Saturday, October 9, was “Astronomy Day,” so naturally the stars were shining brightly when the TCU Horned Frogs faced the Texas Tech Red Raiders in a night game in Lubbock, Texas.
The two stars that glowed the brightest were TCU sophomore running backs Kendre Miller and Zach Evans, as the Frogs ran over the outmanned Red Raiders, 52-31 (Midnite had predicted a 35-31 TCU victory).
Miller ran 12 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns. He had scoring runs of 75 yards, 45 yards and 33 yards.
Evans, who played in only the first half because of a foot injury that is believed to be minor, ran 17 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He had scoring runs of seven yards and one yard.
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| Tom C. "Midnite" Burke |
The win improved the Horned Frogs’ record to 3-2, 1-1 in Big 12 play.
It was TCU’s first road game, after opening the season with four straight home games, during which the Frogs went 2-2, 0-1 in the Big 12.
A stargazing TCU head coach Gary Patterson wrote a song after the convincing win over Tech, which broke a two-game losing streak for the Frogs. Listen: here
Patterson is 7-5 as a head coach versus Texas Tech, including 6-4 in Big 12 play and 3-0 against Wells.
The loss dropped the Red Raiders to 4-2, 1-2 in Big 12 games.
It was not a dreamy night of twinkling stars for Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells. It was another lonely night in desolate Lubbock, where Red Raiders fans increasingly are becoming frustrated with the growing number of losses under his leadership.
Wells is 12-16 overall as the Red Raiders' head coach, 6-15 in Big 12 play.
Wells is 0-3 as a head coach versus Patterson and TCU.
After the game, Wells wrote a song expressing his feelings. Listen: here
For TCU, the win basically was a necessity, coming after narrow, consecutive home losses to SMU (42-34) and Texas (32-27) and a week before an ABC-nationally televised night game against the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma.
With the victory, TCU avoided its first three-game skid since 2017.
For Texas Tech, it was a crushing, emotionally-draining loss, during what otherwise was an unusually bright week in Lubbock.
The Red Raiders were looking for a second consecutive signature win. The prior Saturday, in Morgantown, Tech had beaten West Virginia, 23-20, on a last-second field goal.
Saturday was Tech’s homecoming, as if many people actually look forward to returning to Lubbock, once they get out of town.
It was Tech offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Sonny Cumbie’s first game against TCU, for whom he was co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach from 2014-2020.
It is the 50th anniversary of the Red Raiders’ football stadium -- AT&T Jones Stadium.
The day that TCU landed in town for the Big 12 contest, Friday, October 8, Texas Tech announced the largest one-time gift in Red Raiders athletics history. Dustin Womble committed $20 million to fund and name the Dustin R. Womble Football Center.
And, of course, the historic and coveted Saddle Trophy was at stake in the battle between the former southwest Conference foes.
The Horned Frogs ran out of Lubbock with the saddle, with Tech’s Masked Rider in hot pursuit, who, just like Tech’s defenders, was unable to catch the Frogs.
The saddle will continue to be on display in Cowtown, where it has been since 2019.
TCU has won seven of its last eight games with Tech, including three straight overall, and four straight at Jones AT&T Stadium, marking the only time the Frogs have won consecutive contests in Lubbock.
With the win, the Horned Frogs improved to 23-19 on the road in their Big 12 history. Overall, the Frogs have 45 road wins since 2009, which is tied for third nationally.
After Texas running back Bijan Robinson ran 35 times for 216 yards and two touchdowns in the Longhorns’ October 2 victory over the Frogs, Patterson proclaimed, “That’s a lot (of carries). If you look over 12 ballgames and you go 35, that’s a lot of touches. I would never do 35 carries a game like they did if you want to make it through four years. You’ve got to be very careful about that. That’s his (Texas coach Steve Sarkisian) call. It’s not mine.”
Patterson doesn’t have to rely on one running back carrying the football 35 times in a game. That’s because he has a stable of running backs, including at least two thoroughbreds in Miller and Evans.
“The best running back duo,” Evans said. “Really trio, really quadruple. Me, 6, 3 (senior Emari Demercado), 33 (Miller), 21 (sophomore Daimarqua Foster). Quadruple running backs.”
