TCU’s offense determined to fix its issues, starting with better protection up front
TCU quarterback Max Duggan was under constant pressure Saturday afternoon. Duggan sustained enough blows to the point he missed a couple of series in the second half in order to undergo X-rays in the locker room.
Duggan eventually returned, but the offense came to life too late. Kansas State prevailed with a 21-14 victory, being credited with three sacks and two QB hits on the day.
Nobody is more disappointed in the game than TCU’s offensive line. It’s not a good feeling helping your quarterback off the ground.
“That hurts me, too. That’s my QB,” senior left tackle Austin Myers said. “That means we aren’t doing a good job if our QB is limping on the field. He’s getting hit too much. Taking too many blows.”
The O-line’s struggles have been an early-season theme for TCU. The Horned Frogs gave up six sacks in the season-opening loss to Iowa State. The Cyclones ended up with nine tackles for loss, the same number Texas finished with the following week.
K-State had six tackles for loss.
Part of the O-line’s issues were somewhat expected given the amount of turnover the unit faced in the offseason. They lost their top three tackles (Anthony McKinney, Lucas Niang and David Bolisomi), best interior lineman (Cordel Iwuagwu) and position coach (Chris Thomsen) in the offseason.
But the players aren’t looking for excuses. They know better play is needed.
“It’s really disappointing,” Myers said. “We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board, figure it out and come back with a better plan.”
Asked specifically what must improve, Myers said: “Just collectively, playing as a unit. I feel like we are on different pages. We need to get back to the drawing board, figure out the issues, tweak it, come back better.”
TCU will have an off week to work and improve. The Frogs are set to play host to Oklahoma on Oct. 24.
Coach Gary Patterson wasn’t ready to dissect what must improve without watching game film, but knows there are multiple issues to address. He brushed off the notion that Duggan should have less carries in the running game to limit the number of hits he’s exposed to in a given game.
“That’s not what the offense is,” Patterson said. “You’re going to do what we do and how we do it. To be honest with you, he’s taken his biggest hits dropping back in the pocket. To be able to control the big hits in the pocket we have to run the football and slow the defensive front down.”
TCU finished with 189 yards rushing with two TDs on 37 carries (5.1 yards per carry), but 58 of those yards came on the second-to-last offensive possession. Redshirt freshman Darwin Barlow led the team with 56 yards on eight carries, while Duggan ranked second with 43 yards on 15 carries.
Duggan had his worst passing game of the young season, completing 19 of 31 passes for 154 yards with no touchdowns.
But TCU is confident it has the talent to get going in the right direction again. Just ask senior linebacker Garret Wallow, who sees what the offense is capable of on a daily basis by going against them in practice.
“We have a good offense, no doubt about that,” Wallow said. “The best thing we can do is get the ball in their hands. I definitely trust the offense and definitely believe in the offense. There’s no doubt about that.”
