LISTEN! KillerFrogs Podcast Episode 179: Bringing Back The Fun With John Diarse

The gang is joined by TCU veteran John Diarse to discuss keys to the game, Max Duggan's Heisman possibilities, and other things of momentous importance

TCU finishes 12-0 in the regular season setting up a rematch against Kansas State for the B12 Championship on Saturday. Nathan (Hernandez), Nick (Howard), and Sean (Foushee) are joined by TCU great John Diarse to discuss the keys to the game and what the Frogs need to do to keep rolling this season.

The podcast begins with the Iowa State game in which TCU “absolutely destroys Iowa State at home, 62-14, in a game that got out of control by the end of the first quarter. The Frogs actually score more in the first half against Iowa State than any other team has scored against them all season long.”

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33:38

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This transitions to a discussion about the Big 12 Championship against Kansas State. Foushee suggests “a lot of Frog fans feel that the Big 12 rushed through this decision to put together a Big 12 Championship game together after the 2014 season, which I’m glad we’ve got John on tonight and Nathan, they can certainly speak to that experience, but this game looks to be the best match of the conference championship games, at least on this slate for the season.”

Foushee brings Howard in to discuss how TCU might fare against Kansas State.  Howard replies: “The defense has got to be on point. I see no problem with that because Shannon brought it up a few weeks ago. When they played Texas, that was the staple for their first big defensive game. Since then they haven’t really backslided. They’ve only continued to make statements from then on out. Granted, they played at Baylor, but it’s always going to be tough playing at Baylor. But then they made a statement again when they played against Iowa State so I feel like as long as the defense continues to do what they do, the offense can be comfortable and the offense can do what they can do."

Addressing whether or not the defense may be better prepared against Kansas State than in the last game, Diarse says: “We call that ‘Sudden Change,' when you kind of game plan for something and out of nowhere you have an injury and now you have to defend against a new guy. I think that having that prior film definitely gives them a leeway to get creative on defense, but I think Kansas State, on the other hand, has to see how solid our defense has been playing the last few weeks and understand our defense is not the same defense they faced before.”

Diarse points out that both teams boast great backfields. Foushee asks if Hernandez feels that the defense is ready to face another back of this caliber at this point in the season. Hernandez replies: “Because we have that experience against them we can kind of game plan a little better. Throughout the season we’ve made good halftime adjustments. We’ve had more time to make adjustments with this game, so hopefully we can see that we can start to shut them down, better than we did last time.”

The conversation turns to offense. Asked how he sees the comparison between Max Duggan and Trevone Boykin, Diarse says: “Game management would be the best word I can describe because I think with any great team that’s winning and undefeated your quarterback has to be able to manage the game. Both guys have arm talent obviously. Both offenses have an explosive receiver, a great running back, there’s a lot of similarities. It’s very, very comparable.”

Foushee asks Diarse, relative to how much the team has exceeded all expectations, how he feels about TCU’s chances for the rest of the season. “I think they are just as competent as we were. They can make it all the way to the Big Dance. Sometimes in a program you just need a little bit of a change. A little bit of new energy. And I think those kids at TCU definitely deserve that. You can see that these kids are enjoying the game. Everybody’s on the same page, everybody understands the mission, everybody’s doing their role really well. To be where they are right now, what better team deserves it?”

Directing the conversation back to offense, particularly Duggan, Foushee asks Howard (the chairman of the Max Duggan-For-Heisman-Fan-Club) how he feels about his chances. Howard responds: “As long as he gets the chance to get to New York, he’s already got a couple awards under his belt. Hopefully he can keep the Davy O’Brien award here in Fort Worth. That would be really nice. It would be nice to see him on TV. Make sure we can get a couple posters so we can send them wherever. Max for Heisman, you know?”

Continuing on the Heisman discussion, Foushee addresses Duggan's comparison with Caleb Williams. “It is a strong one, and I think that the argument could be made that TCU has played better competition. And that Max probably has a better story from a leadership perspective, even slightly so. But, overall, I like Max’s energy that he brings to this team, I love the fact that it’s not just him. John was saying this earlier: ‘They’re having fun.’ And it’s good to see guys getting rewarded for doing things the right way and bringing the game back to what it is. A game. And having fun. It’s been really serious around TCU for the last several years, and it’s good to see this change that Sonny Dykes has brought to the program. And see it translate to the field. It would be nice to see him invited, I think he will be invited. But do you think he might place second in voting (to Howard)?”

Howard replies: “Second or third. He’s doing what Caleb Williams did last year. Caleb didn’t win Heisman last year. You can only reach for so much when they keep throwing numbers at you. They’re going to keep discrediting TCU whichever way they can. He’s led them to an undefeated season. And it’s like ‘Look at Big 12 Competition.’ Well, look at PAC12 competition. So you can only hope that he’ll get second or third. But I’m still rooting for him.”

Asked if TCU is getting an unfair shake in the national media, Diarse replies: “I definitely feel like that. Not just being biased but as a football fan. For a program like that not only to sustain a program like that but to actually go undefeated. Reminds me of UCF. Because they’re not normally in that spotlight of top tier football teams they don’t get the recognition.”

The conversation shifts to what the keys are for TCU to be able to beat Kansas State. Hernandez replies: “In football momentum is huge. Momentum can carry a team really, really far. Can’t let Kansas State get out early, can’t let them keep rolling. The best thing for us is just to stay on top of them.”

Foushee agrees on the momentum bit. Bringing Howard in, he asks Howard if Kansas State has more momentum coming into this game than TCU. Howard replies:  “You look at a lot of teams TCU has played, they learned how to control the game. Remember Nate saying a few weeks ago they’re learning how to kill the other team’s momentum.”

The podcast ends with score predictions:

Howard: 35-21. TCU

Hernandez: 37-34. TCU

Diarse: 35-21 or 42-21. TCU

Foushee: 45-27. TCU 

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