Steven Johnson: Notable moments from TCU’s 38-13 win at Colorado
It took longer than expected to get the offense rolling. But once it did the Horned Frogs rolled past Colorado 38-13 in the season opener for both football teams on Friday.
Leading by just 7-6 at halftime, the Horned Frogs came out in the second half with a much better performance thanks to the run game. TCU scored on its first two possessions in the third quarter to start the rout. Emari Demercardo burst right up the middle for a 43-yard touchdown and Kendre Miller added a 3-yard to score as TCU took a lead 24-6 in the fourth quarter.
“I thought Colorado played with a lot of intensity early in the game. I thought the crowd was really impressive, it was a great atmosphere,” head coach Sonny Dykes said. “We probably didn’t handle it as well as we should early. Give Colorado a lot of credit. I thought our guys responded and played really well in the second half.”
The Horned Frogs scored 31 straight points to extend their lead to 38-6 before allowing a harmless touchdown with 1:13 remaining.
Here’s are the notable moments to remember in the win:
Davis dazzles on special teams
When TCU started lethargically offensively, the senior wide receiver helped pick them up with an electric punt return to start the second quarter. Davis ran for a 60-yard touchdown to put TCU in front 7-3.
“All week we knew they ran a pro-style punt, so we knew we were going to have time and a lot of space. I just caught it, got to the wedge and made a play,” Davis said.
Davis added onto his impressive resume as a return specialist. The touchdown was his fifth career touchdown return, including four on punts to tie the school record that was set by current Dallas Cowboys KaVontae Turpin, who Davis says is one of the player he molds his game after.
“It’s funny because I actually watched some of Turp’s highlights leading up to this week before the game. I look at him like a big brother,” Davis said.
Davis also had the lone big play offensively for the Horned Frogs in the first quarter. He took a jet sweep from Chandler Morris 18 yards to get TCU past midfield though the drive stalled out. Davis delivered the dagger in the fourth quarter as he took a wide receiver reverse 27 yards for his second touchdown that put TCU ahead 31-6.
Impressive debut for Williams
Freshman nose tackle Damonic Williams doesn’t turn 18 until Sunday, but he played beyond his years as he made his college football debut. On Colorado’s first possession, Williams came up with a fantastic stop on fourth down to stop a would-be score. Williams sacked Colorado quarterback Brendan Lewis in the third quarter and finished with three tackles.
“It felt amazing. When I went out ran and saw the fans, it was just breathtaking for sure,” Williams said. “That first play I was a little nervous, but after that I was just ready to go.”
Williams showed why Dykes opted to go with the younger player over some more experienced options as he was arguably TCU’s best defensive lineman against Colorado.
“I thought he played well. I know he had a big sack, he’s got good push. I thought our front played well, there were times Colorado ran the ball effectively, but I thought those guys held up pretty well,” Dykes said. “For a 17-year-old freshman I thought he played well.”
Uneven day for the offense
It was a tale of two halves for the TCU offense. The Horned Frogs were held scoreless in the first half, but produced 31 in the second half to put the Buffaloes away. The difference was the running game as the Horned Frogs had just 15 in the first 30 minutes. Kendre Miller eclipsed that with his first carry in the third quarter for 22 yards.
Five different Horned Frogs rushed for at least 40 rushing yards as the offensive line began to assert itself against the Buffaloes. TCU finished with 275 yards on the ground. Creativity was also a plus as TCU used a variety of plays like the reverse to Davis or designed quarterback draws for Duggan to keep advancing the ball.
“There were things we were kind of self-inflicting (in the first half). That was kind of slowing us down,” Duggan said. “It was just about not panicking and doing the things that we were taught, that we practiced. Be disciplined, be detailed in what we’re doing and focus on us.”
While the offense deserves credit for that, the downfield passing game left much to be desired. Chandler Morris started off shaky with a few misses on some easier passes. He began to settle down and led two scoring drives before sustaining a knee injury in the third quarter. Duggan completed two passes for 27 yards. Dykes was unsure of Morris’ status going forward.
“With any kind of joint injury, we’ll get a better sense tomorrow of what’s going on,” Dykes said.
Perry’s triumphant return
Safety Mark Perry said he was looking to forward to facing his old school and he certainly played like it. Perry had four solo tackles, all in the first quarter as the defense had to play extended minutes. While it was awkward to be on the visitor’s sideline, Perry didn’t let the emotions faze him.
“It was weird, I’ve never been in (the visitor’s locker room). I just tried to not really think about it, it was just another game. The same game of football I’ve been playing. The environment was hectic, student section chanting explicit things, but we didn’t even pay attention to that and did what we had to do,” Perry said.
Other standouts on defense included Dee Winters and Jamoi Hodge who had five tackles each. Winters was all over the field with 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, quarterback pressure and a pass breakup.
This story was originally published September 3, 2022 at 1:00 AM.
