Feeding Reagor, establishing run among things to watch as TCU travels to Texas Tech
TCU coach Gary Patterson has plenty of history with Texas Tech’s Matt Wells.
Each were at Utah State in the early 1990s — Patterson as the secondary coach (1992-1994) and Wells as a quarterback (1993-96) — and have stayed in touch throughout their coaching careers.
“He’s done a great job,” Patterson said of Wells. “His brother Luke is also on their staff. He’s a really good coach and good recruiter.”
But, as Patterson likes to say, each side will get after each other at 11 a.m. Saturday in Lubbock. Both have identical overall records of 4-5 with 2-4 marks in Big 12 play, and a victory would go a long way toward becoming bowl eligible.
TCU has lost consecutive one-score games, and the Frogs are ready to get a better taste in their mouths. Here are five things to watch Saturday:
Feeding No. 1
TCU has one of the most explosive playmakers in the country, but receiver Jalen Reagor has endured a frustrating junior season.
He leads the team with 462 yards receiving on 33 catches, including four TDs, but hasn’t become a consistent threat. Reagor had just one catch for 8 yards against Baylor last week.
Patterson blamed the lack of a No. 2 receiving option, coupled with Reagor dropping passes or not making plays when they come his way, as the reason the offense hasn’t been able to get him on a roll.
“I told you guys this at the beginning of the season, you have to have somebody on the other side,” Patterson said. “That [Baylor] defense, the way they do it, he had two or three chances in that ballgame, and a couple of them were tough, but they were catchable. You have to be able to get yourself in a situation where you can make some of those plays.”
Whether it’s Reagor or another receiver, TCU has to figure out a way to exploit Tech’s passing defense that ranks last in the Big 12.
Establishing the run
TCU is averaging more than 200 yards rushing per game, but the 200-yard mark has been reached just once in the last five games.
The Frogs have to establish the run early and often to control the tempo of the game in Lubbock.
Senior Darius Anderson has fallen off the 1,000-yard pace, but is surely looking to close his senior season strong and make a statement to NFL scouts. The same can be said for fellow senior Sewo Olonilua.
It’s easier said than done, though, against Tech. The Red Raiders’ defense is led by one of the top linebackers in the country, Jordyn Brooks, who leads the Big 12 with 98 tackles, including 18 for loss.
Secondary matters
TCU has the No. 2-ranked pass defense in the league. The Frogs are coming off a solid game in which they held Charlie Brewer and the Bears to 195 yards passing.
More impressively, TCU did it with a number of changes to its secondary. Freshman Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson started his first game at cornerback opposite senior Jeff Gladney.
“I thought he played good,” Patterson said of Tomlinson. “Tre’s a competitor. He’s a guy that we’ll be glad he’s a TCU Horned Frog.”
Tomlinson exited the game with an injury, but Patterson is hopeful he’ll be ready to go Saturday.
At safety, Ar’Darius Washington started at weak and La’Kendrick Van Zandt started at strong. Both played well, although Van Zandt might’ve sustained a season-ending injury.
Washington also got banged up, but he should be ready to go by Saturday. Patterson is also hopeful to get senior Vernon Scott back this week.
Washington made a favorable impression with four tackles and two pass breakups.
“He’s not as fast as you want him to be. He’s not as big as you want him to be, but he just makes plays,” Patterson said. “He’s just a guy who loves the game. He’s one of those guys when he plays, he loves the game. Those guys are infectious.”
LB corps
Sophomore linebacker Ben Wilson made his first start last week, finishing tied for the team lead with 11 tackles. But that won’t land him in the starting lineup against Tech.
Patterson said he matches up the linebacker position with where he feels junior Garret Wallow fits best in that game — strong-side or middle.
That means there’s some rotation opposite Wallow between Wilson and freshmen Dee Winters and Wyatt Harris.
“The one constant has been Garret,” Patterson said.
Wallow is closing in on the 100-tackle mark. He has a team-high 94 on the season, including 12 for loss.
Special teams matters
Oddsmakers have pegged this game to be decided by a field goal or less, so special teams should play a part.
TCU has struggled in the kickoff return game, averaging a Big 12-worst 15 yards per return, but Patterson isn’t ready to implement (at least publicly) a strict rule of fair-catching every kickoff and starting at the 25.
After all, the Frogs have the best punt return numbers in the league, averaging 17.6 yards.
“We’ve been awfully good on that group before,” Patterson said. “We just need to get back to where we can do that.”
One area TCU should feel good about is the kicking game.
Senior Jonathan Song has made 17 of 18 field goal attempts this year and is a perfect 31 of 31 on point-after attempts.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
