TCU football coach explains why he waited to make QB change to Max Duggan in opener
TCU would’ve preferred to keep Max Duggan on the sidelines the entire game Saturday, coach Gary Patterson revealed on Monday.
Duggan had a limited number of practice reps going into the game after being diagnosed with a heart condition that sidelined him for an extended time during training camp. He only returned to practice two weeks ago.
That’s why Patterson and the offensive coaching staff didn’t play Duggan earlier in the season-opening 37-34 loss to Iowa State. Several fans questioned the decision as Duggan had a better day statistically than starter Matthew Downing.
“Max had been out almost a month and a half,” Patterson said on the Big 12 teleconference Monday. “People need to understand the procedure he went through and what he had to do. In fact, on the final drive his hands were cramping up even playing a half to play at the level you have to play.
“It wasn’t a plan. We thought if Matthew Downing did good, we’d protect Max Duggan for one more ball game. He gets back to where he was — he’d be in full strength and condition to be able to play a full ball game. We made the decision at halftime to at least give him two series to see how it turned out. It turned out well, so he stayed in the ball game.”
Patterson later added: “If anybody knew what Max Duggan did to get to a point where he could actually play in a college football game and at a high level, they wouldn’t have any comments moving forward.”
With that being said, Patterson essentially anointed Duggan as the starting quarterback going forward. Duggan is expected to start when TCU travels to No. 9 Texas for an 11 a.m. game on Saturday.
Patterson reiterated his belief that injuries shouldn’t be the reason players lose their position.
“All indications are that’ll be the way we do it [with Duggan starting],” Patterson said.
Duggan finished the game 16 of 19 passing for 241 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Downing was 11 of 21 passing for 159 yards and one TD in the first half.
Still, the way the game unfolded in the first half made it understandable why TCU’s coaching staff didn’t make a QB change earlier. Downing and the offense put together a 13-play, 43-yard opening drive that resulted in a missed field goal.
The next drive TCU moved the ball 47 yards and punted. TCU then had a pair of five-play drives that resulted in punts.
A QB change following one of the five-play drives would’ve made sense. However, Iowa State was struggling offensively as well. It was a 0-0 game going into the second quarter as the Cyclones punted their first three drives.
Eventually, ISU broke through with a touchdown on a 75-yard run by Breece Hall.
How did Downing and the Frogs respond? With a TD drive of their own to tie it at 7-7 with 6:37 left in the half. TCU wasn’t going to replace Downing after a TD drive in which he threw one of the best balls of the day to Quentin Johnston for a 37-yard score.
But the next offensive drive saw Downing lose the ball deep in TCU territory on a strip-sack with 1:04 left. After an ISU TD made it a 16-7 game, TCU got the ball back with 48 seconds left. Again, not an ideal time or situation to make a QB change.
“No. 1, Matthew Downing deserved the opportunity to start,” Patterson said. “He’s done everything we needed him to do. He moved the football. We had some scoring chances in the first half. When we got down there, we didn’t do it. But he protected the ball. We moved the sticks.”
At the end of the day, Patterson is pleased with what TCU’s quarterback situation looks like going forward. The program felt they didn’t have many options behind Duggan, but should feel comfortable if Downing is needed again at some point this season.
“We found out that we have two quarterbacks that can operate our offense,” Patterson said. “That’s really important in a season where we’ve had it to where we were down to our fourth team quarterback. We’re going to move forward and you have a really good team in Texas that’s going to come after you.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 12:43 PM.
