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| For the 2020 season, TCU earned an invitation to play Arkansas in the 2020 Mercari Texas Bowl. The Horned Frogs had to cancel their participation, however, due "to an increased number of positive COVID-19 tests and other circumstances within the TCU football program." |
When it was finally determined that TCU would be playing a 2020 football season, everybody knew the historic season would be affected in various ways by the COVID-19 pandemic that was ravaging the world. As it turned out, COVID-19 would have a profound effect on the Horned Frogs’ season, from start to finish.
At the start of the season, the Frogs’ first three scheduled games of the season, against Cal, in in Berkeley, California, against Prairie View in Fort Worth, and against SMU in Dallas, were canceled because of various matters related to COVID-19.
At the end of the season, the 2020 Mercari Texas Bowl, to which the Horned Frogs were invited to challenge the Arkansas Razorbacks on New Year’s Eve in Houston, had to be canceled due "to an increased number of positive COVID-19 tests and other circumstances within the TCU football program."
It was a long, arduous journey to the end of the 2020 season for the Frogs.
TCU went into its delayed season-opener, on September 26, against Iowa State, in Fort Worth, with the status of its starting quarterback, Max Duggan, in doubt, and with several new faces on its coaching staff.
Duggan missed the majority of preseason camp due to surgery to correct Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, a heart condition he was born with. There were reports that his status for his entire sophomore season was in jeopardy.
As for the Horned Frogs’ coaching staff, continuity and cohesiveness were in jeopardy because of many changes since the 2019 season.
Co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Curtis Luper left the Frogs to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Missouri.
Offensive line coach Chris Thomsen left TCU to become the deputy head coach at Florida State.
Head coach Gary Patterson convinced former University of Minnesota head football coach Jerry Kill to join the Horned Frogs as special assistant to the head coach in charge of the offense. Kill is Patterson’s best friend. He was Patterson’s best man at his wedding to Kelsey.
Bryan Applewhite joined the staff as the running backs coach.
Doug Meacham rejoined the TCU program as inside receivers/tight ends coach.
Jarret Anderson moved from inside receivers/tight ends coach to offensive line coach, a position he coached for the Horned Frogs from 2014-16.
Paul Gonzales was promoted from safeties coach to defensive passing game coordinator.
Former TCU quarterback Kenny Hill was promoted from graduate assistant to offensive analyst. He replaced Tony Savino.
Former TCU safety Eric Buchanan was hired as a defensive analyst. He took over for Darrell Patterson.
After the season’s first four games, the Frogs were staggering, at 1-3. But TCU won five of its last six, including its last three games of the season, to finish 6-4 overall, 5-4 in the Big 12.
The winning record meant the Frogs avoided a second consecutive losing season (TCU was 5-7 in 2019) and earned their 18th bowl invitation during Patterson’s tenure as head coach.
The Frogs finished their ninth Big 12 season (TCU began play in the Big 12 in 2012) in sixth place, behind Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
In the Big 12, TCU lost to: Iowa State, 37-34; Kansas State, 24-21; Oklahoma, 33-14; and West Virginia, 24-6.
In the Big 12, the Horned Frogs beat: Texas, 33-31; Baylor, 33-23; Texas Tech, 34-18; Kansas, 59-23; and Oklahoma State, 29-22.
In its final regular season game of the year, on December 12, TCU won its lone non-conference game. The Frogs beat Louisiana Tech, 52-10.
Here is a review of TCU’s 12 games of the 2019 football season:
Game One: September 26: lost to Iowa State in Fort Worth, 37-34
An unprecedented year of uncertainty, fear, change, restricted activities and misery went from bad to worse for fans of TCU Horned Frogs football on Saturday, September 26.
Winless Big 12 foe Iowa State blew into a sparsely populated Amon G. Carter Stadium and ran over and around the Horned Frogs in a surprisingly easy 37-34 victory in which the Cyclones never trailed.
Watch the game: here
Iowa State, which on the previous Saturday as the nation’s 23rd-ranked team lost, 31-14, to Louisiana-Lafayette of the Power-5-less Southland Conference, evened its overall record at 1-1 and got its Big 12 Conference campaign underway at 1-0.
It was a trifecta of woes for the Frogs and Patterson, who was beginning his 20th season as TCU’s head coach.
It was a season-opening loss.
It was a home-opener loss.
It was a conference-opener loss.
It also was a dud of a first game in an even more luxurious Amon G. Carter Stadium.
The 2020 season marked the introduction of the $100-million stadium premium seating expansion. The project added two new levels of luxury seating above the existing upper deck on the east side of the stadium. The new Legends Club and Suites include 48 loge boxes, two private clubs, over 1,000 club seats and 22 luxury suites.
