‘When Chuba gets through, nobody can catch him.’ TCU can’t slow Hubbard, OSU in loss.
Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard made history Saturday afternoon, the kind that TCU would like to forget.
Hubbard became the first opposing running back to reach the 200-yard mark against a Gary Patterson defense, serving as the difference-maker in Oklahoma State’s 34-27 victory over TCU at Boone Pickens Stadium.
“Hubbard is a very good back,” TCU linebacker Garret Wallow said. “I give all my credit to him and Oklahoma State’s offense. It came down to execution, something we didn’t do a lot of today, which allowed him to get as many rushing yards.”
Hubbard finished with 223 yards on 20 carries, including touchdown runs of 92 and 62 yards in the second half. He provided a spark for a team that lost standout receiver Tylan Wallace earlier this week.
With the game tied at 17 in the third quarter, Hubbard delivered the first blow with the 92-yard TD run. He went untouched through the first level and then outran every TCU defender on his way to the end zone.
Asked what happened on that play, Wallow said: “A couple guys not doing their job. For us to stop big plays like that, every one of the 11 guys on the field has to do their job, and there’s too many of us that didn’t do our job. That’s on us. Execution was a big key in this game, and we didn’t execute like we should have.”
Said Patterson: “Everybody’s slanting one way and one guy slanted the opposite.”
The 92-yard run also served as a milestone as the longest running play given up in the Patterson era and the fourth-longest by any opponent in program history. Texas’ Chris Gilbert holds the record with a 96-yard TD run in 1967, followed by a 95-yard run by Texas A&M’s Greg Hill in 1993 and a 93-yard run by Rice’s King Hill in 1957.
Hubbard wasn’t done, though. He added a 62-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to put Oklahoma State up 31-17 with 9:48 left. That came on the heels of the third interception thrown by TCU true freshman quarterback Max Duggan.
For Hubbard, it marked his fourth 200-yard game this season and his most impressive considering TCU had the Big 12’s top-ranked rushing defense going into Saturday.
The most rushing yards by a player against a Patterson defense before Saturday was 188 yards, most recently by Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine on Nov. 21, 2015.
“Obviously Chuba was fantastic,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “He ran his plays. He has done the same thing he has always done for the most part. The difference being that when Chuba gets through there, nobody can catch him. That makes him different from other players.”
Patterson said credit deserves to go to Hubbard and the Oklahoma State offense for putting up those numbers. But Patterson repeatedly pointed out that the Frogs had a chance to win the game down to the end.
TCU seemingly had momentum when it closed the first half on a 14-0 run to tie the game at 17. The Frogs had the ball to start the second half and were driving in Cowboys’ territory following a 43-yard run by Duggan.
But, on the play after Duggan’s big run, wide receiver John Stephens Jr. fumbled it away. That shifted momentum back to Oklahoma State, and Hubbard eventually made TCU pay.
Still, the Frogs stayed within striking distance. Duggan and the Frogs had a 75-yard TD drive to pull to within 31-24 with 7:11 left in the game, and they had a chance for a game-tying drive with about five minutes left but went three-and-out.
Oklahoma State responded by making it a two-score game with a 43-yard field goal by Matt Ammendola with 2:04 left. TCU managed to kick a field goal with 22 seconds left but failed to recover an onside kick that would have given them a possible last-second prayer.
“We’re just good enough we can beat anybody we got in this league, and we’re just good enough we can get beat by anybody in this league,” Patterson said. “You can’t make the mistakes we made on defense. Probably gave them 200 yards, 300 yards on guys just not doing their jobs.
“Offensively, you can’t turn the ball over. We did a good job of moving the ball at times. That’s what I told them. As bad as we played, it’s a seven-point ballgame, on the road,” Patterson continued. “So when we figure it out, when we play well, then we can beat anybody we want to play. And when we don’t, we’re not going to.
“You can’t turn the ball over, and you can’t give up big plays like we gave up today. It’s pretty simple.”
Duggan finished the game 21 of 39 passing for 258 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. He also led the team with 86 yards rushing on 16 carries. But Duggan didn’t play the final snaps because of an apparent hand injury.
Junior Mike Collins relieved Duggan, but Collins sustained an injury on the Frogs’ final offensive play. Patterson did not have updates on either player afterward.
Frogs wide receiver Jalen Reagor posted his first 100-yard game with 128 yards receiving on seven catches.
TCU falls to 4-4 on the season and 2-3 in Big 12 play. TCU will host Baylor (8-0) next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Reagor had a simple message for his teammates after the game Saturday.
“We’ve just got to get to six [wins and bowl eligibility],” Reagor said. “We’ve got to find a way to win and keep going, and go back to work every week.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2019 at 6:12 PM.
