TCU football takeaways on homecoming crowd, Noah Daniels and going bowling
TCU football is reeling right now, losing four of the last five games. The latest setback came with a 29-17 loss to West Virginia on Saturday night.
We’ll jump into the three takeaways from the game —
Crowd size
TCU had an announced attendance of 37,288 for its homecoming game, and plenty of open seats as seen during the TV broadcast. It was a disappointing turnout to say the least, especially considering it was the first Big 12 night game the school has hosted since 2018.
Winning solves all problems, of course, but this was the lowest attended game of the season outside of the opener against FCS school Duquesne (35,377). The highest attended home game to date was SMU with 46,672 fans. The Texas game drew in 43,337 fans, while Cal had 38,631 on hand.
Amon G. Carter Stadium’s listed capacity is 46,000, which can increase as it did for the SMU game with standing room only tickets.
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati could not be reached for comment on the subject Sunday.
The Frogs have two more home dates on the schedule against Baylor on Nov. 6 and against Kansas on Nov. 20.
Where’s Noah?
TCU cornerback Noah Daniels entered the season with NFL Draft hype. Most thought he could play his way up draft boards with a standout senior season.
But Daniels has played in just two games this season, seeing limited snaps against Texas and then against West Virginia on Saturday.
Coach Gary Patterson hasn’t said much about Daniels’ injury status or availability, but offered this following Saturday’s game: “We got Noah back in but he still doesn’t move the way he needs to as far as reacting quick. We got him in early and then kept him out.”
West Virginia finished its day with 258 yards passing. Jarret Doege went 21 of 28 for 257 yards, while Garrett Greene was 1 for 1 for 1 yard.
It’s unclear what Daniels’ status will be going forward.
Going bowling?
As always, Patterson said the baseline goal for a team is to become bowl eligible. The Frogs must win three of their final five in order to do so this season.
“We’ve got to get to six to get to a bowl and then you win above that. That’s how you always do it whether it was the year we went to the Rose Bowl or this year,” Patterson said. “The first goal is to get to six and a bowl game. The higher the bowl, the better.”
Patterson’s teams have reached bowl eligibility in 17 of his first 20 seasons. He’s won 11 of those games, which is tied for eighth most nationally since 2000.
We’ll see if Patterson and the Frogs have another late-season push in them this year.
