Oklahoma cruises past TCU, 38-20: 3 takeaways
By Jack Crosby
Oklahoma continued to roll on Saturday, this time somewhat surprisingly cruising past TCU.
Most of the time, especially when you hit the month of November, you don’t expect a one-sided affair when you have the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in the country going toe-to-toe with one another. But, that’s exactly what happened on Saturday night in Norman, as Oklahoma coasted its way to a 38-20 win over TCU.
TCU actually did hold a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, but that was all the joy they would feel on Saturday evening. Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma offense turned on the jets and never looked back, scoring all 38 of their points in the first half of this one.
Right now, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Oklahoma is the definitive best team in the Big 12.
Takeaways
1. Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma just can’t be stopped right now
If there was one team in the Big 12 you’d assume could slow down Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma offense, it’s TCU. Gary Patterson usually boasts some of the best defenses in the country, and he has another solid unit this year. Coming off its shredding of Oklahoma State’s defense last week, you thought Patterson’s defense might be able to bring Oklahoma and Mayfield back down the Earth.
Surprisingly to some, that was very much not the case. As was evidenced by Oklahoma hanging 38 points in the first half, the Sooners had their way with the Horned Frogs’ defense on Saturday night. Mayfield once again staked his claim to the Heisman, throwing for 333 yards and three touchdowns, while adding in 50 yards rushing. Overall, Oklahoma embarrassed the respected TCU defense, racking up 533 total yards in the win.
2. It’s not all about Baker Mayfield, though
When you have a polarizing Heisman candidate such as Baker Mayfield, it’s easy to lose sight of some of the other key pieces on the offensive side of the ball. But, on Saturday night, running back Rodney Anderson made sure no one could ignore him.
Anderson broke the 100-yard rushing barrier for the fourth consecutive, this time gashing the TCU defense for 151 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he also hauled in 5 passes for 151 yards and two more touchdowns.
Mayfield may be the best player in the country, but you can’t ignore a key piece to this Sooners’ offense as talented as Anderson.
3. Can TCU get things right for a rematch?
Sure, TCU is pretty bummed about being embarrassed on Saturday in primetime against Oklahoma, but there is one thing it could maybe take some satisfaction in. It’s probably going to get another crack at the Sooners in a few weeks.
Despite the loss, TCU is very much in line to finish second in the conference behind Oklahoma. Their final two games of the season against Texas Tech and Baylor are very winnable, meaning they should earn the right to play in the return of the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 2.
After a crushing loss such as the one they suffered on Saturday, it’ll be interesting to see how one of the best coaches in the game in Gary Patterson can adjust. You know they’d love for nothing more than to not only get another shot at Oklahoma to avenge what happened but knock the Sooners out of the College Football Playoff field in the process.