TCU’s 394 rushing yards was its first 300-yard ground game since going for 333 yards against Louisiana Tech in last year’s season finale, when Evans and Miller each had over 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
It’s the most rushing yards by the Frogs since they had 431 yards in a 62-22 win at Baylor in 2016.
The Horned Frogs improved to a gaudy 103-8 under Head Coach Gary Patterson when running for at least 200 yards.
Miller’s 185 yards were a career-best. It was the second 100-yard game of his career. Miller’s previous career high was 136 yards, against Louisiana Tech last season.
Miller’s 75-yard touchdown sprint was the second-longest run of his career, trailing only an 89-yard effort against Louisiana Tech.
Miller has a rushing touchdown in four of five games this season and a team-best six on the year.
Evans became the Frogs’ first running back since Lonta Hobbs in 2002 to post four straight 100-yard games.
Evans has topped the century mark in six of the last eight games.
Evans’ two touchdown runs gave him a rushing score in six of the last seven contests.
Junior quarterback Max Duggan oversaw TCU’s rushing offense against Tech. He did little more, because he didn’t need to do much more in this game, in which he improved to 3-0 against Tech in his TCU career.
Duggan rushed six times for 43 yards, with 32 yards coming on one carry. He attempted only 10 passes, completing eight of them for 104 yards and one touchdown, a desperation four-yard toss to freshman Quincy Brown.
TCU’s receiving corps was led by Derius Davis, who caught one pass for 42 yards, and Blair Conwright, who caught three passes for 36 yards. Conwright is a graduate of Coronado High School in Lubbock.
Conwright obviously enjoyed coming home to Lubbock much more than did Texas Tech alums on this particular Saturday.
TCU’s offense, behind Duggan, Evans and Miller, seized control of the game early.
On TCU’s first two plays of the game, Evans rushed for 60 total yards. Duggan’s touchdown pass to Brown gave TCU a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
The Frogs never relinquished the lead.
Five minutes later, Miller’s 33-yard touchdown run made it 14-0.
At halftime, TCU’s led 35-10, thanks to Evans’ two touchdown runs, Brown's touchdown reception, Miller's touchdown romp, and a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback/safety Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson.
During the first half, the Frogs rushed 30 times for 232 yards. Evans had his 143 rushing yards. Miller had 56 rushing yards, with the second half to belong to him with Evans nursing his foot injury, which Patterson blamed on the artificial turf in Jones AT&T Stadium.
The Horned Frogs improved to an impressive 144-19 under Patterson when holding a halftime advantage.
With Miller being the focus of attention in the second half, he exploded, with 129 yards on seven carries, including his touchdown runs of 75 and 45 yards. The 75-yarder gave the Frogs a 45-17 lead. His 45-yarder was TCU's final touchdown.
Texas Tech only has the Big 12’s eighth overall defense and the conference’s seventh-ranked rushing defense, but TCU’s rushing outburst against the Red Raiders was a good sign, especially since the Frogs’ offense seemed to be searching for an identity through the first four games of the season.
Additionally, the Frogs were able to run against the Red Raiders without starting offensive guards Wes Harris and John Lanz, who missed the game because of injuries.
Evans now is the Big 12’s second-leading rusher, trailing only Texas’ Robinson.
Miller is the Big 12’s 10th-leading rusher.
Because of injuries, TCU’s offense against Tech also was missing wide receivers Quentin Johnston and JD Spielman.
Defensively, the Frogs remain a work in progress, with injuries continuing to challenge the unit.
Texas Tech rushed for 214 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries.
The Red Raiders added another 344 yards through the air on 33 pass completions.
That’s 558 total yards by a team that is averaging 452 yards per game.
Tech running back SaRodorick Thompson, the Big 12’s 12th-leading rusher, ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns.
TCU’s defense has given up 836 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns on 136 carries in the last three games. That’s 6.14 yards per carry.
For four consecutive games, TCU’s opponents have scored over 30 points.
Besides the dominance of TCU's offense, the saving grace for TCU’s defense against the Red Raiders was that the unit prevented Tech from converting nine of its 13 third-down attempts, and three of its six fourth-down attempts.
Because of injuries, going into the game the Frogs’ defense was missing defensive lineman Corey Bethley and defensive backs Noah Daniels and Deshawn McCuin. During the game, the defense lost several players to injury, including safety Bud Clark and defensive end Dylan Horton.
