TCU Runs Past Jayhawks, 59-23; Awaits Oklahoma State Invasion

If spectators had been allowed inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium last Saturday, November 28, they soon may have thought that horse racing had been legalized in their beloved state of sunflowers, wheat, Wildcats and Jayhawks.

That’s because TCU head football coach Gary Patterson and his trio of offensive jockeys, Jerry Kill, Doug Meacham, and Sonny Cumbie, along with running backs coach Bryan Applewhite, rode their stable of thoroughbred running backs to a 59-23 stampede of the Kansas Jayhawks (Midnite predicted a 34-17 TCU win). Highlights: here 

Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

TCU's 59 points are its most in a Big 12 game since winning 62-22 at Baylor in 2016.

TCU rushed 41 times for a season-high 337 yards in rolling to its second consecutive victory over Kansas. Since beginning Big 12 play in 2012, TCU and Patterson are 8-1 versus Kansas. The lone loss, 27-26, came in the Frogs’ last trip to Lawrence, Kansas, in 2018.

Patterson is 2-0 against Les Miles, as Kansas’ head coach, and 2-1 overall against Miles. The 2013 TCU season-opener saw Miles' No. 12 LSU team defeat No. 20 TCU, 37-27, in the Cowboys Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The game against Kansas was TCU’s second and final game this season outside the state of Texas, and the Frogs’ first night game of the season.

The Horned Frogs are 3-1 on the road this year, and are 22-19 on the road in their Big 12 history. TCU's 44 road wins since 2009 are tied for second nationally. 

With the win over KU, TCU improved to 4-4 overall and in the Big 12. After starting the season 1-3, the Frogs have won three of their last four games.

Patterson celebrated his Frogs running over the Jayhawks by writing a song. Listen: here

With the loss, Kansas remained entrenched in the cellar of the Big 12 Conference, as the conference’s only winless team, at 0-7 Big 12, 0-8 overall.

Miles, who in his second season as Kansas’ head coach is 3-17 overall, 1-15 Big 12, wrote a song expressing his dissatisfaction with the Jayhawks’ losing ways. Listen: here 

TCU now must win its final two regular-season games to have a winning regular-season record.

This Saturday, the Frogs play their final Big 12 game of 2020, against Oklahoma State, in Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 am Central. ESPN will broadcast the game.

On Saturday, December 12, TCU will host Louisiana Tech in a 10th, and final, regular-season game. The matchup was announced on Tuesday, December 1. Kickoff will be at 6 pm Central. FS1 is scheduled to televise the game.

The game against Conference USA’s LA Tech Bulldogs replaces TCU’s scheduled September 11 season-opener against crosstown rival SMU. The Frogs had to postpone that game because of a coronavirus outbreak on the team. That game has been canceled.

There were ongoing discussions about TCU and SMU playing each other during this regular season, but the game never materialized. Thus, the coveted Iron Skillet remains in Dallas, as a result of SMU’s 41-38 victory over the Frogs last year in Fort Worth.

Some bowl projections have the Frogs and Mustangs playing each other, if both are selected to participate in a bowl game. One projection had the two teams meeting in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.

However, the Armed Forces Bowl just reached an agreement with the Pac-12 Conference and the Southeastern Conference to host teams from those conferences in this year's game. 

The bowl game will be played in TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium, at 11 am Central, on December 31. ESPN will televise the game.

Speaking of bowl games, because of the coronavirus pandemic, three bowl games, thus far, have been canceled: the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York; the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas; and the Las Vegas Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Sun Bowl has been played every year since 1935.

TCU defeated USC, 28-19, in the 1998 Sun Bowl. Dennis Franchione was the head coach. Patterson was the Frogs’ defensive coordinator. 

TCU’s defense held the Trojans to minus 23 yards rushing and 257 total yards.  

Aaron Schobel and Loren Dunlap were two leaders on the Horned Frogs’ dominating defense.

Offensively, the Frogs were led by quarterback Patrick Batteaux and running back Basil Mitchell.

Batteaux completed four-of-five passes for 51 yards. He rushed 28 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

Mitchell rushed 19 times for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

Hall of Fame and TCU legendary running back LaDainian Tomlinson was a sophomore on the Sun Bowl team. He rushed for 30 yards on 12 carries, and caught one pass for 25 yards. He also returned kickoffs. He had five returns for 91 yards. He was named to the 75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team as a kick returner.

