To put it simply, TCU gets kicked by Oklahoma State

It was easy for Gary Patterson to tell the story of this one.

“We got our butts kicked,” he said. “Simple.”

No one disagreed with the head coach after TCU’s 31-6 loss to No. 13 and College Football Playoff hopeful Oklahoma State on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

“Yes, sir. We definitely got our butts kicked,” running back Kyle Hicks said. “It was embarrassing. They came in our home turf and straight-up kicked our butts.”

Mason Rudolph threw for a touchdown and ran for two touchdowns, and the Cowboys (9-2, 7-1) won their seventh consecutive game with a surgical performance in the second half to rout the Horned Frogs (5-5, 3-4).

“We just didn’t play well today. Simple as that,” safety Denzel Johnson said. “We just got outplayed.”

Patterson, coaching his 200th game at TCU, could only shake his head.

“It’s been a long time in 19 years I’ve been here where we got our butts kicked at home,” he said. “That was one of them.”

He’s correct.

The 25-point loss was the biggest at home for TCU under Patterson as head coach, passing a 23-point loss to Texas in a rain-delayed game in 2013.

“You’ve got to give Oklahoma State a lot of credit, to be honest with you,” Patterson said. “I’m not happy with what we did, but they’re a 9-2 football team. We’re 5-5.”

After a goal-line stand at halftime protected its 10-6 lead, Oklahoma State scored on its first three possessions of the second half and looked every bit a team vying for a Big 12 championship and consideration for a spot in college football’s final four.

Justice Hill ran for 154 yards on just 16 carries, and OSU averaged 7.4 yards per rush in recording 334 yards on the ground.

“They’re a good team. We played bad, but they’re a good team,” Johnson said. “They’re coached well, they’ve got a lot of good athletes, they’ve got a lot of speed. They’re a good team, so you can’t take anything away from them. They played well, and we didn’t.”

TCU managed just 343 yards, and quarterback Kenny Hill was pulled in the fourth quarter after a second interception. But by then, it was 31-6 with 10:38 left.

Hicks, coming off a career game at Baylor, was held to 47 yards on 25 carries. He was stopped on second and third down out of a wildcat formation in the goal-line stand before halftime and again on fourth-and-1 at the 5-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter with Oklahoma State leading 24-6.

The Frogs’ leading rusher simply had nowhere to go.

“Like I told them down there, I’m not even mad,” Patterson said. “I’m embarrassed for them because we got our butts kicked, and I’m not just talking about the players. It’s our job as coaches to find the answers. Shoot, maybe we’ll be changing offenses again. Got to be able to run the football.”

The Frogs were hoping to clinch bowl eligibility. Instead, they suffered their fourth loss at home this season, matching 2012 for the most losses at home under Patterson. It was only their 18th home loss under Patterson.

Yet, for the second time this season, TCU lost following a bye. Before that, it had been wins in 12 of 13 outings after an off week.

“My guys downstairs know I love them,” Patterson said of his players. “But the bottom line to it is, we had two weeks to prepare. It’s one thing to play on the road and that happens. It’s one thing to play at home. You’ve got to get bigger, you’ve got to get faster, you’ve got to get meaner. Or you’ve got to do all three. Like I told them, I’m embarrassed for them and for me. We got our butts kicked.”

But the Frogs can still be a bowl team. Two more chances remain to get that sixth win for bowl eligibility — Friday at Texas and next week in the regular season finale at home against Kansas State.

But as Patterson cautioned, nothing can be assumed.

“That’s why I said after the Baylor game, I’m not getting any higher than I was before the Baylor game,” Patterson said. “This right here. We hadn’t arrived. We’re still young, we’ve still got to grow up, we’ve still got to do the things we need to do. And they’ve got to be able to look themselves in the mirror just like I do and say, ‘We got our butt kicked.’ ”

This story was originally published November 19, 2016 at 4:48 PM with the headline "To put it simply, TCU gets kicked by Oklahoma State."