Don’t be surprised if Texas Tech fans request a recount of the final tally in Fort Worth.
Perhaps even a few lawsuits challenging the result will be filed.
At the least, there will be protests outside of Red Raiders’ head coach Matt Wells’ house because of TCU’s 34-18 defeat of Texas Tech in Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, November 7 (Midnite had predicted a 31-21 TCU victory).
Why are Tech fans so inflamed? Their disillusionment has to do with some unconventional strategy deployed by Wells late in the Red Raiders’ game against the Frogs.
 |
| Tom C. "Midnite" Burke |
It was second down for Tech, with four yards to go for a first down, with about three minutes left in the game.
Red Raiders fans were anticipating at least a first down and continuation of the drive, if not a touchdown play that would pull Tech closer to a possible upset.
Lo and behold, Wells had other plans.
As hard as it was for just about everybody to believe, Wells ordered his field goal unit onto the gridiron for a 37-yard field goal attempt by Trey Wolff.
On second down, nonetheless.
Furthermore, until his successful 40-yard field goal in the second quarter of the game, Wolff had not attempted a field goal in a game in three weeks, and he had not successfully kicked a field goal in Tech’s previous six games.
Wolff’s kick sailed wide left, and with it went Tech’s chances of leaving Cowtown with its second victory over the Frogs since 2014.
TCU took over at its 20-yard line, with 2:44 remaining in the game.
Three plays later, TCU do-it-all quarterback Max Duggan sprinted 81 yards through Tech’s defense and sealed victory for the Frogs. The run is the longest by a quarterback in TCU history and tied for 10th-longest overall.
With the win, TCU improved to 3-3 overall and in the Big 12.
With wins over Texas, Baylor and Texas Tech, TCU finished 3-0 this season against in-state Big 12 opponents.
With the loss, Texas Tech fell to 2-5 overall, 1-5 in the Big 12.
This was the Horned Frogs’ second consecutive win, following their 33-23 victory over Baylor on October 31. It was their first win in The Carter since a 37-27 Homecoming win over the University of Texas on October 26, 2019. Previously this season, TCU had been 0-3 in home games, with losses to Iowa State, Kansas State and Oklahoma.
The win over the Red Raiders meant that the Frogs retained the unique, coveted Saddle Trophy, which each year goes to the winner of the game.
If only that darn Iron Skillet trophy wasn’t over in Dallas, being gawked over by the SMU Mustangs since last year!
Saturday’s victory was the 200th win that TCU head coach Gary Patterson has taken part in as a Horned Frog. He has 175 victories as the head coach, to go along with 25 games the Frogs won when he was their defensive coordinator (1998-00).
The hard-fought victory before a sparse, social-distanced home crowd prompted Patterson to write a song after the game. Listen: here
A despondent Wells also wrote a song. Listen: here
The Pac 12 Conference on Saturday may have been as despondent as Wells.
The delayed season-opening for the conference was this past weekend and already COVID-19 infections caused the cancellations of two of conference games: Washington versus Cal, and Arizona versus Utah.
The unrelenting coronavirus also caused other postponements and cancellations this past weekend.
Florida International and UTEP canceled their game It was the third canceled game of the season for both teams.
Other postponements/cancellations this past weekend included: Wisconsin versus Purdue; North Texas versus Louisiana Tech; Louisville versus Virginia; and Air Force versus Army. Air Force also has canceled this Saturday’s scheduled game versus Wyoming.
Virginia Tech probably wished its game with Liberty had been canceled. The Hokies lost to undefeated Liberty, 38-35, on a field goal as time expired. Liberty is a private evangelical Christian university, which was founded by Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Virginia.
SMU beat Temple, 47-23, on Saturday, improving to 7-1, 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference.
The Mustangs' game against the Owls was postponed from Thursday because of virus infections among Temple players. Still, Temple was short at least 15 players for the game.
The coronavirus possibly caused then-No. 1 Clemson its first regular-season loss since 2017 last Saturday. Notre Dame beat the Tigers, 47-40 in double overtime.
