TCU aces first test with high marks against Jackson State

TCU had its way with Jackson State Saturday night, as you’d expect. After some early jitters on the Tigers’ first possession, the Horned Frogs’ defense was smothering and the offense made very few mistakes.

Even head coach Gary Patterson was hard-pressed to nitpick the 63-0 shellacking.

Offense

A — The Frogs gained 542 yards and 24 first downs. Quarterback Kenny Hill completed 18 of 23 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns. He threw one interception but spread the ball around. Shawn Robinson played much of the second half and completed 5 of 7 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 43 yards on three carries.

Defense

A+ — When you outscore the other team’s offense you’re doing something right. The Frogs scored twice on turnovers, a 53-yard interception returned by Ridwan Issahaku and a 32-yard fumble return by Arico Evans. TCU held Jackson State to 65 yards and seven first downs, four of which came on Jackson State’s first possession. The Frogs had five sacks and forced two fumbles.

Special teams

A — It was such a mismatch from the start that TCU’s special teams unit wasn’t faced with much of a challenge. Kicker Jonathan Song converted all eight of his extra-point attempts but TCU never had to settle for the a field goal attempt. KaVontae Turpin returned one punt for 17 yards and Daythan Davis returned one kickoff for 12 yards.

Extra credit

Evans’ first career start loomed large because it allowed former linebacker Ty Summers to play defensive end. Summers combined with Mat Boesen for 11 tackles. Summers also forced a fumble. Evans had three tackles and returned Summer’s forced fumble 32 yards for a touchdown.

This story was originally published September 3, 2017 at 12:08 AM with the headline "TCU aces first test with high marks against Jackson State."