The September 26 date was the latest TCU had begun a season since a 13-0 win at Arkansas on October 2, 1943.
For the announced socially-distanced, temperature-checked and sometimes masked Amon G. Carter Stadium crowd of 11,852 (maximum attendance was to be 12,000), it was a humiliating loss that was witnessed first-hand amidst an invisible, deadly coronavirus that continued to wreak havoc across the country and the Fort Worth-Dallas Metroplex.
The backdrop for the game included nearly 33 million people worldwide infected by the coronavirus, with at least one million lives lost to the disease, the origin of which still is debated as robustly as the demise of the Southwest Conference (SWC).
It was a football Saturday in Cowtown and most everywhere else in the county, even though over seven million people in the United States had been attacked by the virus, with nearly 204,000 deaths.
By the time the Frogs and the Cyclones kicked off at 12:30 pm (Central) on a glorious day weather-wise for college football, more than 751,000 coronavirus cases had been confirmed in Texas (second most in the country), with nearly 16,000 dead (third most in the US).
In Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, the coronavirus had infected about 50,000 people and killed several hundred over the past six months.
Nearly 100,000 more Texans elsewhere across North Texas had been sickened by the virus, with about 2,000 virus-related deaths in the area.
For the second year in a row, the Cyclones’ offense battered TCU’s defense, commanded by Patterson and defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow.
A balanced Iowa State offense, which boasted an array of physical players that were larger, and at times swifter and craftier, than TCU’s defensive players, gained 423 yards; 212 on the ground and 211 through the air.
After a scoreless first quarter, about midway through the second quarter Iowa State running back Breece Hall scored a touchdown on a 75-yard run and the Cyclones never trailed.
Of the Cyclones’ 423 yards of total offense, 249 yards were gained on five plays. Iowa State had touchdown runs of 75, 49 and 32 yards, and two pass plays for 49 and 44 yards that set up scoring drives.
Hall rushed for 154 yards on 18 carries. He scored three touchdowns, on runs of 75, one and 32 yards.
Kene Nwangwu had a 49-yard run for a touchdown for Iowa State.
Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, who burned TCU last year in Ames during the Cyclones’ 49-24 lashing of the Frogs, completed 18-of-23 pass attempts.
Offensively, with new offensive coaching hires Meacham and Kill on their sideline, the Frogs performed well, particularly through the air. TCU outgained the Cyclones, with 498 yards of total offense; 399 yards through the air, and 99 yards on 44 runs, with nine different players having at least one carry.
Sophomore backup quarterback Matthew Downing, a transfer last year from Georgia, made his first appearance and start as a Horned Frog. Downing started the game because Duggan’s practice time had been limited during his recovery from the procedure to correct Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, the heart condition he was born with.
Downing played the entire first half. He completed 11-of-21 passes for 158 yards. He threw one touchdown pass, a 37-yarder to heralded true freshman wide receiver Quentin Johnson. It was Downing’s first career touchdown throw and Johnson’s first career touchdown catch.
Duggan started and played the entire second half. He completed 16-of-19 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdown passes tied a career high, set last year in the gut-wrenching loss to SMU.
Game Two: October 3: beat No. 9 Texas in Austin, 33-31
In the 91st meeting between the two rivals, TCU beat Texas for the sixth time in the past seven games, to even the Horned Frogs’ 2020 season at 1-1.
Watch the game: here
The Frogs improved to 7-2 against the Longhorns since joining the Big 12 Conference in 2012, including a 4-1 record in Austin.
TCU head coach Gary Patterson improved to 7-3 against Texas. Since 1996, he ranks No. 1 in the nation among all head coaches past and present (minimum 5 games) in career winning percentage against Texas.
The last time an unranked TCU team had beaten a top-10 team was in 2011, when the Frogs beat No. 5 Boise State, 36-35, in Boise, Idaho, in the 10th game of the season.
Three dramatic plays defined TCU’s upset.
The first occurred with the Frogs trailing, 29-26, with about four minutes left in the game.
TCU had a second-down-and-five at the Texas 26-yard line. At the line of scrimmage, quarterback Max Duggan checked into a quarterback draw and gutted Bevo with a 26-yard sprint into the end zone for the touchdown that proved to be the difference for the Frogs.
The second play came three offensive plays later, when Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger connected with running back Keaontay Ingram on a pass play that went for 52-yards, but would have went for a touchdown to give Texas the lead if not for the relentless effort of TCU junior safety La’Kendrick Van Zandt.
