Three Thoughts on TCU’s 38-13 Win Over Colorado
The TCU Horned Frogs kicked off the 2022 college football season on Friday night against Colorado.
For years, TCU had Gary Patterson roaming the sidelines and this game officially started the Sonny Dykes era in Fort Worth. Not many folks are expecting much from this TCU team as they were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12. However, they did manage to take care of business against Colorado on the road with a big victory as Sonny Dykes picked up his first win at his new school. Here are my three thoughts on TCU’s 38-13 win over Colorado.
1. The First Half Was Ugly
There is no other way to describe the first half of this game. I had flashbacks of the Cheez-It Bowl years ago but unfortunately; I didn’t have any of the delicious crunchy snack to help distract me. The defense did their thing, but it was the offense who ended up being stuck in the mud. TCU had just 67 yards of offense in the first half and went 1/5 on third down. They never found any sort of rhythm in the first two quarters but thanks to their defense and a big 60-yard punt return by Derius Davis, the Horned Frogs found themselves up 7-6 going into halftime.
2. TCU Found Life on Offense in the Second Half
I am not sure what was said in the locker room at halftime, but it clearly worked as TCU looked like a completely different team in the second half. It took the offense just five plays on their first drive of the third quarter to score a touchdown. They ended up having more total yards on the first drive than they did in the entire first half.
A big part of the offensive surge was the run game. Four of the first five plays in the second half were runs and they used that momentum for the rest of the game. TCU would go on to score three more rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter and they finished the game with 275 rushing yards. If they can keep running the football like that and play good defense, then they have a chance to make some noise in the Big 12.
3. Will There Be Quarterback Drama Down the Road?
Chandler Morris got the start against Colorado and to be honest, he didn’t do a whole lot. The first half was a nothing special as he was 7/13 for just 53 yards. I felt like he was a little antsy at times and never got a chance to settle in the game properly in the first two quarters. Luckily in the third quarter the run game got going but later in that same quarter Chandler went down with an injury and never came back.
When Morris went down, Max Duggan filled in. Keep in mind that Max has started 29 games over the last three seasons, so he has plenty of experience. Max wasn’t asked to throw the ball much as he had just three pass attempts, but he did do some great things with his legs as he rushed for 41 yards.
It has been reported that Chandler could miss a week or more and if that is the case then it appears that Max Duggan could be back in the starting role for the next game against Tarleton State.