Because of injuries at the safety position, Hodges-Tomlinson, who prior to the game against Texas had exclusively been a cornerback, has had to play safety against the Longhorns and Red Raiders.
In the Tech game, Hodges-Tomlinson’s second interception of the season was returned 19 yards for a touchdown. He added four tackles.
Hodges-Tomlinson’s performance against Texas Tech earned him Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Hodges-Tomlinson is TCU's third-leading tackler on the season with 27 stops, including two for loss.
Against Tech, T. J. Carter had a team-best and TCU career-high 12 tackles, and a pass breakup.
Linebacker Dee Winters tied a career-high with 10 tackles, including one for loss.
Defensive end Khari Coleman, who has missed time because of an injury, recorded his first sack of the season.
Overall TCU’s defense is ranked seventh in the Big 12, allowing 429.2 total yards a game.
In rushing defense, the Frogs are ranked ninth out of the 10 teams, allowing 206 yards per game.
In passing defense, the Horned Frogs are ranked fourth, allowing 223.2 yards per game.
TCU’s defense likely will face its toughest test of the season this Saturday when the Frogs go on the road for a second consecutive week to meet fourth-ranked Oklahoma in Norman. It’s a 6:30 pm (Central) game that ABC will televise nationally.
Oklahoma, 6-0, 3-0 Big 12, is ranked second in the conference in total offense.
The Sooners average 472 total yards a game.
OU is second in the Big 12 in passing offense, averaging 285.8 yards per game.
Oklahoma is fourth in the conference in rushing offense, averaging 185.7 yards per game.
The then sixth-ranked Sooners beat the then 21st-ranked University of Texas, 52-48, last Saturday, for their fourth consecutive victory over the Longhorns in the annual “Red River Showdown” game in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
It took the largest comeback in the series history for Oklahoma to subdue Texas in the closing seconds of this year’s classic, at one point during which the Sooners trailed 28-7.
The 21-point comeback victory is tied for the second-largest comeback in Oklahoma football history.
Leading the comeback for the Sooners was running back Kennedy Brooks and quarterback Caleb Williams.
Brooks rushed 25 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns against the ‘Horns. His 33-yard touchdown run with three seconds remaining was the game-winner for Oklahoma.
Brooks’ performance earned him Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Williams is a true freshman quarterback from Washington, D.C., who was the country’s number-one ranked quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class, and who in 2020 did not play his senior year of high school football because of the COVID pandemic.
Against the longhorns, Williams ran for a 66-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-1 play and completed 15 of 24 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns after replacing OU’s starting quarterback and Heisman-candidate Spencer Rattler, who had two turnovers in the first half that led to Texas touchdowns.
Williams’ performance earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
Also instrumental in Oklahoma’s big win over Texas was wide receiver Marvin Mims and placekicker Gabe Brkic.
Mims had five catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
Brkic kicked four field goals (26, 29, 35 and 40 yards) and five extra points.
Brkic’s performance earned him Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Oklahoma holds a 16-5 series lead over TCU.
The Horned Frogs are 3-6 versus the Sooners in Norman, 2-8 in Fort Worth, 0-1 in Oklahoma City (first game in the series, in 1944) and 0-1 in Arlington (2017 Big 12 Championship Game).
TCU has not won in Norman since 2005.
The Frogs’ 17-10 win at No. 5 Oklahoma in the 2005 season-opener was its first victory over an opponent ranked that high since a 6-0 decision at No. 1 Texas in 1961. The 10 points by OU marked its fewest in a home game under former head coach Bob Stoops.
TCU has won five of its last 11 games versus top-five opponents, with only two of those contests having been at home.
Since TCU began Big 12 play in 2012, six of its nine regular-season games versus Oklahoma have been decided by seven points or less.
Oklahoma this season is seeking its 15th overall and seventh straight Big 12 Conference football title, as well as a return to the College Football Playoff, in which it last appeared in 2019, in a 63-28 semifinal loss to eventual national champion LSU.
For this Saturday night, TCU’s horoscope indicates that the stars in Norman’s night sky will need to be perfectly aligned for the Frogs to celebrate a victory over the vaunted Sooners.
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