Although he trailed Ingram by several yards, Van Zandt did not give up on the play. He ran down Ingram and tackled him at the TCU 17-yard line.
On the next play, Ingram ran 16 yards to the TCU one-yard line, where the play of the game took place.
On the play, Ingram took the handoff from Ehlinger and attempted from the one-yard line to leap into the end zone for a Texas go-ahead touchdown.
TCU senior linebacker Garret Wallow collided with Ingram and knocked the football out of his hands. TCU senior defensive tackle Corey Bethley recovered the football to preserve the win for the Frogs.
The fumble by Ingram was his first during his three seasons with the Longhorns.
In his first start of the year, Duggan passed for 231 yards on 20-of-30 passing and was TCU’s leading rusher with 79 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carriers.
Placekicker Griffin Kell kicked field goals of 27, 28, 32 and 49 yards. His four field goals were the most for a Horned Frog since 2019. He also kicked three point-after-touchdowns, which gave him 15 kick scoring points in the game. That tied for ninth-most in a game in TCU history.
The Frogs’ offense totaled 458 yards against Texas; 231 passing, 227 rushing.
Defensively, the Frogs held the Longhorns to 388 yards; 236 passing, 152 rushing.
Texas gained 225 of its total yards on five plays, including a 45-yard touchdown pass and two 52-yard pass receptions.
In the Frogs' 34-31 season-opening loss to Iowa State, the Cyclones 249 of their 423 yards of offense on five plays. Iowa State had touchdown runs of 75, 49 and 32 yards.
Thus, in two games, the TCU defense had given up 474 yards on 10 plays.
Penalties were costly for both teams, nullifying several critical plays and snuffing the momentum of drives.
A 95-yard kickoff return and pass plays of 47, 34 and 26 yards were erased by penalties on the Longhorns.
It was only fitting that since the game began with a penalty, it ended with a penalty, although it really shouldn’t have ended with the penalty.
TCU had the lead, 33-29, and the ball, on its own 15-yard line. The Frogs faced a fourth down, with six seconds remaining in the game.
Patterson decided to give Texas two points on a safety.
Duggan took the snap and ran through the back of the TCU end zone for a two-point safety for Texas as time expired.
But, not surprisingly, there was a yellow flag lying on the field. Holding against TCU.
Still, the officials declared the game over, with TCU winning, 33-31.
Game Three: October 10: lost to Kansas State in Fort Worth, 21-14
With the loss to Kansas State, TCU falls to 1-2 on the season.
This was Patterson’s second consecutive to Wildcats head coach Chris Klieman, who is in his second year of coaching in the big leagues. Last year, Kansas State whipped the Frogs, 24-17, in Manhattan, Kansas.
The Frogs and Patterson now are 4-5 against Kansas State since TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012.
Watch highlights: here
TCU quarterback Max Duggan, showing tremendous heart and toughness for the third game in a row, accounted for 199 yards of TCU’s season-low 342 yards of offense against Kansas State.
Duggan completed 19-of-31 passes for 154 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Duggan ran for 45 yards, including a three-yard touchdown run late in the game that accounted for the final 21-14 score.
Because of the physical abuse he had taken from K-State defenders, Duggan had to leave the field late in the third quarter to have x-rays taken of his battered body.
Duggan returned to game action, but while being x-rayed he was replaced for two series by backup quarterback Matthew Downing.
It was one series too many.
Downing, who started and played the first half of the Frogs’ season-opening loss to Iowa State, led a three-and-out drive on his first series against the Wildcats.
During his second series, Downing’s sixth play of the game was a terrible pass that K-State senior cornerback AJ Parker intercepted and returned 37 yards for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown, as the Wildcats took a 21-7 lead.
The Frogs’ offensive struggles were the reason TCU lost to a Kansas State team they should have sent back to the Sunflower State with a loss.
The Frogs went three-and-out five times and turned the football over once, on the interception that resulted in the game-winning touchdown.
TCU converted only five-of-17 third-down plays.
Placekicker Griffin Kell had a 48-yard field goal attempt blocked in the second quarter.
The Frogs generated no offensive consistency against the Wildcats.
To many TCU fans, the team’s three offensive gurus – Jerry Kill, Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie -- seem to be struggling to gel on an offensive philosophy that effectively utilizes the talents of the team's offensive play-makers.
Game Four: October 24: lost to Oklahoma in Fort Worth, 33-14
The Frogs broke their string of losing football games by one score or less.
Unfortunately, they did that by losing to Oklahoma by 19 points.
