Mustangs Buck Frogs; Jayhawks Flying Into The Carter

The fairytale ending will have to wait for Max Duggan. 

The setting this past Saturday, September 21, in Amon G. Carter Stadium was perfect for Max to join the likes of past Horned Frog quarterbacks such as Andy Dalton, Bram Kohlhausen and Grayson Muehlstein, who in recent years had written their own versions of Horned Frogs Nation best-sellers on the gridiron.

In starting the game against “Dallas,” which otherwise is known as the SMU Mustangs, Duggan, the Gatorade wonderkid from Council Bluffs, Iowa, had become just the second true freshman and third non-Texan to start at quarterback in the 19-season TCU head-coaching era of Gary Patterson.

Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

He was playing in his third big-time college football game.

He had had a horrendous first half (completed one of 10 pass attempts, and lost a fumble), had helped rally the Frogs in the second half, and now was in position to help the Frogs avoid an embarrassing loss to the Mustangs. 

With less than three minutes remaining in the nearly four-hour-long game, Duggan and the Frogs were poised at the SMU 41-yard line, with TCU trailing, 41-38.

A field goal ties the game and likely results in overtime. 

A touchdown likely wins the game.

The few TCU fans who were still in the stands, instead of drinking away their problems in parking-lot tailgates, were on their feet, yelling encouragement and selling their souls to higher powers for another victory over the detested preppies from the wrong side of the tracks in the Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex. 

Two running plays by running back Emari Demercado netted seven yards.

Fans wondered, why weren't Darius Anderson or Sewo Olonilua running with the football? 

At the least, why did all-everything Jalen Reagor not touch the football on at least one of those crucial downs?

Ball at the 34-yard line. Third down. Three yards needed for a first down. 

Duggan fumbles.

Moans and groans. 

Duggan recovers the fumble.

Sighs of relief. 

About a minute remains. 

A 51-yard field goal will tie the game.

Instead of calling upon field-goal kicker Jonathan Song, TCU head coach Gary Patterson and co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie opt to run a play on fourth down. 

Patterson explained after the game that he felt 51 yards was out of field-goal kicker Jonathan Song’s range, even with the wind at his back.

"We didn't kick the last field goal because to be honest with you, right around 40-42 is what Johnathan Song is,” said Patterson. “He's not a 50 guy. And we haven't kicked well in practice." 

Heavy pressure by the Mustangs causes Max to loft a pass in desperation on fourth down. The football falls harmlessly to the turf.

Sad ending. 

Frogs lose, 41-38.

Evidently, Dallas also won, and Fort Worth also lost.

The game morphed into a Fort Worth vs Dallas showdown when SMU players wore jerseys with "Dallas" on the front of them. Customized helmets included a decal showing a Mustang inside a stylized "D."

Furthermore, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson participated in the pre-game coin toss. And they made a friendly wager, as a result of which Mayor Johnson will be receiving from Mayor Price some of Funkytown's Heim barbecue. If the Frogs would have won, Mayor Price would have received from Mayor Johnson some of Dallas' Pecan Lodge barbecue. 

To top it off, on the Wednesday after the game, the Dallas City Council, at its meeting, honored the Mustangs, er, "Dallas," for defeating TCU. The Iron Skillet even was displayed in the Council's chambers. Watch here, if you think you can stomach it.

In keeping with the "Battle of the Metroplex" theme, after the win, SMU head coach Sonny Dykes penned a song. Listen here.

Patterson, after the loss, responded with a song of his own. Listen here.

The 41-38 whipping was just SMU’s second win in the last 13 games against the Frogs, and their first since 2011. 

And it meant, of course, that the Mustangs had seized the coveted Iron Skillet.

After the game, the Shetlands and their fans partied hearty with the skillet, in the north end zone area of The Carter. Especially Shane Buechele. ‘Cause the third time was a charm for Shane.

Previously, Buechele had lost twice to the Frogs, as quarterback of the Texas Longhorns. He transferred as a graduate student to SMU this year and quickly became the Mustang’s starting quarterback. 