Watch the game: here 

TCU also played in the 1965 Sun Bowl. The Frogs were edged, 13-12, by Texas Western, which became named the University of Texas at El Paso in 1967.

Prior to the 1998 Sun Bowl, the Frogs had not been to a bowl game since the 1994 Independence Bowl (Virginia 20, TCU 10) and had not won a bowl game since the 1957 Cotton Bowl Classic.

In the Cotton Bowl game, 14th-ranked TCU defeated eighth-ranked Syracuse, 28-27.

Some of TCU’s stars of the game were quarterback Chuck Curtis, wide receivers John Nikkel and Jim Shofner, and offensive tackle Norman Hamilton, who was named an outstanding player of the game.

Syracuse was led by Hall of Fame and legendary Syracuse running back Jim Brown, who scored three touchdowns for the Orangemen and was named an outstanding player of the game.

A blocked extra point by TCU’s Chico Mendoza, after Syracuse’s third touchdown of the game, proved to be the difference in the game.

Watch highlights of the game at the end of this highlight reel: here

Over the past two weeks, 33 games involving FBS football teams have been canceled; 27 percent of the schedule.

The Big 12 has had two recent cancellations because of virus infections. The November 28 Oklahoma-at-West Virginia game was canceled, as was the November 21 Texas-at-Kansas game. Both of the games have been rescheduled for December 12.

Another high-profile game that was scheduled for Saturday but was canceled, was Wisconsin's home game against Minnesota, which had paused all team-related activities due to COVID-19 cases in its program.

The game will not be rescheduled, per Big Ten policy, and will be ruled a no contest. The cancellation ends the longest uninterrupted series in FBS history, with Minnesota and Wisconsin having played 113 consecutive years from 1907 to 2019.

Two high-profile head coaches recently have been infected with the virus.

Because of being tested positive for the virus, Alabama head coach Nick Saban missed his team’s 42-13 victory over Auburn in the annual Iron Bowl. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian coached the Crimson Tide in Saban’s absence.

It was the second time Saban had tested positive for the virus. He tested positive for the virus in October, but returned to the sidelines for the team's game against the University of Georgia on October 17 after team physician Dr. Jimmy Robinson determined the test result was a false positive under Southeastern Conference protocols.

Ohio State head coach Ron Day tested positive for the virus. He reportedly will not coach the Buckeyes if their scheduled game against Illinois is played this Saturday.

In several regards, this past Saturday was an historic day for college football.

Buffalo junior running back Jaret Patterson ran for eight touchdowns to tie an FBS record and became the fourth major-college football player to have a 400-yard rushing game in Buffalo’s 70-41 victory over Kent State on Saturday.

Patterson matched the single-game rushing touchdown mark set by Illinois running back Howard Griffith on September 22, 1990, against Southern Illinois. Kalen Ballage of Arizona State is the only other player to score eight touchdowns in a major college game, getting seven rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in 2016 against Texas Tech.

Patterson finished with 36 carries for 409 yards rushing, the second-best game in FBS history and 18 yards shy of Samaje Perine’s single-game record of 427 yards for Oklahoma against Kansas on November 22, 2014.

The only other 400-yard rushing games in major college football belong to Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon (408 against Nebraska in 2014) and TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson (406 against UTEP in 1999).

Patterson is the first Division I player to rush for more than 300 yards in consecutive games since Texas star Ricky Williams did it in 1996. Patterson ran for four touchdowns and 301 in a 42-17 Buffalo win against Bowling Green on November 21.

Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller on Saturday became the first woman to appear in a Power Five college football game.

Fuller, who is a goalkeeper on Vanderbilt’s women’s soccer team, was added to the Commodores’ football roster after the team’s other kickers were forced into COVID-19 quarantine, rendering them unavailable for their game at Missouri on Saturday.

At the beginning of the second half, Fuller, wearing a “Play Like A Girl” sticker on the back of her helmet, kicked off. It was the only action she saw in Vanderbilt’s 41-0 loss.

Fuller became the third woman to play at the top level of college football, after fellow kickers Katie Hnida and April Gross. Hnida took the field for New Mexico in 2003. Gross followed in 2015, with Kent State. Jacksonville State’s Ashley Martin was the first woman to play NCAA football at any level in 2001.

