TCU offense aiming to start much faster against Tarleton
TCU fans were left jarred after the Horned Frogs’ first-half performance at Colorado last Friday.
Considering head coach Sonny Dykes’ well-earned reputation as an offensive savant combined with how the Horned Frogs performed during training camp, for the offense to be held scoreless in the first 30 minutes against a likely bad Colorado team surprised everybody.
Including Dykes.
“Offensively, the first half we just did some uncharacteristic things. We haven’t practiced that way at all in fall camp. We missed some throws, ran the wrong route, we were just not in sync. I was surprised because that had not been something I had seen from this team leading up to that performance,” Dykes said.
The offense often looked crisp and explosive throughout camp, so there’s a lot of truth to Dykes’ words.
The good news is that TCU responded at halftime and scored 31 points in a half on the road at a Power Five team despite an injury to starting quarterback Chandler Morris.
There weren’t any major adjustments, just the message of getting back to what they did all summer.
“Mainly just committing to running the ball. With where we were at the game, we needed to lean on those offensive linemen and first play of the second half we got a nice rip with Kendre and that kind of set the tone for the second half,” offensive coordinator Garrett Riley said. “A few schematic adjustments, nothing major it was more on mentality.”
Against Tarleton, the Horned Frogs could probably afford another slow start and still win convincingly, but the TCU coaches know that’s not a recipe for long term success.
The goal is to bring that second half energy to the opening kickoff against the Texans this Saturday.
“We’ve just got to take care of our own stuff early. We do that, I think we’ll be in shape to get off to a good start and make routine plays. At the end of the day that’s what we have to focus on. It’s not as much them, it’s got to be all about us,” Riley said.
One thing that could help the Horned Frogs start faster is getting the ball in the hands of Quentin Johnston, the most talented player on the team.
Johnston had just three receptions for 22 yards against Colorado. For the offense to be dynamic, Johnston must play a much bigger role.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting him the ball and getting him going,” Dykes said. “We have enough good players and have to figure out how to get guys opportunities. In Quentin in particular, we have to get him going early if we can.”
That’ll be one of the main objectives for Max Duggan, who should start in the place of the injured Morris. Duggan, and Sam Jackson, present a bigger running element to the offense that the staff is sure to take advantage of against Tarleton.
But overall the gameplan remains mostly the same despite the quarterback change.
“It doesn’t drastically change things. You want to always do things that put your quarterback in good positions to be successful. You’re going to naturally do some things that are a little more tailored to their style of play. But for us I don’t think it’s some wholesale change or anything like that,” Riley said.
If things go as planned, TCU should put up plenty of points in front of their home crowd. The more important thing to watch is how quickly those points are scored and in what fashion?
The Horned Frogs will have success on the ground. The offensive line and running back group is too good not to. But this presents a great opportunity to iron out some of the self-inflicted mistakes in the downfield passing game as well.
Tarleton is the last tune up before TCU jumps into the meat of its schedule. The offense must take full advantage of that.
This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