Now he is a winner. In fact, SMU is 4-0 for the first time since 1984.

Meanwhile, a disappointed Duggan was consoled by teammates John Stephens Jr., Esteban Avila and Andrew Coker. 

Winners take losing hard, especially when winning is close at hand.

This was the first taste of defeat at the college level for Duggan. 

The Frogs fell to 2-1, after wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff at home and Purdue on the road.

Head coaches, especially those named Gary Patterson and who have been immortalized by their current school with a bronze statue, take losing hard. 

Patterson, after suffering just his third loss to the Mustangs and his first loss to Dykes, who worked with Patterson at TCU during the 2017 season, hustled off the field with his wife, Kelsey.

Later, he hustled out of the post-game media conference, shockingly turning it over to Cumbie. 

A coordinator meeting with the media after a game, especially a game that had resulted in a loss for the home team, against their crosstown rivals? 

Media pundits who have been around TCU sports a long time said such a happening had not been experienced in recent memory.

Patterson said he merely wanted Cumbie to answer any questions about the Frogs' quarterback play, and that such an experience after a tough loss was part of Cumbie’s preparation to one day being a head coach.

One has to wonder when Cumbie will face the media after a TCU win.  And when, and where, he will become a head coach.

Patterson took the blame for the shocking loss to the Mustangs. A few days after the game, Patterson said there was nothing to be concerned about in regard to his relationship with Cumbie, perhaps they should have attempted the 51-yard field goal, and yes, in fact, he and his defense did not perform well against SMU.

Only three times in the 99 meetings between SMU and TCU have the Mustangs scored more than this game’s 41 points: 1985: 56 points; 1978: 45 points; and 1977, 45 points. 

The 48 points are the most the Frogs have given up through three games this season. Opponents are scoring at an average of just over 20 points a game against TCU.

The Frogs coughed up 406 yards to the Mustangs.

Buechele completed 23 of 34 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score. 

SMU running back Xavier Jones had 79 yards rushing against the Frogs. He and fellow running back Ke'Mon Freeman each had a rushing touchdown.

TCU linebacker Garret Wallow was a bright spot on defense. Wallow had a team-best and career-high 19 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss. 

Wallow's 19 tackles are the most by a TCU player since Travin Howard totaled 19 against Texas Tech in 2016.

Wallow ranks No 1 nationally in tackles for loss per game (three) and is No. 3 in tackles per game (14). He has 42 stops on the season, including nine tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. 

Redshirt freshman safety Ar’Darius Washington made his first collegiate start. He had had his second interception of the season, tying sophomore safety Trevon Moehrig for the team lead. Washington added a career-high six stops. Moehrig tied a career high with seven tackles. 

Sophomore defensive tackle Terrell Cooper had a career-high seven tackles. 

True freshman linebacker Dee Winters had a career-high seven tackles, equaling his total from the first two games combined.

Offensively, the Frogs totaled 424 yards, outgaining the Mustangs by 18 yards.

The 38 points were the second-most scored by TCU in its three games. The Frogs are averaging 37 points a game.

Duggan completed 16 of 36 pass attempts for 188 yards and three touchdowns. 

Sophomore tight end Pro Wells caught touchdown passes of 12 and 13 yards. They were his first career touchdowns. 

Olonilua caught Duggan's other touchdown pass, a five-yarder, which surprisingly was Olonilua's first career receiving touchdown. 

When asked about Duggan’s first career start, Patterson replied, “We didn’t win. He’s a freshman. That’s how all quarterbacks are judged. That’s how Andy Dalton was treated.”

TCU ran for 236 net yards and now is 93-7 when totaling at least 200 yards on the ground. 

The Frogs are averaging 261 rushing yards per game, through three games.

Anderson rushed for 161 yards on 19 carries against SMU. He also had two rushing touchdowns, of 14 yards and three yards. The scores gave him a team-leading four touchdowns on the season. 

Anderson has had consecutive 100-yard rushing games and is averaging nine yards per carry this season. His 179 yards at Purdue and 161 against SMU represent the top-two efforts of his career. Only nine times (by seven different players) has a Horned Frog surpassed 160 yards rushing in back-to-back games.