Unrelated to playing Fuller in the loss to Missouri, Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason was fired after his team’s loss to Missouri.

Mason’s Commodores were 0-8 this season. He had a 27-55 record in his sixth season at Vanderbilt.

Two Big 12 teams honored history this past Saturday.

Before the Longhorns’ 23-20 loss to Iowa State in Austin, the University of Texas unveiled outside the north end of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium a statue honoring Julius Whittier, who was the football program's first black letterman.

Whittier, who died in September 2018, played on the 1970 Texas team that won a national championship. He played offensive line and tight end on three teams that won the Southwest Conference and was on the freshman team when Texas won the 1969 national title.

Before Oklahoma State’s 50-44 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday, a statue honoring Boone Pickens was unveiled immediately west of Boone Pickens Stadium.

The statue makes Pickens the third person memorialized with a statue on the Oklahoma State campus, joining former OSU president Henry Bennett, and OSU's first African-American student, Nancy Randolph Davis.

Over the years, Pickens donated close to $600 million to Oklahoma State, split virtually equally between athletics and academics. He died in September of 2019.

Against Kansas, TCU’s Patterson, who is immortalized by a statue in the athletic complex on TCU’s campus, coached his 250th game as the Horned Frogs’ head coach. With the victory, his winningest head-coaching record at TCU improved to 176-74.

In dominating the Jayhawks, TCU scored touchdowns offensively, defensively and on special teams.

Going into the game, the Horned Frogs ranked second in the Big 12 in rushing offense and Kansas ranked last in the Big 12 and 106th in the country in rushing defense.

The Frogs exploited their advantage, even with a depleted offensive line.

TCU entered the game with offensive line starters Steve Avila and Austin Myers and reserve Kellton Hollins not being available. Senior offensive guard Blake Hickey made his first collegiate start.

After the game, Patterson said the Frogs had available only five offensive linemen who had playing experience.

TCU rushed for a season-high 337 yards on 41 carries. This week, the Frogs rank first in rushing offense in the conference.

Highly touted and true freshman running back Zach Evans made his first career start in the Kansas game. He ran impressively, accumulating 100 yards on 12 carries. It was the first 100-yard rushing game of his collegiate career. He had a long run of 28 yards.

Redshirt freshman running back Darwin Barlow had 83 yards and one touchdown on eight carries. He had a long run of 36 yards.

True freshman running back Kendre Miller had 53 yards on 11 carries. He had a long run of 12 yards.

Junior running back Emari Demercado ran six times for 33 yards. He had a long run of 22 yards.

Because of an injury that kept him out of the game, redshirt freshman running back Daimarqua Foster missed the fun.

TCU sophomore quarterback Max Duggan didn’t miss the fun. He ran three times for 61 yards, including an explosive 58-yarder for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Duggan's touchdown run was his team-best seventh rushing score of the season. It also was TCU's third-longest run and fourth-longest play from scrimmage in 2020.  

TCU improved to 4-0 when rushing for at least 200 yards this season. The Frogs are 99-8 when reaching that mark in the Patterson era.

Duggan also added to TCU’s scoring through the air, in a unique way.

Duggan threw 11 passes. He completed only three of them, for 96 yards. But all three were for touchdowns. And all three were caught by wide-open tight ends.

Junior tight end Pro Wells caught two of the touchdown passes, of 46 yards and 24 yards.

Wells equaled a career high with his two touchdown catches. He also accomplished the feat last season against SMU.

Wells' touchdown catches gave him a team-best three this season and eight in his career, the most among current Horned Frogs.

Junior tight end Carter Ware caught a 26-yard touchdown pass, his first career scoring grab.

Duggan tied a career high with the three touchdown passes. 

Sophomore quarterback Matthew Downing entered the game late in the fourth quarter and completed as many passes as Duggan.

Downing connected with junior wide receiver Derius Davis on two passes for 10 yards, and on one pass, for no gain, to freshman wide receiver Lex Boucvalt, who made his TCU debut.

Davis made his presence known, again, as a punt returner. He had a 37-yard punt return for a touchdown less than 12 minutes into the first quarter to give TCU a 24-0 lead.

