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| TCU's defense has been the best in the Big 12 in 2017, but it will be tested by West Virginia this Saturday (USA Today) |
TCU has shone brightly on the national stage already this season, so having ESPN GameDay on hand for a showdown with No. 23 West Virginia shouldn't faze the Horned Frogs one bit.
Gary Patterson's bunch, ranked eighth in the nation, has already taken down Oklahoma State in Stillwater a couple of weeks back, firmly entrenching TCU as a legitimate contender for the Big 12 crown. West Virginia comes to town sporting the highest scoring offense in the conference -- 48.8 points per game, second highest nationally -- while TCU has allows just 18.5 points per game, second best in the league.
"It's just another Big 12 ballgame -- you better pull up your pants and get ready to go," Patterson said of the contest, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m Saturday at Amon Carter Stadium. TCU is 50-14 at home the last 10 years, but five of those losses came in last year's forgettable 6-7 campaign.
TCU was blown out last year by the Mountaineers 34-10, but acted in kind the last time the teams played in Fort Worth, winning 40-10 in 2015. The three previous contests had two one point decisions and an overtime game won by three points. So these things can get tense.
The Mountaineers (3-1, 1-0) know they are the underdogs, and have nothing but praise for the Horned Frogs.
"I really think they're deserving of their Top-10 ranking, no question," Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said."When you go into Arkansas and win the way they did, and go into
Stillwater and win the way they did, yeah, that's a good football team. It's hard to go anywhere on the road and win in the Big 12."
Both teams have exceeded preseason expectations, and each keeps opponents on watch with balanced offenses. TCU averages 232.3 yards per game rushing, West Virginia 231 -- the top two figures in the conference. The Mountaineers throw the ball a bit better, and more often, and junior quarterback Will Grier leads the nation in passing yards on downfield throws (over 20 yards), with 649. So TCU's pass defense will be tested.
"You've got to find a way to slow them down," Patterson said. "You don't necessarily ever stop them.
"You can't allow the big play and you have to stop the run -- Grier runs
around really well also, that that also dictates coverage and
everything else that you do."
Grier has thrown 13 touchdowns to just three interceptions, and has what may be the best trio of receivers in the Big 12. Gary Jennings (29 catches, 438 yards), David Sills V (26-396-7 TD) and Marcus Simms (23.4 yards per catch on nine grabs) are a secondary's nightmare, which means TCU may need to get pressure up front to throw WVU off of its game. The problem with that is that Grier can scramble and throw on the run, and the offensive line has allowed just five sacks this season.
Travin Howard is the top defender for TCU, making 26 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Safety Nick Orr can create havoc in the secondary, amassing 22 stops and two tackles for loss.
TCU is excellent against the run (94.8 yards), but West Virginia will test with running back Justin Crawford, who averages 7.4 yards per pop and has six touchdowns.
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| Will Grier has brought stability to WVU's passing attack (Charlotte Observer) |
Holgorsen knows what to expect defensively from TCU, so it's merely a matter of executing against it.
"They've been doing the same thing defensively for 20 years and it
doesn't look any different now than it has back when they were really
good a decade ago," he said. "That's (Patterson's) stamp on the program and his
stamp on college football. They have a lot of guys on his staff that
speak the same language that he does, so I have a ton of respect with
what they're doing.
"They're deep; their front is always good. They rarely have to
out-number you in the box, which is a different type situation than what
we're usually used to. They just do a really good job of just coaching
their guys up with technique and them playing with high motors and doing
a great job of getting off blocks. They're as sure of tacklers as we're
going to see out there. And their coverages, they read routes better
than anybody. They're going to know exactly what positions they're going
to have to be in and they're rarely out of position."
TCU (4-0, 1-0) is no slouch offensively, especially since quarterback Kenny Hill has found his groove in his final season of college football.
The former Texas A&M star is completing nearly 73 percent of his passes, and has nine TDs to just three interceptions. He isn't afraid to push the ball down the field, averaging 8.2 yards per attempt, and has the talented KaVontae Turpin as his favorite weapon. Turpin -- also a dangerous kick returner -- has 14 catches and averages nearly 10 yards per grab, and is money on third down. Jalen Reagor is a big play threat, averaging 16.8 yards per catch.
West Virginia employs a 3-3-5 scheme, with the defensive backs asked to do a lot of heavy lifting. That's why four of the top five tacklers reside in the secondary, including spur Kyzir White, who has 19 tackles and a pair of interceptions. Middle linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton has been solid, with 36 tackles and six tackles for loss.
The game could come to down West Virginia's ability to stop the run, something it hasn't been very good at in 2017.
The Mountaineers allow 226 yards per game on the ground, a figure that ranks 115th nationally. That has to make Darius Anderson's eyes light up, as he may see more daylight in this game than any this season. Anderson averages over 105 yards per game rushing and has six trips to the end zone. Holgorsen knows the importance of slowing him down, and that his team will need to have better run fits on Saturday if it wants to win.
"It ain't scheme because we've been pretty good against the run these
past two years," Holgorsen said. "We've got to do a better job up front of
holding gaps. So you didn't see me sweat about it. We need guys
to step up and be real dudes."
TCU's win over Oklahoma State brought prominence and spotlight, but Patterson realizes that he can't allow the team to believe that victory was the high point of the season. There is a lot of football yet to be played, and its his job to keep his players on task.
"You can't get too high for one ballgame and then win one, lose five," Patterson said.
The similarities with the programs are many -- they were the last two to join the Big 12, they both have transfer quarterbacks making good on senior seasons, and they both have offenses that can put a ton of points on the scoreboard.
Holgorsen sees a few others, as well.
"I just think if you look at the similarities in
the two programs, it builds a lot of interest in this game," he said. "Winning as
many games as both West Virginia did and TCU did in their respective
conferences prior to the Big 12, both won a ton of games in Group of
Five conferences and were always in the BCS discussion and all that good
stuff. It's just neat playing this game based on the fact of what the
past was and then going into the Big 12 at the same time.
"You've seen
both programs go through the process of building their teams pretty
similar, I think, as far as some early struggles with some big wins to
building some depth to the point where I think both teams are pretty
good football teams at this point."