Song did not have an opportunity to try a potential game-tying field goal in the final minute of the game, but he did make a 29-yarder in the second quarter. He is eight-of-eight on the season and 25-of-28 in his career. He is 24-of-25 on attempts inside 40 yards. 

Reagor’s challenging season continued against SMU. He caught two passes for two yards and ran the ball once for 29 yards. For the season, Reagor has rushed four times for 40 yards, and caught 10 passes for 102 yards and one touchdown.

There was enough disappointment after the SMU loss to last a season. 

In fact, on the Tuesday after the game, Patterson still was blowing off steam. He expressed disappointment not only with the loss, but with the crowd.

Patterson said he was disheartened by the amount of TCU fans who left the stadium at halftime and the large number of SMU fans who ended up sitting in the lower bowl area of the north end zone. 

An 11 am Central kickoff against Kansas this Saturday, September 28, in The Carter may not do much to solve the problem with empty seats, but the Jayhawks may be what the Frogs need to get the bad taste of losing out of their mouths.

However, remember last season? In the Frogs’ eighth game of the 2018 season, in Lawrence, TCU was upset by Kansas, 27-26. 

That win was not enough to save David Beaty’s head coaching job at Kansas, which was 3-9 (1-8 Big 12) in 2018 and 6-42 (2-34 Big 12) during his tenure.

Les Miles is in his first season as head coach of the Jayhawks. Beaty has moved on to the University of Texas’ football program, where he is a consultant. 

Over the first four games of the 2019 season, Miles and Kansas are 2-2 (0-1, Big 12). The Jayhawks have beaten Indiana State (24-17) and Boston College (48-24). They have lost to Coastal Carolina (12-7) and Big 12-foe West Virginia (29-24). The loss to the Mountaineers, to open Big 12 Conference play, was on the same Saturday TCU lost to SMU. 

As head coach of Kansas, Miles has returned to the Big 12. Miles began his head coaching career with Oklahoma State, where he coached from 2001 to 2004, going 28-21, with loses in two of three bowl games. 

From 2005 to 2016, Miles coached LSU, where he replaced Nick Saban and his Tigers won 114 games. On September 25, 2016, LSU fired Miles after an 18–13 loss to Auburn the previous day and a 2–2 start to begin the season. 

In 2007, LSU won the SEC title and beat Ohio State in that season’s BCS National Championship game, giving Miles his first national championship. LSU won the SEC title in 2011, then lost to Alabama in that season’s BCS National Championship game. 

Miles, who had been out of coaching since 2016, hasn’t had a losing season since 2001. 

Since beginning Big 12 play in 2012, TCU and Patterson are 6-1 versus Kansas. A 20-6 TCU victory at Kansas in 2012 marked the Horned Frogs' inaugural Big 12 game. 

Prior to TCU beginning Big 12 play in 2012, the schools had not met on the gridiron since a 17-10 KU victory in Lawrence in 1997, the year before Patterson arrived at TCU as defensive coordinator. 

Patterson is 0-1 against Les Miles. In TCU’s TCU 2013 season-opener, Miles' No. 12 LSU team defeated No. 20 TCU, 37-27, in the Cowboys Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

It’s only TCU's fourth game of a 12-game regular season, and the first conference game of a nine-game conference season, but the Frogs’ game against Kansas is an important one. In fact, it may well be a must-win game, to help erase the sting of the SMU loss and to right a ship that appears to be rocking in some heavier-than-usual waves. 

During the Patterson era, the two previous losses to SMU were wake-up calls. 

In 2005, TCU followed up the SMU loss with 10 straight wins, an 8-0 MWC record, a conference championship, and a No. 11 final AP ranking.

In 2011, the Frogs followed the SMU loss with wins in their final eight games, a 7-0 MWC record, a conference championship, and a No. 14 final AP ranking.

Will history repeat itself? 

If so, let’s hope that the history is not as recent as 2018.

Fairytale endings are much more enjoyable than tear-jerkers.