Davis has two punt returns for touchdowns this season and a total of three touchdowns on 11 career returns.

Davis’ three punt returns for touchdowns ties him with Linzy Cole (1968-69) and Blanard Spearman (1930-32) for second in TCU history, trailing only KaVontae Turpin, who had four (2015-18).

TCU’s defense contributed two touchdowns to the winning effort.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, sophomore cornerback C.J. Ceasar II, returned his first career interception 30 yards for a touchdown. It was TCU's first pick-6 since Vernon Scott returned an interception for a touchdown against Oklahoma last season.

Less than five minutes after Ceasar’s score, sophomore defensive end Ochaun Mathis forced a Kansas fumble that was scooped by sophomore linebacker Dee Winters and returned two yards for a touchdown.

In addition to his forced fumble, Mathis had two sacks, to give him a team-best seven on the season.

Winters had a career-best 3.5 tackles for loss, including a sack, as part of five stops, in addition to his fumble return for a touchdown. 

The Horned Frogs held Kansas to 41 rushing yards on 43 attempts. Jayhawks’ quarterbacks completed only 16-of-32 passes for 227 yards.

Kansas converted only four-of-18 third downs and failed on its lone fourth-down attempt. The Jayhawks punted 11 times.

Senior linebacker Garret Wallow had a team-best 10 tackles, including one for loss, to put him in double figures for the fourth time in the last six games and 14th time in his career.

Sophomore safety Nook Bradford made his first collegiate start and had a team-best and career-high 3.5 tackles for loss as part of eight stops.

True freshman defensive end Khari Coleman had two tackles for loss, including a sack. He has at least one tackle for loss in six of his seven games this season. 

Coleman has been named to the FWAA Freshman All-American Watch List. Coleman's team-best 11.5 tackles for loss top all freshmen nationally. It ranks fourth overall in the Big 12 and tied for 15th in the FBS. He's also second on TCU with three sacks as part of 23 stops on the year.

Griffin Kell began TCU’s scoring onslaught with a 39-yard field goal less than five minutes into the game. He is 11-of-15 on the season.

The Frogs will need the same performance trifecta (offense, defense, special teams) to prevail this Saturday against 15th-ranked Oklahoma State.

The game will feature the all-time winningest coaches at both schools: TCU’s Patterson (176 victories) and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy (135 victories).

Gundy became Oklahoma State’s 22nd head coach beginning with the 2005 season. He is the third-longest tenured coach at his current school in the FBS, trailing only Kirk Ferentz at Iowa and Patterson at TCU.

On October 29, 2016, Gundy recorded his 100th victory as the Cowboys' head coach. He is the only Oklahoma State football coach to record 100 victories.

Gundy is one of three head football coaches at Oklahoma State to have played for Oklahoma State. He was the Cowboys’ quarterback from 1986-89.

Oklahoma State holds a 16-12-2 edge in the all-time series with TCU. However, the Frogs are 7-5-2 versus Oklahoma State in Fort Worth.

Patterson is 3-5 as a head coach versus Oklahoma State, with all eight meetings having taken place since TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012.

Last year, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the Cowboys beat TCU, 34-27. Oklahoma State had 301 yards rushing in the victory. Running back Chuba Hubbard became the first to rush for 200 yards (223 yards on 20 carries) against a Patterson defense.

Oklahoma State will come into Fort Worth with a 6-2 overall record, 5-2 in the Big 12. The Cowboys are tied with Oklahoma for second place in the Big 12. Iowa State leads the conference with a 7-1 record.

Oklahoma State has beaten: Texas Tech, 50-44; Tulsa, 16-7; West Virginia, 27-13; Kansas 47-7; Iowa State, 24-21; and Kansas State, 20-18.

The Cowboys have lost to: Texas, 41-34 (OT); and Oklahoma, 41-13.

In the Big 12, Oklahoma State ranks sixth in total offense, averaging 406.4 yards per game.

The Cowboys' rushing offense ranks third, averaging 192.3 yards per game.

OSU's passing offense ranks seventh in the Big 12, with an average of 214.1 yards per game.

Oklahoma State's offense has accumulated 3,251 yards; 1,538 on the ground and 1,713 through the air. The 'Pokes have scored 12 rushing touchdowns and 10 passing touchdowns.

The Cowboys are sixth in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 28.9 points per game.

