TCU Football: What Did We Learn from the SMU Game?
The 102nd meeting for the Iron Skillet was Saturday, and what a showing it was from the Horned Frogs. All week, SMU fans were going on and on about how this year would be different, the same way they do every year. Yet, this game ended like 18 of the other 22 games played this decade have, with a TCU victory. This was the closest TCU has come to playing a complete game all season, and it was a fantastic showing on both sides of the ball.
As usual, after every game, I will break down the negatives and positives, and this week will be no different.
TCU quarterback Chandler Morris
Tony Beblowski/KillerFrogs
The Negatives
Rushing Defense
TCU only allowed 158 yards rushing, but over 100 yards came in the first half. Deep runs of 7+ yards shredded the defense, and SMU’s offensive line opened up massive holes. TCU was better in the second half and made stops when they stacked the box, but this was the first team to challenge the Frogs to stop the run. With no Johnny Hodges, this could be an issue we see more teams take advantage of soon. I say that to not take anything anyway from Shad Banks; he played a great game and deserves to continue to see the field. Next week will be a tough test against a West Virginia team that will run the ball often since their starting quarterback is out with an injury.
The Positives
Chandler Morris
He is here; he is who TCU fans were promised. I wrote last week that he was one of the positive takeaways of the game, and I will continue to do so every week he keeps showing out. Morris finished with 299 passing yards, 38 rushing yards, and three touchdowns. Morris finished with the most crucial stat line on the day: no interceptions. Limiting the turnovers was a massive step toward getting a complete game from the TCU quarterback. Morris will continue to build upon his success and will only improve week after week. TCU will only go as far as Morris will take them.
The Secondary
The secondary has finally shown up. They gave up three big chunk plays, which will happen; every team has those against them. The secondary ended the game with two interceptions from Bud Clark and Josh Newton. After starting the season a little shaky, the TCU defense is here to play. If the secondary can become what fans thought it would be, that frees up the linebackers to blitz more and assist the defensive line in getting pressure to the quarterback.
This was a great game overall by TCU. The effort and the energy shown this week will need to be carried over from week to week as the schedule gets more challenging. If the team can use every week as a building block, this team can go as far as they want; they have the talent and coaching. West Virginia will be an arduous task. Neal Brown has that team fired up and playing well, but TCU should be able to handle business if they played like they did this week.
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