Steven Johnson: TCU’s method to beat Texas shows Frogs can win in the postseason
In the immediate aftermath of TCU’s 17-10 win at No. 18 Texas, the Horned Frogs’ locker room was blasting a song by late rapper Bankroll Fresh.
The voice of head coach Sonny Dykes was drowned out with screams of ‘Walk in yo trap, and takeover your trap!’ For those that aren’t rap aficionado, here’s a simple translation.
TCU walked into Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and booted the Longhorns out of the massive stadium with a physical, tough win. It was the way TCU won that really stood out. It’s one thing to win when things are going well and you’re scoring 40 points at ease.
But what will you do on the road, when the other team is doing its best to beat you up physically and take you out of your game? TCU answered that emphatically by showing it’s a team that doesn’t need to score 30 points to win against a talented opponent.
“Good football find a way to win games. You’re going to have some games like tonight where you have to find a different way to win it,” Dykes said. “If you’re going to go on a run that’s what you have to do, you’ve got to figure out ways to do it.”
The Horned Frogs did it with defense in front of a national broadcast audience as the Texas offense was held out of the end zone and averaged just 3.3 yards per play. Much was made about the talent of the Longhorns roster and the physicality that Texas was going to unleash on TCU.
But as the game wore on, the Horned Frogs were the tougher team physically and mentally.
“We’ve been able to finish games by running the football and running the clock out,” Dykes said. “We feel like our offensive line starts to chip away and that’s what we talked to the team about. We said this is going to be a heavyweight fight, we’ve just got keep landing blows. At some point all those blows will pay off for us.”
The first haymaker was delivered by Kendre Miller, who put TCU ahead by 10 with a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The next was an uppercut as Quentin Johnston caught wide open touchdown pass from Max Duggan in the fourth.
Meanwhile the defense was throwing jabs to the body as Bijan Robinson (12 carries, 29 yards) was reduced to a non-factor and Quinn Ewers looked like the freshman quarterback he is. As the game wore on TCU saw how the blows were impacting the psyche of the Longhorns.
“I noticed a couple of their players yelling at each other, as a unit you like seeing that. You’re breaking somebody down,” linebacker Johnny Hodges said.
It was supposed to be Texas doing that to TCU, hence the Longhorns being seven point favorites. But TCU showed that why the line was foolhardy as the Horned Frogs found yet another way to win.
Blowouts, shootouts and now a defensive brawl, it doesn’t matter as TCU keeps finding ways to come out on top. If you’re truly a contender that’s the way it should be.
Whether it’s college or the NFL, as the stakes increase in playoff games or conference championship games, you see defenses tighten up, points come at a premium and the pressure mount to an almost insufferable level. Texas was favored, but all the pressure was on TCU Saturday.
A loss would’ve been all the confirmation the rest of the country needed to write the Horned Frogs off, but now it’s time to acknowledge that TCU is one of the best teams in a country and not just some Cinderella that popped out of nowhere.
The last few seasons have caused many to sleep on the talent on the TCU roster, but the Horned Frogs have future pros on both sides of the ball. Quentin Johnston, who had 66 yards despite not being 100%, is going to be a first round pick in the NFL draft barring something unexpected.
Kendre Miller and Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson could also get shots in the draft. Offensive lineman Steve Avila was a midseason All-American and the defense has now put together 10 quarters of really good defense dating back to West Virginia.
The Horned Frogs didn’t know if they could win a game like this, but they found out. If they want to reach the College Football Playoff and have a chance to play for a national championship then odds are they’ll have to win a few more like this.
TCU has the talent, but now we know it has the mental makeup and the defense to pull that off. There’s no longer a doubt, TCU is for real and it’s time to accept it.
