While most Big 12 schools are kicking off conference play, the TCU Horned Frogs stepped back into non-conference action this weekend. There are plenty of big games this weekend and one of those included TCU making the short trip from Fort Worth to Dallas to take on SMU.
The Horned Frogs are coming off a heartbreaking loss to UCF last weekend while the Mustangs are coming off a bye week. There is no love lost between these two schools and Saturday’s game was the 103rd meeting between the two of them. Bragging rights aren’t the only thing on the line here because this great rivalry game also includes one of the most unique trophies in all of college football, the iron skillet. This turned out to be not TCU’s day as they fell 66-42. Here are my three takeaways from the game.
Josh Hoover Had a Rough Day
After throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdowns against UCF last weekend, Josh Hoover had a rough day against SMU on Saturday afternoon. While Hoover did throw for over 350 yards and three touchdowns, he turned the ball over four times. Two out of his four turnovers ended up in touchdowns. He fumbled the ball in the first quarter, and it ended up going for six the other way. Then in the second quarter, he threw a costly pick six. I understand he had to take some risks in this game due to the score, but you simply cant turn the ball over this many times and expect to win the game.
Where Was the Defense?
I know that that everything went wrong in this game, but one thing I didn’t see coming was the defense completely breaking down against the run. UCF ran for almost 300 yards against TCU last week and then SMU just dropped 238 on them. It’s pretty crazy to see SMU complete only 14 passes because they were averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Another issue was their third down defense. TCU let SMU convert seven out of their 12 third down attempts. This defense is better than that and if they continue to struggle against the run then they will be in for a long season in the Big 12.
The Wheels Fell Off
I am not sure if I have ever seen a game go so wrong for a team. TCU was down 17-0 less than ten minutes into the game and tried to play catchup the entire time. The Horned Frogs turned the ball over five times and had a whopping 14 penalties for 135 yards. On top of that, they gave up a punt return for a touchdown, a pick six and a fumble for a score. To make matters worse, head coach Sonny Dykes was ejected in the third quarter after picking up his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Forget about the wheels coming off the tracks, the entire train ran off a cliff. It was just a terrible day for TCU all around.
