TCU 41, West Virginia 31
October 29, 2022
Milan-Puskar Stadium
University of West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Attendance: 50,426
Box score: here
Game highlights: here
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes discusses TCU's win: here
TCU wide receiver Taye Barber discusses TCU's win: here
TCU quarterback Max Duggan discusses TCU's win: here
TCU linebacker Jamoi Hodge discusses TCU's win: here
TCU safety Bud Clark discusses TCU's win: here
West Virginia head coach Neal Brown discusses West Virginia's loss: here
Hypnotoad Prevails on Halloween Weekend in West Virginia
By Tom C. "Midnite" Burke
Boo!
TCU’s trip to Morgantown to play West Virginia on Saturday, October 29, scared you, didn’t it?
After all, Morgantown always is a scary place, and particularly two days before Halloween.
But the Horned Frogs finally got treats from the Mountaineers. TCU’s 41-31 victory snapped a four-game losing streak to West Virginia (Midnite had predicted a 41-27 TCU win). The Frogs had been losers their last three times in Morgantown.
There were 50,000 spectators in Milan-Puskar Stadium dressed in John Denver costumes, ready to celebrate a Mountaineers’ homecoming victory by singing Denver's “Take me Home, Country Roads.”
Instead, it was TCU’s Hypnotoad that prevailed on this pre-Halloween weekend.
So, the fun continues for the Horned Frogs.
At least for another week.
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| Tom C. "Midnite" Burke |
The Frogs are one of six undefeated FBS teams in the nation (Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson are the other five).
TCU is 8-0 for the first time since 2015 and for the fifth time over the last 20 seasons. Only Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Boise State have done so more often over that span.
TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes has become the first head coach in Big 12 history to start 8-0 in his first season in the conference. He is the second head coach in TCU history, joining Francis Schmidt in 1929, to win his opening eight games.
The Horned Frogs entered the game against West Virginia ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll and the Coaches poll. After their victory, the Frogs remained seventh in both polls.
The Frogs also were ranked seventh in the first College Football Playoff National Championship top 25 poll, which was released on Tuesday, November 1.
Future selection committee top 25 rankings will be released on November 8, November 15, November 22, November 29, and December 4, which is known as Selection Sunday.
The College Football Playoff National Championship Poll now is the only poll that really matters. It will be used to determine the four College Football Playoff teams, which will play, respectively, on December 31, in the Playoff Semifinal games, to be held at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, in Glendale, Arizona.
The two winners of those bowl games will play in this season's College Football Playoff National Championship game, which will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Monday, January 9, 2023.
The College Football Playoff National Championship selection committee also will announce the pairings for the Capital One Orange Bowl (to be played on December 30), Allstate Sugar Bowl (to be played on December 31), Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (to be played on January 2, 2023) and Rose Bowl Game (to be played on January 2, 2023).
Additional information about the College Football Playoff National Championship and the selection committee: here
TCU kept alive its dream of being one of the four teams included in the College Football Playoff National Championship by relying on its dynamic offense and a stingy second-half defense to subdue the pesky Mountaineers.
TCU’s offense scored touchdowns of 71, 55, 51 and 30 yards in the first half, to lead West Virginia 28-21 at halftime.
The Horned Frogs’ defense put together a masterful second-half performance, especially compared to the first half.
After being carved up in the first half for 305 yards (142 rushing yards and 163 passing yards) and three touchdowns, TCU buckled down in the third and fourth quarters and limited the Mountaineers to 125 yards (13 rushing yards and 112 yards passing) on 36 plays and one touchdown and one field goal.
TCU’s defense now has allowed just one second-half touchdown in its last three games.
Against the Mountaineers, the Frogs’ defense intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.
As they have so many times this season, the Horned Frogs trailed early, 7-0, and 14-7, to West Virginia.
And as they have so many times this season, the Frogs didn’t panic. They turned to their offensive playmakers.
Wide receiver Taye Barber caught a 71-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Max Duggan to tie the game at 7-7.
