Pass the Cheez-Its, please.
Yes, it was a storybook ending for Grayson Muehlstein and the TCU Horned Frogs.
Muehlstein, TCU's fifth-year senior and third-string quarterback making his first career start, led the Frogs to a 31-24 Senior Night victory (Midnite had predicted a 23-21 TCU win) over Oklahoma State in the final 2018 regular-season football game on Saturday, November 24, in Amon G. Carter Stadium on the TCU Campus in Fort Worth, Texas.
The win was the Frogs' third in their last four games, evened their record at 6-6 (4-5 Big 12) and earned them a 16th bowl trip in the 18 years that head coach Gary Patterson has been leading the team.
The Frogs will play California (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) in the Cheez-It Bowl in Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 26.
Yes, the Cheez-It Bowl.
For a team that has played in a bowl game sponsored by Tostitos and a bowl game sponsored by chicken wings, it seems only natural for the Frogs to now play in a bowl sponsored by toasted cheese crackers.
Six other Big 12 teams are going to bowls:
Kansas State is searching for a new head football coach, following the retirement of head coach Bill Snyder after the regular season.
Yes, it was a storybook ending for Grayson Muehlstein and the TCU Horned Frogs.
Muehlstein, TCU's fifth-year senior and third-string quarterback making his first career start, led the Frogs to a 31-24 Senior Night victory (Midnite had predicted a 23-21 TCU win) over Oklahoma State in the final 2018 regular-season football game on Saturday, November 24, in Amon G. Carter Stadium on the TCU Campus in Fort Worth, Texas.
The win was the Frogs' third in their last four games, evened their record at 6-6 (4-5 Big 12) and earned them a 16th bowl trip in the 18 years that head coach Gary Patterson has been leading the team.
The Frogs will play California (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) in the Cheez-It Bowl in Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 26.
Yes, the Cheez-It Bowl.
For a team that has played in a bowl game sponsored by Tostitos and a bowl game sponsored by chicken wings, it seems only natural for the Frogs to now play in a bowl sponsored by toasted cheese crackers.
Six other Big 12 teams are going to bowls:
- Baylor (6-6, 4-5 Big 12), whom TCU beat, will play Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5 SEC) in the Texas Bowl in Houston, Texas, on December 27.
- Sixteenth-ranked West Virginia (8-3, 6-3 Big 12) will play 20th-ranked Syracuse (9-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast) in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida, on December 28.
- Twenty-fourth-ranked Iowa State (8-4, 6-3 Big 12), whom TCU beat, will play 13th-ranked Washington State (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12) in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, on December 28.
- Fourth-ranked Oklahoma (12-1, 9-1 Big 12) will play No. 1-ranked Alabama (13-0, 9-0 SEC) on December 29 in Miami, Florida, in one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games. Oklahoma earned the fourth playoff spot by beating Texas 39-27 on December 1 in the Big 12 Championship game. It is the Sooners' fourth consecutive Big 12 title and 12th overall.
- Oklahoma State (6-6, 3-6 Big 12), whom TCU beat, will play Missouri (8-4, 4-4 SEC) in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 31.
- Fifteenth-ranked Texas (9-4, 7-3 Big 12) will play fifth-ranked Georgia (11-2, 7-2 SEC) in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 1.
Kansas State is searching for a new head football coach, following the retirement of head coach Bill Snyder after the regular season.
Texas Tech fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury after the regular season and quickly replaced him with Matt Wells, who previously was Utah State's head coach.
Kansas fired head coach David Beaty during the regular season, but Beaty coached through the final game. He has been replaced by Les Miles, whose previous head coaching experience has included successful stints at Oklahoma State and LSU.
The Frogs' win over Oklahoma followed a 16-9 TCU win over Baylor in Waco, Texas, the previous Saturday, November 17. That's when Muehlstein was pressed into service by an injury early in the game to second-string quarterback Michael Collins, who had been starting since the Kansas game because of a season-ending injury to first-string quarterback Shawn Robinson.
In fact, this season the Frogs experienced at least 27 season-ending injuries and 40 players missed at least four games because of injuries.
After the win over Oklahoma State, and with much relief that his team had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to become bowl eligible, TCU head coach Gary Patterson penned a song. Listen: here
Against Baylor, Muehlstein made the first, first-half appearance of his TCU career. Prior to the game, he only had appeared in seven games and completed one of three passes for 11 yards during his career. In the victory, Muehlstein completed 11 of 15 passes for 137 yards and one touchdown,with no turnovers
Against Oklahoma State, Muehlstein didn't get off to a good start. On the first offensive play of the game, Muehlstein was sacked. On the second play, Muehlstein fumbled. Oklahoma State recovered on the TCU 18-yard line and Muehlstein's legendary status appeared to be short-lived.
However, TCU's defense held Oklahoma State to a field goal and Muehlstein and the offense got creative and scored the most points the Frogs had scored since a 42-12 win over SMU in the second game of the season.