Clemson starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the 2020 Heisman Trophy favorite and projected first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, did not play in the game due to being infected with the virus.
Entering Saturday, Clemson was 50-2 in conference play since 2015, and that’s not including five consecutive wins in the ACC championship game.
The win was Notre Dame’s first home win against the no. 1 team in the AP poll since 1993.
The drama in South Bend unfolded hours after Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., had been declared President-elect of the United States.
NBC cut away from the game in the second quarter to broadcast Biden’s remarks about the election.
When the game went into overtime, some viewers were upset that it delayed the start of the most anticipated Saturday Night Live episode in years.
The almighty Southeastern Conference (SEC) is being devastated by the coronavirus. Four conference games scheduled for this Saturday will not be played. They are: Missouri-Georgia; LSU-Alabama; Texas A&M-Tennessee; and Auburn-Mississippi State.
Other games scheduled for this weekend that have been canceled because of COVID-19 include: Maryland versus Ohio State; Memphis versus Navy; Coastal Carolina and Troy; and Arkansas State versus University of Louisiana-Monroe.
New Mexico on Saturday will be looking for its first win of the season when it plays a Mountain West Conference “home game” against the University of Nevada, in Sam Boyd Stadium, in Las Vegas.
Because of strict coronavirus restrictions in New Mexico, the University of New Mexico football team, trainers, academic advisors and coaching staff relocated to Las Vegas. Specifically, the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa in Henderson, Nevada, and Sam Boyd Stadium.
The New Mexico athletic department's cost for the relocation? $70,000 per week.
Sam Boyd Stadium is where the University of Nevada-Las Vegas football team used to play. The Rebels now play in the NFL Las Vegas (used to be Oakland) Raiders’ new playground, Allegiant Stadium, in Paradise, Nevada.
The New Mexico-Nevada game this Saturday in Sam Boyd Stadium officially is a”neutral-site” game, but New Mexico will be allowed to put up logos and markings, to try to make it look and feel like the Lobos are the home team.
If the Lobos aren’t able to host their scheduled games against Wyoming and Fresno State in Albuquerque in December, they will become the first FBS team in over a century to play at least a six-game schedule with all of their games on the road. New Mexico also would be the first team in college football history to play a full schedule with no games in its home state.
The University of Texas at El Paso also will be playing a “home game” in a stadium other than its home stadium.
The UAB-UTEP game has been rescheduled for November 20. Instead of being played in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, a city which is being overwhelmed by the coronavirus, the game will be played in a high school stadium in Midland, Texas.
The Arkansas football program also is dealing with COVID-19. The Hogs’ head coach, Sam Pittman, has tested positive for the virus. He will not be with his team for its scheduled game against No. 6 Florida on Saturday.
The University of Michigan also is reeling, but not from COVID-19.
The Wolverines this past Saturday dropped to 1-2 after a 38-21 home-loss to the University of Indiana, which usually is better known for its basketball team. It was the Hoosiers’ first football win over Michigan since 1987. Indiana, at 3-0, is off to its best Big 10 start since 1988.
West Virginia went into its Big 12 Conference shootout with Texas in Austin this past Saturday as the top defensive team in the conference. However, the Longhorns’ defense outshined the Mountaineers’ defense in Texas’ 17-13 victory.
Texas’ defense held West Virginia running back Leddie Brown, one of the conferences top rushers, to 47 yards on 15 carries. The Longhorns’ defense twice held the Mountaineers on fourth-and-one plays within the red zone.
During the game, ABC cut away to cover Biden’s announcement about the presidential election, angering many football fans. Many Texas fans were unable to watch much of the game because ABC instead covered the election results.
There are priorities, you know!
Oklahoma State, which is the highest nationally ranked Big 12 team at 14th in the Associated Press poll, beat Kansas State, 20-18, despite gaining only 261 yards offensively and committing six penalties for 65 yards. The Cowboys’ dynamic running back, Chubba Hubbard, was held by the Wildcats’ stingy defense to 31 yards on six carries.
As a result of its 38-31 home victory over Baylor on Saturday, Iowa State leads the Big 12 with a 5-1 record. This marks the first 5-1 conference start in the Cyclones’ history.
