Here’s what we learned from the No. 8 TCU Horned Frogs taking down the No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth.
The No. 8 TCU Horned Frogs improved their record to a perfect 5-0 with a hard-fought 31-24 win over the No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday afternoon to keep in the College Football Playoff hunt.
Justin Crawford and the West Virginia offense managed to make some plays against the ultra-athletic TCU offense on a long early field goal drive to take an initial 3-0 advantage. Even more impressively, the Mountaineers’ beleaguered rush defense managed to shut down TCU’s running back duo of Darius Anderson and Kyle Hicks to help quiet a rocking Amon G. Carter Stadium.
With their offense sputtering, the Horned Frogs caught a break near the end of the first on a Jovani Stewart muffed punt, and went ahead moments later on a short Sewo Olonilua touchdown run. Kenny Hill was pressured heavily and couldn’t get the TCU offense rolling, but punter Adam Nunez managed to pin the Mountaineers inside their own 5-yard line four different times in the first half to help preserve the 7-3 lead.
The Mountaineers’ offense continued to stall on the opening drive of the second half, as no receivers other than Greg Jennings could get involved, leaving Grier with few options down the field. TCU then finally found some rhythm thanks to a long Hicks run and pushed the lead to 10-3 at 8:36 mark of the third on a 37-yard Jonathan Song field goal.
A sluggish contest would suddenly turn into a wild back-and-forth shootout suddenly afterwards. TCU picked off a wayward Grier overthrow and went up 17-3 midway through the third, only to see the Mountaineers connect on two long passing touchdowns to tie the game with under two minutes to go in the quarter.
Gary Patterson decided to get creative to help his sluggish passing offense, as KaVontae Turpin hit Hill on a 48-yard trick play touchdown to give the Horned Frogs the lead once again. Not to be outdone, Grier battled his way down the field and found David Sills in the end zone for the second time to make it a 24-24 game with 9:50 left.
True freshman receiver Jalen Reagor tallied his second huge play of the game by picking up a 4th&1 on a reverse, setting up a go-ahead touchdown on a Hill scramble with 2:53 to go. A controversial offensive pass interference call against Sills stopped West Virginia’s next drive, and TCU star corner Ranthony Texada knocked away Grier’s fourth down pass attempt to seal the 31-24 victory.
Following Oklahoma’s loss earlier in the day, TCU may be the Big 12’s only hope for the College Football Playoff, and added another nice win to its resume on Saturday. Here’s what we learned from TCU’s 31-24 victory over West Virginia in Fort Worth.
3 Takeaways
TCU’s special teams was a needed difference-maker
With Hill struggling to find consistency in the downfield passing game, TCU is going to need to find different ways to win as the season goes on. On Saturday, the Horned Frogs necessary advantage came from special teams.
Nunes put on a show in the first half by pinning West Virginia deep four separate times in the first half to stall an offense that really got going in the second half. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers muffed a punt to set up TCU’s first touchdown, missed a crucial field goal, and set up the Horned Frogs game-winning drive on an out-of-bounds kickoff.
The Horned Frogs earned a season-defining road win over Oklahoma State earlier this year on the strength of their running game coupled with a consistent defense. With Anderson managing all of 33 yards on Saturday, the special teams provided a much-needed boost.
Tony Gibson is one of the best defensive coordinators in the country
While the Horned Frogs broke out in the second half to finish the game with 31 points, West Virginia’s defense deserves plenty of credit for limiting the explosive TCU offense to just 330 total yards. The Mountaineers have been strong on the defensive side of the ball over the past three years despite massive roster overhaul thanks to Gibson, one of the most underrated coordinators in college football.
West Virginia entered the season ranked in the top 25 with hopes of a Big 12 title despite a number of potential holes on the roster. Nearly the entire defensive unit was a concern, as the Mountaineers had a lot to replace at both cornerback and on the line.
However, the Mountaineers have surprisingly managed to hang in against talented teams like Virginia Tech and TCU in one-score losses this season. Just one week after being gashed by Kansas on the ground, Gibson made the necessary adjustments to hold Hicks and Anderson in check.
With unheralded players like Al-Rasheed Benton leading the way, Gibson has proven he can build at least a competitive defense year in and year out.
Next: 30 bucket list items for college football fans
Jalen Reagor’s breakout gives the Horned Frogs yet another weapon
The Horned Frogs are incredibly deep and balanced offensively, and now have yet another piece to work with Reagor emerging as a potential star.
Seventeen different Horned Frogs had at least one reception heading into Saturday’s action, with Reagor ranking fourth on the team with nine catches for 151 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman. Reagor had his best game of the year to date on Saturday by reeling in a 45-yard touchdown pass and adding the crucial fourth down conversion on a reverse.
Hill struggles to pass the ball downfield, so any big-play threat is welcome in the TCU passing game. With Reagor joining the likes of Turpin, John Diarse and the running back duo in addition to Hill’s scrambling ability, the Horned Frogs can stretch even speedy defenses like West Virginia’s thin.