TCU’s overall and Big 12 conference record fell to 1-3.
Watch the game: here
TCU’s offense was the reason the Frogs suffered the loss to the Sooners, who limped into The Carter with an overall record of 2-2, a Big 12 Conference record of 1-2.
The Frogs scored only two touchdowns and 14 points for the second consecutive game.
TCU never led. Oklahoma scored on its first possession of the game and extended its lead to 17-0 early in the second quarter. The Sooners led 17-7 at halftime. Going into the fourth quarter, the score was 27-7.
The Frogs racked up only 351 total yards of offense; 276 yards through the air, a measly 75 on the ground.
TCU’s offense had four three-and-out drives, including three of the first four in the second half.
The Frogs converted only five-of-14 third down opportunities. Jordy Sandy punted eight times.
Griffin Kell missed a 49-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the first half. The previous play, he had a 54-yard attempt blocked. The play was nullified by a penalty against Oklahoma.
TCU quarterback Max Duggan was the Frogs’ offense’s bright spot. He completed 25-of-35 passes, with one touchdown and no interceptions. Duggan also had a 34-yard run, TCU’s longest rushing play of the season, thus far.
Big plays, and especially big pass plays off of play action, again were a downfall of the Frogs’ defense. The Frogs have given up 17 plays of 32 or more yards this season.
OU quarterback Spencer Rattler didn’t completed only 13 of 22 passes, but his completions averaged 25.5 yards.
Sooners wide receiver Marvin Mims caught four passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdown catches were of 61 yards and 50 yards.
Oklahoma rushed for 166 yards on 45 carries, an average of 3.7 yards per rush.
OU running back T.J. Pledger gained 122 yards on 22 carries, an average of 5.5 yards per run.
Game Five: October 31: beat Baylor in Waco, 33-23
The Horned Frogs broke a two-game losing streak and improved their overall and conference records to 2-3 with a dominating win over their despised Baptist rivals.
The Frogs now have won five of their last six matchups with the Bears, TCU head coach Gary Patterson is 9-4 as a head coach versus Baylor, and TCU is 6-3 against the Bears since beginning Big 12 play in 2012.
TCU improved to 2-0 on the road for the 2020 season. The team’s three losses have come in Fort Worth, at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Watch highlights: here
The Frogs got off to a fast start against the Bears.
On its second possession of the game, TCU drove 73 yards in five plays to take a 7-0 lead. Darwin Barlow scored on a three-yard run.
After the Frogs’ defense held Baylor, TCU extended its lead to 14-0 on a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown by Derius Davis. It was Davis’ second career punt return for a touchdown on just six attempts.
After La'Kenrick Van Zandt intercepted a pass on Baylor's next series, TCU quarterback Max Duggan threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Taye Barber. TCU’s first-quarter lead grew to 20-0.
The 20 points were the most for TCU in a first quarter since it posted 21 in the first quarter of a 51-14 win over Kansas last year.
A 30-yard touchdown run by Zach Evans extended TCU’s lead to 27-0 in the second quarter and a 33-yard field goal by Griffin Kell gave the Horned Frogs a 30-0 lead as halftime approached.
After a TCU fumble, Baylor scored with 14 seconds remaining in the first half to trim the Frogs’ lead to 30-7 at the half.
The 23-point margin was TCU’s largest lead at halftime since a 38-0 first-half advantage over Kansas last season.
Duggan had another gutsy, if unspectacular, game. He completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards. He threw one touchdown pass and gained 25 yards on nine carries.
After struggling with their running game in their prior game against Oklahoma, the Frogs gained 247 rushing yards on 44 carries (TCU is 97-8 under Patterson when rushing for at least 200 yards).
Redshirt freshman running back Darwin Barlow had a career-high 117 yards rushing on 16 carries. The game was the first 100-yard performance of Barlow’s career and the first of 2020 for TCU.
Five-star true freshman running back Zach Evans had 81 rushing yards on seven carries. Early in the second quarter, he got his first career touchdown, on a 30-yard gallop through the middle of Baylor’s defense. He also had a 10-yard reception in the game.
TCU’s defense had a strong game against the Bears.
At one point late in the first half, Baylor had more penalty yards than offense. At halftime, TCU had more than twice as many total yards as Baylor (192-80). The Bears had negative yards gained midway through the third quarter.
Baylor senior quarterback Charlie Brewer completed only 17 of 37 passes.
Baylor redshirt freshman running back Craig “Squirrel” Williams was the Bears’ leading rusher. He gained 82 yards on nine carries. He had the Bears' one rushing touchdown, a 32-yarder.