An unlikely hero again, just as he had been in the Baylor win, Muehlstein completed 16-of-25 passes against the Cowboys for 180 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. He added 47 yards rushing, including a career-long 21-yard run, on 13 carries.
After the Frogs' bowl destination had been announced on Sunday, December 2, Muehlstein's proud grandmother posted the following comment on Facebook:
"Some of you might be wondering why 'Grandma' hasn't posted anything after the last TCU game in which her grandson did so well. Well, quite frankly, it has taken me a while to drop down to earth from the clouds I was walking on after the win. That night was one of the most wonderful nights of my life and I was so incredibly happy for my grandson, #17. His dream came true and I had the satisfaction of people realizing what a great athlete and person he is. It was a night of dreams fulfilled. I want to say that the mothers of the two other QBs were most gracious with their comments and both said they were very happy that Grayson had this opportunity. I truly appreciated their kindness. To everyone who made that a very special night by your comments and by your actions, the Muehlstein family is most grateful. I do wish that our bowl could have been closer to home, but we are going bowling and that is what matters. Our family is already planning a huge bowl watching party on that day. Please keep my Grayson in your thoughts and prayers as he prepares for this game. I know he will do his very best to lead his team to a victory. I also know his teammates will give him all the support he needs. They work very well together. Let's go, Frogs! Bring us a big win. By the way, this grandma loves Cheez-It's!"
In addition to Muehlstein, the other offensive star for the Frogs against the Cowboys was sophomore Jalen Reagor, just as he had been in the Baylor game and throughout the season.
Against Oklahoma State, Reagor, who displayed his athleticism and versatility by lining up at multiple positions, including quarterback, and fielding kickoffs and punts, had over 200 yards of offense and two touchdowns.
Reagor rushed for a career-high 121 yards and one touchdown on four attempts. He had 91 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. He had another 21 yards on a kickoff return, for total yardage of 233 yards.
Reagor's receiving touchdown was a six-yarder in the second quarter that gave TCU a 7-3 lead going into halftime. The reception put Reagor over 1,000 yards receiving for his career. The sophomore became the youngest player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark in a season and joins Josh Doctson and Reggie Harrell as the only TCU players in the 1,000-yard club.
Reagor's rushing touchdown was an 83-yarder, on the Frogs' first offensive play in the third quarter.
Reagor has a team-best 72 receptions for 1,061 yards and nine touchdowns. The catches and yards rank second for a season in TCU history, trailing only Doctson (79 receptions, 1,327 yards). In the Oklahoma State game, Reagor set a TCU record with a touchdown catch in his seventh consecutive game, and he became the only wide receiver in Big 12 history to have a 100-yard rushing game and 90-yard receiving day.
TCU's offense scored 10 additional points, on a 26-yard field goal by Jonathan Song in the third quarter and a 24-yard touchdown pass from Muehlstein to freshmen wide receiver Derius Davis in the fourth quarter that put TCU ahead for good at 31-17.
The Frogs' scrappy defense also scored points. On the game's first play of the second half, a dropped backwards pass by Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard was picked up at the Cowboys' 15-yard line and scored by TCU senior linebacker Juwuan Johnson. The touchdown increased TCU's lead to 14-3.
Johnson also had a career-high 12 tackles, including one for loss. His performance earned him Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Other defensive standouts included: safety Ridwan Issahau, who had a career-high 12 stops; linebacker Arico Evans, who had his fourth game in double figures in tackles with 10; defensive tackle Corey Bethley, who recorded his fourth sack of the season; cornerback Jeff Gladney, who had an interception and four pass breakups, to give him a team-best 13 pass breakups on the season; and safety Niko Small, who returned from an injury sustained earlier in the season to record three tackles and one pass breakup.
Playing without four starters, TCU's defense, which finished as the number one unit in the Big 12, surrendering on average just 344.4 yards per game, held Oklahoma State, the nation's number nine offensive team coming into the game, to just 280 total yards; 181 passing and 99 rushing.
In addition to Muehlstein, the other offensive star for the Frogs against the Cowboys was sophomore Jalen Reagor, just as he had been in the Baylor game and throughout the season.
Against Oklahoma State, Reagor, who displayed his athleticism and versatility by lining up at multiple positions, including quarterback, and fielding kickoffs and punts, had over 200 yards of offense and two touchdowns.
Reagor rushed for a career-high 121 yards and one touchdown on four attempts. He had 91 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. He had another 21 yards on a kickoff return, for total yardage of 233 yards.
Reagor's receiving touchdown was a six-yarder in the second quarter that gave TCU a 7-3 lead going into halftime. The reception put Reagor over 1,000 yards receiving for his career. The sophomore became the youngest player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark in a season and joins Josh Doctson and Reggie Harrell as the only TCU players in the 1,000-yard club.
