Here’s what Gary Patterson said following TCU’s victory over Texas Tech
TCU football is back to .500 on the season.
The Horned Frogs knocked off Texas Tech 34-18 on Saturday, the first home victory of the Frogs this season. TCU is now 3-3 going into next week’s game at West Virginia.
Here’s what coach Gary Patterson said afterward:
Opening statement: “Let me just say this to you — offensive wise and passing wise, we took what they gave us. They were not going to let us throw the ball. We took what they gave us, we did enough to win.
“Defensively, we just need to keep playing. We gave up a couple of big plays, but as a general rule, I thought we played very well the whole game. Special teams we punted well and we had some good returns that flipped the field. [Derius] Davis and the guys blocking for him did a great job.
“That was a tough ball game.”
On the D-line: “We got pressure last year against them. We did it well early, we didn’t do it well late, but I was proud of them. The last two ball games they’ve really come on. We need to keep coming on.”
On QB Max Duggan’s rushing day: “That’s one of his strengths. When the quarterback outruns the secondary, you know you have a guy that’s very athletic and he was able to do that today.
“We’re excited to get back to 3-3. It’s been a long time. This team is getting upset about not wanting to lose and they’re starting to grow up. We’re down a lot of players but we’re finding ways to win. We’ve got a good West Virginia team next week.”
On Ochaun Mathis, who had three sacks: “Well even last week he was starting to cause problems. When he gets off the ball, he has the potential to be that guy. He keeps gaining confidence and it’s going to make him better. Him and Khari Coleman both. We had some new guys, I think Patrick [Jenkins] and Earl [Barquet] got a sack. I was really proud of those young guys. All of the young guys have been coming along.”
On depleted cornerback group: “Donavann Collins had to come in for [Tre] Tomlinson. We’re down our last group. I might start playing corner if we’re not careful.”
On passing game struggles but still win by 18: “It’s like I told them, when they got down in the first half, I told them to find ways to win. So, it’s not going the way you want it to; that’s what we’ve done here for years. You’ve just got to get ready to go. For us, we keep getting better. We’re still better in protection, we probably held the ball a little too long today on a couple of occasions but we’ve got to get open. We can’t lob passes when we do get a chance to throw it. We’ve got to be able to take care of our business.”
On thought process facing fourth-and-2 in fourth quarter, consider 36-yard field goal: “We thought about the field goal but the last field goal didn’t turn out too well. I felt like he was out of the groove in the situation, so we stayed with trying to keep the ball and obviously it wasn’t a good choice. But, the fourth-and-6 was and that burned off a couple more minutes.
“You guys are on me because I don’t go for it and you guys are on me because I do go for it. It’s great to be at home and in that chair and do all of it. You guys got to remember if we don’t do it, I’m the guy that has to defend it. It’s not like I’m the head coach and just saying, ‘Stop them.’ I’m the guy that has to go back on the field and call the defense. On fourth-and-6, I walked over to them and asked if they had a good call and he said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Great, let’s do it.’”
On the team’s energy: “I don’t know. I think it was maybe closer to the most complete game we’ve played. They did play hard and I just think they’re gaining great confidence in what they do. They just got to keep doing it.”
On Derius Davis: “Him and the punt defense and the block team had some great blocks. We flipped the field a couple of times. Those are big deals when people can punt to you and you can return it. He’s come a long way because he was scared the first couple of years here. He would drop it in practice and he doesn’t drop it anymore. And now he’s become a weapon because of his speed. We’re excited about that. It’s a great weapon.”
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 8:00 PM.