TCU defenders had 11 tackles-for-loss, five sacks and an interception.
The 11 tackles-for-loss were the most in a game since November 4, 2017, when the Horned Frogs had 12 against Texas.
The five sacks matched the number of sacks TCU had in total through the first four games. The five sacks are the most for the Frogs in a game since they had five in their victory over Cal in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.
Junior linebacker Ben Wilson blocked a punt in the second quarter. It was TCU's first punt-block since Garrett Kaufman blocked a punt against Oregon in the 2016 Alamo Bowl.
Game Six: November 7: beat Texas Tech in Fort Worth, 34-18
TCU improved to 3-3 overall and in the Big 12.
Watch highlights: here
With wins over Texas, Baylor and Texas Tech, TCU finished the 2020 season 3-0 against in-state Big 12 opponents.
This was the Horned Frogs’ second consecutive win. 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.
Wit the win, the Frogs retained the unique, coveted Saddle Trophy, which each year goes to the winner of the TCU-Texas Tech game.
The victory was the 200th win that TCU head coach Gary Patterson has taken part in as a Horned Frog (175 victories as the head coach, to go along with 25 games the Frogs won when he was their defensive coordinator, 1998-00).
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.
TCU quarterback Max 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 in 2019.
Duggan scored three rushing touchdowns, form three yards, 81 yards and 48 yards. He became 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’s rushing superlatives offset an atrocious day of passing. He 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 a streak of 127 consecutive pass attempts without a pick. It was the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.
TCU’s defense had another overall strong performance.
The Frogs recorded five sacks. 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. He became the first TCU player to record three or more sacks since defensive end Josh Carraway did so on October 8, 2016, against Kansas.
The Red Raiders accumulated only 311 total yards of offense. 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.
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 and sixth of his career.
Xavier White was the Red Raiders’ leading rusher, with 43 yards on six runs.
Game Seven: November 14: lost to West Virginia in Morgantown, 24-6
TCU fell to 3-4 overall and in the Big 12.
The loss snapped a two-game TCU winning streak.
Watch highlights: here
Up until this point, the Frogs have not won three in a row since the end of 2018 season, when they beat Baylor and Oklahoma State to close out the regular season, then beat Cal during the postseason, in the Cheez-It Bowl, which then was played in Arizona.
TCU last had a three-game winning streak during the regular season in 2017. The Frogs won their first seven games of the season, on their way to an 11-3 record, which included a loss to No. 2 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, and a win over No. 13 Stanford in the Alamo Bowl.
West Virginia has won three straight over the Frogs, and four of the last six games between the two teams.
Going back to the 2017 season, TCU now is 26-20 overall, 17-17 in Big 12 games.
The Frogs are 6-10 in their last 16 Big 12 games.
Since 2018, TCU has won 10 of its last 25 Big 12 games. In 14 of the 15 losses, the Frogs scored less than 28 points.
Patterson now is 0-8 over the last eight games against four of the new, young coaches in the Big 12: Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, and West Virginia’s Neal Brown.
During halftime of Fox’s telecast of the West Virginia-TCU game, retired three-time national champion college football coach Urban Meyer, who now is a college football TV analyst, said he was perplexed by what is going on with TCU’s football program.
“TCU, on paper, is the third-best team in the Big 12,” said Meyer. “You go back and just look at the recruiting rankings, look at the fact that within three hours of the Fort Worth campus, you have the best players in America right there. Then you’ve got West Virginia.
“TCU is getting out-coached right now. West Virginia is doing a heckuva job because just purely on paper TCU is a better job, better talent to recruit from. What in the world is going on? You know they’ve got a great coach in Gary Patterson, but there’s something going on. My gosh, they beat Texas earlier in the year and they just look … is something wrong with TCU right now? They just don’t look right.”
Kelsey Patterson, wife of TCU head coach Gary Patterson, tweeted that the Frogs’ game against West Virginia was the first TCU football game in 18 years that she had not seen in person.
She didn’t miss much, at least offensively.
The six points were the fewest points TCU has scored in a game in four years.
It was the first time since 2018 that the Mountaineers had not allowed an opponent to score a touchdown.
In its loss to West Virginia, TCU was outgained, 392 yards to 295 yards.
The Mountaineers had 212 passing yards, to TCU’s 161 yards, and 180 rushing yards, to TCU’s 134 yards.
TCU trailed West Virginia 14-3 at the half. The three points are the least scored by the Frogs in a half this season.
The six points TCU scored against the Mountaineers are its fewest points since 2016
Game Eight: November 28: beat Kansas in Lawrence, 59-23
TCU's 59 points are its most in a Big 12 game since winning 62-22 at Baylor in 2016.
