‘It’s time to move on.’ TCU focused on West Virginia, not late call in OU game
Gary Patterson has met with Big 12 brass regarding a late call in TCU’s 28-24 loss at Oklahoma last Saturday that didn’t sit well with him.
Patterson revealed Tuesday that he’s “talked to everybody” about a questionable spot late in the game that granted Oklahoma a game-sealing first down, a day after he said he hadn’t reached out to the league or heard from the league during the Big 12 teleconference on Monday morning.
“I’ve talked to everybody, but I mean, I’ll let them tell you,” Patterson said during his weekly media luncheon. “At the end of the day, it wasn’t and so we just need to move on. And, you know, they’ve got a hard job. I’ve got a hard job. Everybody’s got a hard job. We’re all trying to win.”
Patterson created a stir after the game, saying officials made a “poor decision” on where they spotted the ball following a run by OU’s Jalen Hurts on a third-and-1 from the Oklahoma 42 with 1:33 left.
Officials ruled Hurts reached the first-down marker on the field and upheld the decision upon review. That decision stunned most, including the Fox announcers, as it appeared Hurts had been stopped short by defensive tackle Ross Blacklock and linebacker Garret Wallow.
With the first down, the Sooners were able to run out the clock.
Patterson said he didn’t speak directly with the officials, but talked to someone “higher up than that.”
“They felt like they couldn’t quite see where the ball was,” Patterson said.
During Monday’s teleconference, Patterson mentioned the same officiating crew made a questionable call against TCU earlier this month in its triple-overtime loss to Baylor.
Patterson felt the crew, headed by Brandon Cruse, whiffed on overturning a TD run by quarterback Max Duggan in the third overtime.
At the end of the day, it’s in the past. Patterson and the players have moved on to focus on Friday’s matchup against West Virginia.
“It’s football. Things happen,” Wallow said. “Whatever happened on that field is in the past. It’s time to move on to the future. It’s time to move on to the next game. This game is the most important of the season right now.”
For TCU, it faces a must-win situation to become bowl eligible for the 17th time in Patterson’s 19 seasons.
West Virginia is 4-7, but Patterson described it as “a really good 4-7 football team” under first-year coach Neal Brown. The Mountaineers have gotten a boost since turning to junior Jarret Doege at quarterback.
Doege carried WVU to an impressive road victory at Kansas State two weeks ago, and kept them in a close game against Oklahoma State last week.
“He’s only played two ball games. He’s won one, he’s lost one, but obviously I think they’ve changed the offense,” Patterson said. “I think they like the way he throws the ball around. They’re a little bit more open throwing the ball since their off week. They’ve become more physical. … It’s a really good 4-7 football team.”
Most would label TCU as a “really good 5-6 team.” This is a team that has lost five games by one score or less, and had chances to knock off the Big 12’s top teams Baylor and Oklahoma this month.
“It means that we’re close,” Patterson said. “It means that you have enough ability to be close, but either we’re screwing things up or we’re not making the right calls or we’re not right there yet to be able to make those plays.”
Added Wallow: “We’ve just got to keep playing hard. That’s our goal, man, just keep playing hard and try to outplay the other team, play smarter than the other team. That’s always going to be our goal and expectations and what we’re going to keep trying to do.”
Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. Friday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