In Tarrant County and Fort Worth, future sporting events may be further challenged by a coronavirus surge.
Tarrant County, of which Fort Worth is the country seat, has been reporting record daily new virus infections over the past week or so.
Amid the surge, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said on Tuesday, November 10, that he believed athletic events, including those sponsored by schools and cities, need to be suspended. He stopped short of issuing such an order.
It is not known if Lubbock County has issued a cease-and-desist order against the Red Raiders’ Wells.
This is the second year in a row that Wells, who is in his second year as Texas Tech’s head coach, has used questionable strategy in a losing effort against Patterson and the Frogs.
Last year, Patterson and the Horned Frogs departed Lubbock with a 33-31 victory and the fancy Saddle Trophy.
There were several big plays in that Big 12 showdown, but the biggest play was a missed extra point by Wolff, who at the time was a redshirt freshman.
The missed point-after-touchdown, which came after Tech’s second touchdown of the game, in the second quarter, caused Wells to panic. He chased that lost point the remainder of the game.
The chase resulted in two failed two-point conversions by the Red Raiders, after their final two touchdowns of the game. If Tech had successfully kicked the extra points after those third-quarter touchdowns, the final score in regulation could have been 33-33, which would have forced overtime between TCU and Tech.
If that missed extra point in the second quarter had been converted, as well as those after the ensuing touchdowns, the Red Raiders could have won the game, 34-33, instead of the Frogs escaping Lubbock with a 33-31 victory.
Wells evidently had not read Patterson’s New York Times best-seller, “Just Win By One Point.”
Perhaps Patterson, who once upon a time was a coach at Utah State when Wells was a quarterback at Utah State, sent him an autographed copy for Christmas 2019.
Perhaps for Christmas 2020, Wells will receive from Patterson autographed CDs of his two songs, “Take a Step Back,” and “Game On.”
It was fitting that Duggan sealed the Frogs’ win over the Red Raiders with a touchdown gallop.
The run, during which Duggan showed off his blazing speed, was his third rushing touchdown of the game. Previously, he had a three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
TCU’s other points came on a two-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Quentin Johnston in the third quarter, and 43-yard and 37-yard field goals by Griffin Kell in the first quarter and third quarters, respectively.
The Frogs ran for 270 yards against the Red Raiders. TCU is 3-0 this season and 98-8 under Patterson when rushing for at least 200 yards in a game.
Duggan rushed 19 times for a career-high and team-best 154 yards, which are the most rushing yards by a Horned Frog since Darius Anderson had 161 rushing yards against SMU last season. Duggan’s previous rushing-best was 115 yards at Kansas State last season.
Duggan is the first Horned Frog with three rushing touchdowns in a game since Anderson had three in the Frogs’ 44-31 win at No. 6 Oklahoma State in 2017. Duggan leads TCU with six rushing scores on the season.
Duggan’s rushing superlatives offset his atrocious day of passing. The sophomore signal-caller completed only 11-of-23 passes for a paltry 73 yards, which marked the fourth consecutive season that the Horned Frogs have won a game when passing for less than 100 yards.
Duggan threw one interception, on his first play from scrimmage. The interception snapped his streak of 127 consecutive pass attempts without a pick. It was the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.
Redshirt freshman Darwin Barlow’s 63 yards rushing on 11 carries marked the second-best total of his career, trailing only the 117 he ran for last week at Baylor.
True freshman wide receiver Quentin Johnston had a two-yard touchdown run on his first career carry.
TCU’s defense had another overall strong performance.
The Frogs recorded five sacks, which equaled a season-high set against Baylor on October 31.
TCU has 10 sacks in its last two games, after totaling five in the opening four contests.
The Horned Frogs have at least one sack in 84 of their last 88 games.
Sophomore defensive end Ochaun Mathis had three sacks in the first half, including two on Texas Tech's opening two possessions.
Mathis, who has a team-high four sacks on the season, became the first TCU player to record three or more sacks since defensive end Josh Carraway did so on October 8, 2016, against Kansas.