Defensively, OSU is allowing 355.9 total yards per Big 12 game, which is sixth in the conference.

The Cowboys are allowing an average of 162.4 rushing yards per game, which is seventh in the conference.

Oklahoma State is allowing 212.6 yards per game through the air, which is third in the conference.

The Cowboys' defense is limiting Big 12 opponents to 24 points per game, which is fourth in the conference.

Redshirt sophomore Spencer Sanders (#3) is Oklahoma State's quarterback. He ranks seventh in the Big 12. He has completed 92 of 143 passes for 1,085 yards. He has thrown six touchdown passes and five interceptions.

On the ground, the Cowboys are led by Hubbard (#30), a redshirt junior running back. On 133 carries, he has rushed for 625 yards, which ranks third in the Big 12. He has rushed for five touchdowns. He has a long run of 32 yards.

Hubbard led the nation last season with 2,094 yards and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. For his career, he has rushed for 3,459 yards, which is the eighth most in OSU history.

Because of a leg injury, Hubbard did not play in Oklahoma State's victory over Texas Tech last Saturday. It is not known if he will play against TCU.

Redshirt senior running back L.D. Brown (#0) is 11th in the Big 12, with 395 rushing yards on 70 carries. He has one touchdown run and a long run of 66 yards.

Redshirt junior running back Dezmon Jackson (#27) is 14th in the conference. He has rushed for 370 yards on 54 carries. He has rushed for three touchdowns. He has a long run of 34 yards. In Oklahoma State's victory over Texas Tech, Jackson rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns.

Oklahoma State's leading receiver is senior wide receiver Tylan Wallace (#2), of Fort Worth South Hills. He leads the Big 12 with 46 catches for 785 yards. He averages 17.1 yards per catch and 98.1 receiving yards per game. He has caught five touchdown passes. He has a long reception of 55 yards.

Tylan's twin brother, Tracin, came with him to OSU as a quarterback. Tracin was forced to retire from football because of multiple injuries. He is a student assistant on the team.

Redshirt senior wide receiver Dillon Stoner (#17) has caught 26 passes for 230 yards. he has not caught a touchdown pass. His long reception was for 28 yards.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Braydon Johnson (#8) has caught 17 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown. His long reception was for 66 yards.

Redshirt senior wide receiver Landon Wolf (#1) has caught 15 passes for 120 yards. He has one touchdown reception and a long catch of 25 yards.

Oklahoma State's offense has suffered seven interceptions. It has fumbled the football 10 times, losing six. The Cowboys have allowed 22 sacks.

Defensively, the Cowboys are led by redshirt senior linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (#7). He ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 36 solo tackles and 62 total tackles. He has one sack.

Redshirt junior safety Tre Sterling (#3) is eighth in the Big 12 with 40 solo and 57 total tackles. He has intercepted two passes.

Senior linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (#20) ranks ninth in the conference with 42 solo and 57 total tackles. He has one sack.

Junior safety Kolby Harvell-Peel (#31) has intercepted two passes.

Redshirt senior linebacker Devin Harper (#16) has intercepted one pass.

The Cowboys' defense has intercepted five passes, recorded 26 sacks and recovered four-of-11 fumbles by opponents.

Oklahoma State's punter is Tom Hutton (#26). He has punted 45 times for a per-punt average of 40.71 yards. He has a long punt of 62 yards. He has not had a punt blocked.

The Cowboys' punt returner is Stoner. He ranks fourth in the conference, with 13 punt returns for 92 yards.

OSU has used two field-goal kickers. 

Redshirt sophomore Alex Hale (#19) has made 13-of-14 field goal attempts. His long field goal is of 44 yards. He has not had a kick blocked. 

Redshirt freshman Brady Pohl (#59) has made three-of-four field goals, with a long field goal of 38 yards. He has not had a kick blocked.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Braydon Johnson (#8) returns kickoffs for Oklahoma State. He has 14 returns for 239 yards, which is an average of 17.1 yards per return. He has a long return of 32 yards.

With an upset of Oklahoma State, the Horned Frogs will assure themselves of at least a non-losing regular-season record.

With a loss to the Cowboys, TCU will put itself in the precarious position of having to beat LA Tech on December 12 to avoid a second-consecutive losing regular-season record.