for, but rather because the program has gone through so many rollercoaster seasons that Dykes is hoping to find consistency at a minimum of bowl eligibility. He hit that this season, and even though it seemed the season was lost at times, he steadied the ship. For that, he deserves commendation.

No Turnovers

There were two straight games where the offense did not turn over the ball once and two consecutive games where the offense clicked straight out of the gate. Dykes talked about how they were trying to limit their turnovers as that has been the biggest issue, and it's worked. The offense has looked completely different the past two games and has found sustained success throughout the game rather than at times while still having stallouts.

The Defense

Not only did this group have a shutout going in the first half, but they forced three turnovers, including an Ollie Gordon II fumble while the Cowboys were driving. There have been question marks all year for this group, and I've gone on record saying that I don't think they are playing horribly; they just needed to execute better, and they finally did. Andy Avalos deserves a bunch of credit because he had his group ready to play this week, playing with more physicality and flying all over the field. The biggest question will be whether they can carry this performance over to the season's last two games.

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The Bad

Frustration

Yes. I know. I should be happy with the win because they played a complete game for the first time this season, but it made me more frustrated about the year after this performance. This was the team that we had seen flashes of all season long, the team that was promised all fall camp, and they finally showed up. I'm not saying it is a bad thing because at least they did, but it makes you wonder what this season could have been had the team played this way every week, but for that, we will never know.

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