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Earl Barquet, playing in his second career game, had a sack for the second straight contest.
True freshman defensive tackle Patrick Jenkins recorded his first career sack on his first career tackle. He finished with four tackles.
TCU held Tech to 89 yards of offense and three points in the first half. Texas Tech went three-and-out on six of its eight first-half drives. On Texas Tech’s first five drives, the Frogs held the Red Raiders to negative six yards of offense.
For the game, the Frogs forced Texas Tech to punt on nine of its 15 possessions, with a turnover on downs and an interception coming on two others.
The Red Raiders accumulated only 311 total yards of offense, which is their second-lowest total of the season.
Tech quarterback Henry Colombi completed 23-of-41 passes for 234 yards. He was intercepted once, by TCU senior safety Trevon Moehrig. It was Moehrig’s first interception of the season. His six career picks top all current Horned Frogs.
Xavier White was the Red Raiders’ leading rusher, with 43 yards on six runs.
Both of Texas Tech’s touchdowns came via big plays, which TCU’s defense has consistently allowed throughout the season.
Colombi threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Lynn Polk in the third quarter and a 57-yard touchdown pass to Erik Ezukanma in the fourth quarter.
Without those plays, TCU’s defense holds the Red Raiders to 194 total yards and three points.
Not to be outdone by Duggan or the defense, the Frogs’ special teams also had a big day against Texas Tech.
Derius Davis, who had a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown against Baylor, returned four punts for 103 yards. He had returns of 20 and 50 yards to set up TCU scores.
Davis and Duggan are two of the fastest players on the teams.
Junior linebacker Ben Wilson and junior tight end Carter Ware blocked punts. Wilson has blocked a punt in each of the last two games. Prior to the Baylor game, TCU's last punt block was by Garrett Kaufman in the 2016 Alamo Bowl.
The win over Tech was tempered somewhat by the news that the Frogs were losing two more players.
Wide receiver John Stephens, Jr., planned to enter the NCAA transfer portal and senior defensive tackle Brandon Bowen planned to opt out for the remainder of the season.
Stephens is the fourth TCU wide receiver this season to enter the transfer portal. He joins Al’Dontre Davis, Dylan Thomas and Te’Vailance Hunt.
TCU has an opportunity this Saturday to achieve its first three-game winning streak since 2017.
The Frogs will play West Virginia in Morgantown, West Virginia, on the 14th. It will be the first of two games outside the state of Texas for TCU this season. The second such game will be on Saturday, November 28, when the Frogs play Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas.
The game against the Mountaineers is scheduled to kick off at 11 am Central. FOX will broadcast the game.
The Frogs should be seeking revenge against the Mountain Men.
During the 2019 season, in TCU's final game of the season, with the Frogs needing a victory to secure a winning season and a bowl game, the Mountaineers slipped past TCU, 20-17, in Fort Worth, on Black Friday.
The loss dropped TCU into the lower echelon of the Big 12 with an overall record of 5-7 and a Big 12 record of 3-6.
In what was a mediocre season for the Big 12, with only four teams winning at least eight games, TCU tied for seventh place in the conference and was one of four Big 12 teams that did not go bowling.
It was only the third time in Patterson’s 19-year TCU head-coaching career that the Horned Frogs did not close out a season by playing in a bowl game. The other two times were after the 2004 and 2013 seasons.
TCU and West Virginia joined the Big 12 together on July 1, 2012. Since then, the teams have met eight times. Each has won four games.
TCU is 2-2 versus the Mountaineers in Morgantown, 2-2 in Fort Worth. There also has been one neutral site game, prior to the two teams being members of the Big 12.
TCU and West Virginia first met in the 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston, Texas. The Mountaineers won, 31-14. It was TCU's first bowl game since 1965. The Frogs were in the Southwest Conference. The Mountaineers were a football Independent.
Patterson is 0-1 against West Virginia head coach Neal Brown, who became the Mountaineers' head coach in 2019.
Brown is one of three Big 12 Conference coaches whom Patterson has not beaten. The other two are Kansas State’s Chris Klieman and Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley.