Reagor's rushing touchdown was an 83-yarder, on the Frogs' first offensive play in the third quarter.
Reagor has a team-best 72 receptions for 1,061 yards and nine touchdowns. The catches and yards rank second for a season in TCU history, trailing only Doctson (79 receptions, 1,327 yards). In the Oklahoma State game, Reagor set a TCU record with a touchdown catch in his seventh consecutive game, and he became the only wide receiver in Big 12 history to have a 100-yard rushing game and 90-yard receiving day.
TCU's offense scored 10 additional points, on a 26-yard field goal by Jonathan Song in the third quarter and a 24-yard touchdown pass from Muehlstein to freshmen wide receiver Derius Davis in the fourth quarter that put TCU ahead for good at 31-17.
The Frogs' scrappy defense also scored points. On the game's first play of the second half, a dropped backwards pass by Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard was picked up at the Cowboys' 15-yard line and scored by TCU senior linebacker Juwuan Johnson. The touchdown increased TCU's lead to 14-3.
Johnson also had a career-high 12 tackles, including one for loss. His performance earned him Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Other defensive standouts included: safety Ridwan Issahau, who had a career-high 12 stops; linebacker Arico Evans, who had his fourth game in double figures in tackles with 10; defensive tackle Corey Bethley, who recorded his fourth sack of the season; cornerback Jeff Gladney, who had an interception and four pass breakups, to give him a team-best 13 pass breakups on the season; and safety Niko Small, who returned from an injury sustained earlier in the season to record three tackles and one pass breakup.
Playing without four starters, TCU's defense, which finished as the number one unit in the Big 12, surrendering on average just 344.4 yards per game, held Oklahoma State, the nation's number nine offensive team coming into the game, to just 280 total yards; 181 passing and 99 rushing.
Oklahoma State redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Cornelius was just 17 of 41 passing, with no touchdowns. He was intercepted once and sacked once. Cornelius was the Cowboys' leading rusher, with 52 yards on nine attempts. he had two rushing touchdowns.
The Frogs likely will need another stellar defensive effort in the Cheez-It bowl against California. The Bears are one of the country's best defensive teams, so the Frogs may struggle to score points, as they have done much of this season. California, behind the leadership of second-year head coach Justin Wilcox, is allowing 200 fewer yards and 21 fewer points per game than it did two years ago.
This will be the Bears' third appearance in the Cheez-It Bowl or its previous iterations (2-0), and their 23rd overall bowl appearance (11-10-1).
TCU will be traveling to Arizona for a bowl game for the third time under Patterson. The Horned Frogs played in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl and 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against Boise State and Michigan State, respectively. TCU lost both of those bowl games.
This will be TCU's first appearance in the Cheez-It Bowl, and its 34th bowl appearance (16-16-1). TCU is 12-6 in bowls with Patterson on its coaching staff and 10-6 with him as head coach. He was named head coach prior to the 2000 Mobile Alabama Bowl. Before Patterson's arrival on campus in 1998, the Horned Frogs had just four bowl wins in their history.
TCU and Cal will be meeting for the first time on the gridiron. The schools have scheduled a home-and-home series for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
TCU is 6-0 versus Pac-12 opponents under Patterson. Most recently, the Horned Frogs rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Stanford 39-37 in last year’s Valero Alamo Bowl.
Interestingly, it was a bowl game, the January 2, 2016, Alamo Bowl game, that propelled unheralded TCU quarterback Bram Kohlhausen to Horned Frog fame. At halftime of that game, the Frogs trailed the Oregon Ducks, 31-0. But, with Kohlhausen under center, the Horned Frogs executed a flawless second half to defeat Oregon, 47-41, in three overtimes.
As a result of the remarkable comeback victory, the name of TCU's Bram Kohlhausen was etched into TCU and Texas lore.
TCU and Cal will be meeting for the first time on the gridiron. The schools have scheduled a home-and-home series for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
TCU is 6-0 versus Pac-12 opponents under Patterson. Most recently, the Horned Frogs rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Stanford 39-37 in last year’s Valero Alamo Bowl.
Interestingly, it was a bowl game, the January 2, 2016, Alamo Bowl game, that propelled unheralded TCU quarterback Bram Kohlhausen to Horned Frog fame. At halftime of that game, the Frogs trailed the Oregon Ducks, 31-0. But, with Kohlhausen under center, the Horned Frogs executed a flawless second half to defeat Oregon, 47-41, in three overtimes.
As a result of the remarkable comeback victory, the name of TCU's Bram Kohlhausen was etched into TCU and Texas lore.
Grayson Muehlstein is trying to follow in Kohlhausen's footsteps.
So far, so good.
The only thing left for Muehlstein to do is lead the Frogs to a victory in the Cheez-It Bowl.
The only thing left for Muehlstein to do is lead the Frogs to a victory in the Cheez-It Bowl.
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