TCU improves 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.
Watch highlights: here
Against Kansas, Gary Patterson coached his 250th game as the Horned Frogs’ head coach. With the victory, his winningest head-coaching record at TCU improved to 176-74.
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.
TCU head coach Gary Patterson improves to 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 improved to 3-1 on the road in 2020, and to 22-19 on the road in their Big 12 history. TCU's 44 road wins since 2009 are tied for second nationally.
In dominating the Jayhawks, TCU scored touchdowns offensively, defensively and on special teams.
TCU rushed 41 times for a season-high 337 yards in rolling to its second consecutive victory over Kansas.
True freshman running back Zach Evans made his first career start. 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. True freshman running back Kendre Miller had 53 yards on 11 carries. Junior running back Emari Demercado ran six times for 33 yards.
TCU sophomore quarterback Max Duggan 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.
Duggan threw 11 passes. He completed only three of them, for 96 yards. But all three were for touchdowns, a career high. All three TD passes were caught by tight ends.
Junior tight end Pro Wells caught two of the touchdown passes, of 46 yards and 24 yards.
Junior tight end Carter Ware caught a 26-yard touchdown pass, his first career scoring grab.
Derius Davis had a 37-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter to give TCU a 24-0 lead.
TCU’s defense contributed two touchdowns to the winning effort.
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.
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.
Game Nine: December 5: beat No. 15 Oklahoma State in Fort Worth, 29-22
TCU’s 29-22 upset of then 15th-ranked Oklahoma would have been a nice finish to the unique and challenging 2020 season.
After all, the Frogs had won two consecutive games and four of their last five games to achieve an overall and Big 12 record of 5-4.
It is the first winning conference record for TCU since 2017, when the Horned Frogs went 7-2 in conference play, during an overall 11-3 season.
But, alas, during the week of its final Big 12 game of the season, TCU scheduled a 10th and final game of the 2020 season, against Louisiana Tech.
Thus, the pressure again will be on TCU.
The Horned Frogs now will have to stretch their winning streak to three consecutive games, and they will have to win their fifth of their last six games, to achieve a winning 2020 season, which, considering all of the obstacles the team has had to overcome, will be admirable.
Watch TCU-Oklahoma State highlights: here
The Frogs beat Oklahoma State despite having five turnovers; four fumbles, including one that was returned for a touchdown, and an interception.
The Frogs not only lost the turnover battle, 5-1, but missed a field goal and bungled a kickoff return, which resulted in the Frogs’ offense starting a drive at their own one-yard line.
2010 was the last time the Cowboys had lost a game in which they had forced five turnovers.
The Horned Frogs’ Senior Day against Oklahoma State didn’t start well.
Thanks to the Cowboys’ Brock Martin’s 42-yard scoop and score of a fumble by TCU true freshman running back Zach Evans on the Frogs’ seventh play of the game, Oklahoma State had a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
With just over four minutes left in the first quarter, OSU increased its lead to 13-0 on a one-yard touchdown run by Dezmon Jackson. The extra-point kick was missed.
Oklahoma State's 13-0 lead set the stage for TCU's first win since 2017 when being down by 13 or more points.
A one-yard run by TCU quarterback Max Duggan cut the Cowboys’ lead to 13-7 with 37 seconds left in the first half.
That should have been the halftime score, but because of a drive that included a 28-yard pass completion on a third-down play, Oklahoma State was able to increase its lead to 16-7 on a 31-yard field goal by Brady Pohl as time expired in the first half.
The second half of the game belonged to the Frogs.
Despite three more lost fumbles, TCU’s offense scored 22 points and the Frogs’ dominating defense held the Cowboys to six points, to earn the Horned Frogs the seven-point win.
A 42-yard touchdown run by Duggan that capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive to start the second half, cut the Frogs’ deficit to 16-14.
After a three-and-out by OSU, Evans climaxed a six-play, 68-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run that gave the Frogs their first lead, 21-16.
With seven seconds left in the third quarter, the Cowboys took their final lead of the game, 22-21, on a one-play drive.
The one play was a 55-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Spencer Sanders to wide receiver Tylan Wallace. A two-point after-touchdown play failed.
TCU scored the winning points on a dramatic touchdown with just under eight minutes remaining in the game.
Duggan connected with wide receiver/returner Derius Davis on a 71-yard touchdown pass. A two-point pass to Quentin Johnston pushed the lead to 29-22.