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Duggan that evened the score at 14-14.
A 51-yard touchdown run by running back Kendre Miller gave TCU its first lead, 21-14, midway through the second quarter.
Running back Emani Bailey had a 30-yard touchdown run with under 30 seconds left in the second quarter to put the Horned Frogs ahead 28-21 at halftime.
While TCU’s defense was roaring in the second half, the Frogs’ offense was sputtering. TCU scored only six points on two Griffin Kell field goals, to lead precariously, 34-31, late into the fourth quarter.
It was not until with 20 seconds remaining in the game, when Duggan connected with wide receiver Savion Williams on a 29-yard touchdown pass, that TCU iced the game and sent West Virginia fans out into the mountains to burn couches and eat pepperoni rolls.
In his 36th career start, Duggan finished 16-of-28 for 341 yards. He threw three touchdown passes. He was sacked once. He had one pass intercepted.
Duggan has accounted for three or more touchdowns in all seven of his starts this season (he did not start in the first game of the season, against Colorado). He has thrown for 2,212 yards and 22 touchdowns. He has only had two passes intercepted.
The senior quarterback from Council Bluffs, Iowa, has been named a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, presented to the Collegiate Player of the Year.
Duggan is fourth in the nation in passing efficiency with a 182.5 rating. He leads all Power 5 quarterbacks with 14 touchdown passes of at
least 20 yards. He tops
the Big 12 in passing efficiency, passing touchdowns (22), passing yards
(2,212) and yards per attempt (10.0), while placing second in completion
percentage (67.4), just .0001 off the lead.
He is on pace to set TCU season records for completion percentage and
lowest interception percentage (0.90).
TCU quarterback Davey O'Brien won the 1938 Maxwell Award.
In the win over West Virginia, Miller had 120 rushing yards on 12 carries. It was his fifth 100-yard game in the last six contests. He has nine career 100-yard efforts.
Miller’s rushing touchdown gave him a rushing score in all eight games this year, the second-longest streak to begin a season in TCU history. TCU Board of Trustees member LaDainian Tomlinson ran for a touchdown in all 12 games in 2000.
Miller's nine consecutive games with a rushing touchdown rank second all-time at TCU, behind only Tomlinson (15, 1999-00).
Miller has a team-best 11 touchdowns on the season.
Barber’s 71-yard touchdown reception gave him his second scoring grab of at least 70 yards this season. He had a 73-yard touchdown reception against Oklahoma.
Barber had four receptions for 99 receiving yards against West Virginia, leaving him one yard shy of his second 100-yard game of the season and fourth of his career. He has 142 career receptions, the most by a current Horned Frog.
Johnston’s 55-yard touchdown marked his fourth consecutive game with a receiving score.
Bailey’s 30-yard run was his second rushing touchdown of at least 30 yards this season.
In addition to his 29-yard touchdown reception, Williams had a career long 57-yard reception as part of a career-high 97 yards on three receptions.
TCU’s offense leads the Big 12 in scoring, at 44.3 points per game, and total offense, at 518.6 yards per game. The Frogs are second in rushing offense, at 217.9 rushing yards per game, and second in passing offense, averaging 300.8 passing yards per game.
Duggan
leads the Big 12 in passing, 276.5 passing yards per game.
Johnston is second in the conference in receiving, averaging 81.3 receiving
yards per game.
Miller is third in the conference in rushing, averaging 106.4 rushing yards per game.
TCU linebacker Jamoi Hodge led the Frogs’ defense with 13 tackles, including two for loss and a sack. The 13 tackles set a new career high. His previous best was eight against Oklahoma State this season.
Safety Bud Clark made his first start of the season and had an interception for the third straight game. His streak of an interception in three consecutive games is the longest since Chris Hackett had an interception in four straight games in 2014.
Defensive end Dylan Horton had two sacks as part of five tackles.
Cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, who is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate defensive back, had the third forced fumble of his career, as well as four tackles in the win over West Virginia.
Defensive lineman Lwal Uguak had the first fumble recovery of his career.
Cornerback Josh Foster’s seven tackles were two shy of his career-high nine at Oklahoma State last season.
TCU’s defense is fifth in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing 27.3 points per game. They are sixth in total defense, allowing 402.5 total yards per game. The Frogs are sixth in rushing defense, allowing 140.5 rushing yards per game. They are seventh in passing defense, allowing 262 passing yards per game.
Beginning this Saturday, November 5, TCU begins the last third of its regular season. The Frogs have games remaining against Texas Tech (in Fort Worth), Texas (in Austin), Baylor (in Waco) and Iowa State (in Fort Worth).
The Red Raiders come to Fort Worth this Saturday. Kickoff in Amon G. Carter Stadium is scheduled for 11 am (Central).
Fox College Football will be on the TCU campus for its college football pregame show, which features Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Urban Meyer and Brady Quinn.
Fox will broadcast the TCU-Texas Tech game. Longtime broadcaster Gus Johnson and college football analyst Joel Klatt will call the game.
Texas Tech holds a 32-29-3 edge over TCU in the all-time series, which began with a 28-16 Horned Frogs' win in Fort Worth in 1926.
TCU is 20-14 against Texas Tech in Fort Worth and 9-18-3 versus the Red Raiders in Lubbock.
The Horned Frogs have beaten the Red Raiders three straight times. TCU's three-game winning streak over Texas Tech is its longest in the series since a run of three straight victories from 1958-60.
The Red Raiders have not beaten a top-10 team on the road since shocking top-ranked Oklahoma, 41-38, in Norman during the 2011 season.
TCU and Tech battle for the Saddle Trophy, a longtime tradition that was renewed in 2017. The teams used to compete annually in the West Texas Championship for the Saddle Trophy, before it went away in the early 1970s. Thanks to M.L. Leddy's Boots & Saddlery of Fort Worth, the Saddle Trophy returned and headed to Fort Worth after TCU's 27-3 victory in Lubbock.
The Saddle Trophy sits on a stand and includes the logos for TCU and Texas Tech. Scores for 60-plus years of the rivalry are represented on the stand.
There are many ties between the TCU and Texas Tech football programs.
TCU’s Sonny Dkyes is the son of legendary Texas Tech head football Coach Spike Dykes. Spike coached the Red Raiders from 1986-99.
Sonny spent seven seasons on the coaching staff at Texas Tech, serving as receivers coach from 2000-04 and adding the title of co-offensive coordinator from 2005-06. He lettered two seasons in baseball at Texas Tech.
TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, a West Texas native from Muleshoe, earned his degree in general business from Texas Tech in 2012.
The Red Raiders’ head coach is Joey McGuire, who is in his first year at the helm of the Texas Tech football program.
McGuire went to Lubbock from Waco, where he was on the Baylor football coaching staff since 2016. He served as Baylor’s associate head coach during each of his final three seasons as he oversaw three different position groups during his tenure: tight ends (2017-18), defensive ends (2019) and outside linebackers (2020-21).
Prior to Baylor, McGuire, a native of Crowley in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, created one of the most-memorable turnaround stories in Texas high school football history during his 14 seasons leading Cedar Hill High School’s football team. McGuire transformed the Longhorns into one of the state’s most dominant football programs with its first state title in 2006 and then back-to-back state crowns in 2013 and 2014.
Cedar Hill was an impressive 141-42 during McGuire’s tenure, going from an unknown to a state champion in only his fourth season as head coach. The Longhorns’ dynasty featured 12 consecutive playoff appearances, nine bi-district titles and seven district crowns under McGuire, including another appearance in the state title game in 2012 where Cedar Hill fell to Katy.