West Virginia is 4-3 overall this season, 3-3 in the Big 12. All of its wins have been in Morgantown. All of its losses have been on the road.
The Mountaineers have beaten: Eastern Kentucky, 56-10, in Morgantown; Baylor, 27-21 (2OT), in Morgantown; Kansas, 38-17, in Morgantown; and Kansas State, 37-10, in Morgantown.
In addition to the loss to Texas on November 7 in Austin, the Mountaineers have lost to Oklahoma State, 27-13, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, 34-27, in Lubbock, Texas.
The Frogs will confront a formidable defense in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers lead the Big 12 in overall defense. They are allowing an average of 271 yards of total offense a game.
They are third in the conference in rushing defense, allowing an average of 109.4 rushing yards a game.
West Virginia is first in the conference in passing defense, allowing an average of 161.6 passing yards per game.
The Mountaineers are second in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing an average of 19.4 points per game.
West Virginia defenders have intercepted nine passes, which leads the Big 12.
The Mountaineers have recorded 21 sacks, which is second in the Big 12.
West Virginia senior defensive lineman Darius Stills (#56) and junior defensive lineman Dante Stills (#55) are brothers. Their father, Gary Stills, was an All-Big East standout linebacker at West Virginia for Hall of Fame Coach Don Nehlen, before a successful nine-year NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and St. Louis Rams.
Darius (#56) has 6.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. Dante (#55) has 7.5 tackles-for-loss and two sacks.
Senior linebacker Tony Fields II (#1) leads West Virginia with 65 tackles, which is second in the Big 12. He has three tackles-for-loss, one sack and one interception.
Redshirt senior cornerback Alonzo Addae (#4) has 47 tackles, which is 10th in the Big 12. He leads the Mountaineers with two interceptions, which is tied for second in the Big 12. Seven other West Virginia players have one interception each.
Freshman defensive lineman Akheen Mesior (#90) has five tackles-for-loss and four sacks.
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Jeffery Pooler, Jr. (#9) has six tackles-for-loss and three sacks.
Redshirt freshman bandit Jared Bartlett (#50) has 5.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks.
The Mountaineers have a respectable offense, averaging 30.1 points a game. That's fourth in the Big 12.
The Mountaineers are averaging 449.9 total yards per game; second in the Big 12.
West Virginia is averaging 153.6 rushing yards per game, which is sixth in the Big 12, and averaging 296.4 passing yards per game, which is second in the Big 12.
Redshirt junior quarterback Jarret Doege (#2), who is from Lubbock, Texas, has completed 184 of 282 passes for 2,007 yards and 11 touchdowns. His average of 286.7 passing yards per game is second in the Big 12. He has thrown three interceptions, but none in his last three games.
Sophomore wide receiver Winston Wright, Jr. (#16), has caught 36 passes for 447 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 63.9 receiving yards per game, which is third in the Big 12. He has a long reception of 70 yards.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Sam James (#13) has caught 28 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He has a long reception of 32 yards.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton (#0) has caught 22 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns. His per-game average of 50.9 yards receiving is 10th in the Big 12. He has a long reception of 38 yards.
Junior running back Leddie Brown (#4) has rushed 141 times for 741 yards. He is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and 105.9 yards rushing per game, which is second in the Big 12. He has nine rushing touchdowns and a long run of 87 yards.
Redshirt junior running back Alec Sinkfield (#20) has carried the football 68 times for 338 yards and three touchdowns. He has a long run of 36 yards.
West Virginia's offense has allowed 13 sacks and has fumbled the football 13 times, losing six of the fumbles to their opponents.
With West Virginia having an unbeaten record in Morgantown thus far this season, West Virginia fans regularly have been enjoying listening and rockin’ to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” song.
The song, which begins, “Almost heaven, West Virginia,” is played at the end of every home win by the Mountaineers.
This Saturday, Patterson, a singer-songwriter in his own right, would just as soon Mountaineers fans hear only the TCU Alma Mater at the end of the game.
Or, of course, one of his recently released songs.
No comments:
Post a Comment