That lead appeared safe when TCU Safety Trevon Moehrig intercepted a Sanders’ pass in the end zone and TCU’s offense took over with just over four minutes left in the game.
However, three plays later, Duggan fumbled and Oklahoma State had the football at the TCU 26-yard line, with 3:30 left in the game.
Four plays later, Oklahoma State had lost two yards and the Frogs again had the football.
TCU’s offense could not run out the clock and the Cowboys had 33 seconds with which to possibly tie or win the game.
The Horned Frogs’ defense again rose to the occasion, keeping Oklahoma State out of the end zone on the final five plays of the game.
TCU totaled a season-best 501 yards of offense in knocking off a second ranked team of the season (Texas was ranked ninth when the Frogs beat them 33-31 on October 3), and in defeating the Cowboys for the third time in the last four seasons.
TCU is 28-27 versus ranked teams under head coach Gary Patterson. The Horned Frogs are 91-27 in 20 seasons under Patterson at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
The Horned Frogs rushed for 236 yards and are 5-0 this season and 100-8 under Patterson when totaling at least 200 yards on the ground.
For the first time in 20 seasons with Patterson as head coach, and for the first time since 1996, TCU had two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher: junior Derius Davis, 139 receiving yards; true freshman Quentin Johnston, 114 receiving yards; and Duggan, 104 rushing yards.
Davis and Johnston became the first pair of TCU pass-catchers to top 100 yards receiving in a game since November 7, 2015, when Shaun Nixon (146) and KaVontae Turpin (107) did the same, also against Oklahoma State.
The career-high 139 yards receiving on a career-best six receptions by Davis were the most by a Horned Frog since Jalen Reagor had 150 yards at West Virginia in 2018.
The 71-yard Duggan-to-Davis touchdown pass was TCU’s longest pass play since the 2017 Alamo Bowl, when Kenny Hill hit Reagor for a 93-yard score.
Duggan totaled 369 yards of offense (265 passing, 104 rushing), the second-best game of his career. He had 398 total yards at Texas Tech last year.
Duggan posted the third 100-yard rushing game of his career, tying Trevone Boykin (2012-15) for the most by a quarterback in TCU history.
Duggan had two scoring runs, giving him a team-best nine on the season. His 15 career rushing scores are the most among current Horned Frogs.
Duggan’s nine rushing touchdowns this season are the most by a TCU quarterback since Kenny Hill had 10 in 2016. Duggan is second in TCU history for the most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback since joining the Big 12 (Trevon Boykin, 9, 2015; Hill, 10, 2016).
Duggan is the first TCU quarterback in the Patterson era with two 100-yard rushing games in the same season.
Duggan had the two-longest completions of his career with the 71-yard touchdown pass to Davis and a 58-yard completion to Johnston.
Johnston set a career high with 114 receiving yards on three catches. It was his first-career 100-yard receiving day.
Just over a month ago, TCU was 1-3 on the season and the outlook was bleak. But Patterson and the Frogs turned things around.
The Frogs now have an opportunity to win three games in a row and not only have a winning season, but a special, memorable season at 6-4.
Game 10: December 12: beat Louisiana Tech in Fort Worth, 52-10
It was TCU’s first home night game of the season, and the Frogs’ second night game of the season.
With the 52-10 win over Louisiana Tech, TCU ended the 2020 regular season with an overall 6-4 record.
Watch highlights: here
The Frogs finished their ninth Big 12 season at 5-4, in sixth place. TCU finished behind fifth-place West Virginia, 4-4, because the Mountaineers’ beat them, 24-6.
The Big 12 tried to get in all 45 conference matchups in this pandemic-affected season, and came close.
Forty-three of the 45 scheduled Big 12 games were played, a 95.6% completion rate. Baylor was the only team that was not able to play a non-conference game.
After starting the season 1-3, the Horned Frogs won five of their last six games, including the final three games of the season.
The last time TCU won five of its last six games was in 2014, when the Frogs won their final seven games.
The Frogs have finished with at least five wins in their final six regular season games in 10 of Patterson’s 20 seasons.
Patterson now is 178-74 at TCU, with 17 bowl appearances.
In the 20 seasons prior to Patterson's leadership, the Frogs won just 95 games and appeared in only four bowl games.
Patterson is the winningest coach in Texas college football history (counting only wins while at Texas schools): Patterson, 178; Darrell Royal, 167, Texas; Bill Yeoman, 160, Houston.
As in previous seasons, TCU’s final regular-season game had a distinct impact on the overall season.
If the Frogs had not beaten Louisiana Tech, they would not have achieved a winning record. They would have been a blah 5-5.
Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, TCU now is 5-4 in regular-season finales, all of which have been played in Fort Worth.
TCU’s matchup with LA Tech was announced on Tuesday, December 1.
The game against Conference USA’s Bulldogs replaced 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 eventually was canceled.
There were ongoing discussions about TCU and SMU playing each other during the 2020 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 in Fort Worth during the 2019 season.
This was TCU’s second-ever win over LA Tech (the Frogs beat the Bulldogs, 31-24, in the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl).
Against Louisiana Tech, TCU’s offensive “Young Guns” displayed the talent and explosiveness that TCU fans hope to see well into the future.
True freshman running back Zach Evans, true freshman running back Kendre Miller and true freshman wide receiver Quentin Johnston accounted for 400 of the Frogs’ 494 total yards of offense and six of the Frogs’ seven touchdowns.
Evans, the former five-star recruit, had 130 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.
He had a four-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 75-yard touchdown sprint in the third quarter.
This was Evans’ second 100-yard rushing game of the season and his second straight week with a rushing touchdown, giving him four on the season.
Miller rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns on five carries.
Miller had a 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and an 89-yard touchdown run for the Frogs’ final touchdown with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
The 89-yard touchdown run tied for the second-longest run and eighth-longest play in TCU history.
Evans and Miller gave the Horned Frogs their first pair of 100-yard rushers since Darius Anderson (179) and Sewo Olonilua (106) in last year's 34-13 win at Purdue.
TCU rushed for 333 yards, four shy of a season high, and are 6-0 this season and 101-8 under Patterson when totaling at least 200 yards on the ground. TCU has topped 300 yards in rushing in two of its last three games.
Johnston finished with 133 yards on five catches, including a career-long 76-yarder that went for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Johnston is the first TCU true freshman in the last 25 seasons with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games. The previous game, against Oklahoma State, he had 114 receiving yards on three catches.
Johnston's 133 yards were the most by a Horned Frog since Taye Barber totaled 137 on eight receptions last season at Texas Tech.
Johnston is the first Horned Frog with consecutive 100-yard receiving games since Josh Doctson had a school record six straight in 2015.
Johnston is the first TCU player with a rushing touchdown and receiving score in the same game since Jalen Reagor accomplished the feat against Oklahoma State in 2018.
Quarterback Max Duggan completed 10-of-13 passes for 161 yards. His 76-yard touchdown toss to Johnston was his career-long reception. It also was TCU’s longest touchdown throw since Kenny Hill connected with Reagor on a 93-yard scoring pass in the 2017 Alamo Bowl.
Duggan connected on a scoring throw of 70-plus yards for the second consecutive game. He had a go-ahead 71-yard scoring toss to wide receiver Derius Davis in last week's 29-22 victory over then-No. 19 Oklahoma State.
Against Louisiana Tech, Duggan also rushed for a touchdown, a five-yarder in the first quarter.
Duggan’s touchdown run was his team-best 10th of the season, the most by a TCU quarterback since Kenny Hill had 10 in 2016.
The Frogs also dominated the Bulldogs defensively, mixing youth with a splash of experience.
Louisiana Tech gained only 244 yards, 52 on the ground and 192 through the air.
The ‘Dogs didn’t score a touchdown until early in the fourth quarter.
TCU’s defense recorded five sacks against LA Tech, matching five-sack efforts in wins over Baylor, Texas Tech and Kansas.
Sophomore defensive end Ochaun Mathis recorded two sacks to give him a team-best nine on the season, the most by a Horned Frog since Mat Boesen had 11.5 in 2017.
Mathis also had his first career fumble recovery, off a sack and forced fumble by senior linebacker Garret Wallow.
Wallow, who had a team-best and season-high 13 tackles, has three forced fumbles this season.
Sophomore cornerback C.J. Ceasar, of snared two interceptions. He now has a team-best three interceptions on the season.
Ceasar is the first Horned Frog with two interceptions in a game since Ar’Darius Washington had two interceptions in 2019 against West Virginia.
After the game, Patterson said, "We made it through the regular season. That's the whole goal, and to win more than we lose.
"We've gotten better. I think we've had addition by subtraction. As I told them before the game, the younger guys have all grown up. I think they are much stronger and much more mature than they were back in August.
“I go back to the Chancellor, the Athletic Director, the Board of Trustees and the Big 12 for giving us an opportunity to play, minus the hiccup against SMU, we had an opportunity to play all our games going forward. It's a credit to our kids and the trainers, you name it, there are a lot of people to thank. We did not start with the same team we ended with and that is a credit to this coaching staff.”
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