Besides McGuire, the Texas Tech coaching staff features three other members who previously were high school head coaches in the D/FW area: Kenny Perry, former head coach at Arlington Sam Houston, Haltom City and Arlington Bowie, who also used to be a member of the TCU football staff and who worked under Sonny Dykes at SMU in 2020 and 2021; former Dallas Lincoln head coach Zarnell Fitch, who is a TCU graduate and used to be on the TCU football staff; and South Oak Cliff legendary head coach Emmett Jones.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is home to Texas Tech's largest alumni base in the United States outside of Lubbock. Approximately 40,000 graduates reside in the D/FW metroplex.
The Red Raiders’ roster boasts 36 players that call the D/FW area home.
Tech has an overall record of 4-4. The Red Raiders are 2-3 in the Big 12.
The Red Raiders have beaten: Murray State, in Lubbock, 63-10; #25 Houston, in Lubbock, 33-30 (2OT); #22 Texas, in Lubbock, 37-34 (OT); and West Virginia, in Lubbock, 48-10.
Tech has lost to: #16 NC State, in Raleigh, 27-14; Kansas State, in Manhattan, 37-28; Oklahoma State, in Stillwater, 41-31; and Baylor, in Lubbock, 45-17.
Texas Tech’s Air Raid offense leads the Big 12 in
passing, averaging 338 passing yards per game. Tech averages about 50 passes per game.
The Red Raiders are ninth in the conference in rushing, averaging 137.9 rushing yards per game. Tech is second in total offense, averaging 475.9 total yards per game. They are seventh in scoring, averaging 33.9 points per game.
The Red Raiders’ offense has been led by two quarterbacks, sophomore Donovan Smith (#7) and redshirt freshman Behren Morton (#2).
Smith has completed 146-of-220 passes for 1,505 yards. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He has rushed for four touchdowns.
Morton has completed 89-of-158 passes for 1,038 yards. He has thrown six touchdown passes and six interceptions. He has run for two touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Xavier White (#14) is the Red Raiders’ leading receiver. He has caught 33 passes for 454 yards. He has a long reception of 55 yards. He has caught three touchdown passes.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jerand Bradley (#9) and junior wide receiver Loic Fouonji (#19) also each have three touchdown receptions. Junior wide receiver Myles Price (#1) and sophomore wide receiver Nehemiah Martinez (#20) each have caught two touchdown passes. Six other Red Raiders have each caught one touchdown pass.
Senior running back SaRodorick Thompson (#4) leads Tech’s rushers. He has gained 435 yards on 89 rushing attempts. He has scored three rushing touchdowns.
Junior running back Tahj Brooks (#28) has rumbled for 420 rushing yards. He has scored six rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, Texas Tech is seventh in the Big
12 in scoring defense, allowing 29.3 points per game. The Red Raiders are
fourth in total defense, allowing 365.8 total yards per game. Tech is seventh
in rushing defense, allowing 147.9 rushing yards per game. The Red Raiders are
second in passing defense, allowing 217.9 passing yards per game. Tech has the Big 12's worst red zone defense. It has allowed opponents to convert 28-of-30 red-zone possessions into scores.
Texas Tech’s defense is led by a trio of linebackers -- Krishon Merriweather, Tyree Wilson (#19 and Kosi Eldridge (#6).
Merriweather has 67 total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Wilson has 51 total tackles, including 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.
Eldridge has 48 total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Senior defensive back Marquis Waters (#9) has 7.5 tackles for loss. Senior defensive lineman Tony Bradford, Jr. (#97) has six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Junior defensive lineman Philip Blidi (#96) has two sacks.
Senior defensive back Reggie Pearson (#2) has two interceptions. Senior defensive backs Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (#25), Malik Dunlap (#24) and Rayshad Williams (#0) each have one interception.
Senior kicker Trey Wolff (#36) is 11-of-14 on field goal attempts. He has a long field goal of 51 yards. He has not had a field goal attempt blocked.
The betting line: TCU is a 9.5-point favorite. The over/under is 69.5 points.
Midnite’s Prediction:TCU wins, 45-28
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