TCU embarrassed by Kansas State in disappointing road loss
Whatever slim hopes of contending for a Big 12 title TCU was clinging onto evaporated in the Kansas sky Saturday as the Horned Frogs were hammered 41-3 by Kansas State.
“Didn’t see that one coming,” coach Sonny Dykes said. “We had a good week of practice, guys were prepared. I came in with a lot of confidence and thought we would play well after last week and it was a bad performance from the get-go.”
TCU was outclassed from the jump as the Wildcats surged to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. After the Horned Frogs temporarily halted momentum with a field goal, the Wildcats answered back with a wide open touchdown pass thrown by star freshman Avery Johnson.
The Horned Frogs trailed 27-3 at half, but had a chance to make things interesting with their first drive of the second half. Josh Hoover led TCU to the Kansas State 19, but on 4th-and-2 his pass to Savion Williams was broken up.
Kansas State took over with 10:23 remaining in the third quarter and milked nearly eight minutes off the clock on another touchdown drive capped by a Will Howard touchdown pass to Jayce Brown to make it 34-3 and effectively end the game.
It was a dreadful performance all around in what’s become a disappointing season.
Two QBs better than one?
Whoever made up the saying ‘If you have two quarterbacks, you have none,’ clearly hasn’t seen Kansas State this season. The Wildcats rotated veteran Will Howard and star freshman Avery Johnson all night and there wasn’t a difference between either when they were leading the offense.
They were effective in the quarterback run game with Howard using his power and Johnson using his speed to weave through the TCU defense. The quarterback duo had over 135 rushing yards by themselves and were the focal point of a rushing attack that finished with 343 yards on the ground.
“They did everything we saw on film,” cornerback Josh Newton said. “It wasn’t really that tough facing two quarterbacks, they don’t do a lot of crazy, crazy stuff. It’s nothing we haven’t seen.”
Passing wise, Howard was slightly better, but both generated chunk play after chunk play. It was Howard that threw the back-breaking 61-yard touchdown while Johnson had a short touchdown pass to Florida State transfer Treshaun Ward in the first quarter. Preparing for two quarterbacks can be challenging, but it’s not like Kansas State was running different offenses for both. The same concepts such as jet sweeps and a heavy dose of play action remained the same, yet TCU wasn’t prepared no matter what quarterback was under center.
Howard finished 10 of 16 for 154 yards and three touchdowns, while Johnson completed 5 of 10 for 90 yards and a touchdown. The duo did not have an interception.
“We had a hard time fitting the run game, that’s something we obviously have to get fixed,” Dykes said. “It was a bad performance, we never slowed them down. They could’ve scored as many points as they needed to beat us.
Hoover’s road debut
Playing on the road in an environment like Kansas State’s could be difficult for any quarterback, especially a redshirt freshman making his first start on the road. After an electric debut in the win over BYU, Josh Hoover plummeted back down to Earth thanks to an unrelenting defensive effort by the Wildcats.
K-State dialed up blitz after blitz to make Hoover uncomfortable and he was as he went just 7-of-17 for 66 yards in the first half. Even when Kansas State didn’t dial up a blitz, the Wildcats found consistent success squeezing the pocket rushing just four defenders as well.
When Hoover did have time, the Wildcats secondary did a great job of staying tight with TCU’s receivers. It felt like every pass needed to put exactly on the money for it be completed thanks to the coverage. Hoover looked more comfortable in the second half, but tossed another interception near the end of the third quarter with TCU in scoring position.
Hoover didn’t get a lot of help from his teammates, but didn’t play up to his standards either.
Hoover finished 24 of 43 for 187 yards.
“I think he played like a young quarterback,” Dykes said. “Obviously didn’t play well enough for us to win. I think it was a rough game all across the board offensively.”
Defensive meltdown
For the last six weeks, the TCU defense has played winning football, giving the Horned Frogs a chance to win every game. On Saturday the unit regressed back to the defense that we saw against Colorado in the season opener. The Wildcats did whatever they wanted to against TCU in the first half as five of Kansas State’s first six drives resulted in a touchdown or field goal.
At halftime, the Wildcats had already produced 406 yards en route to a 27-3 lead at halftime. The entire defense struggled starting with the defensive line that was mauled and pushed around by All-American guard Cooper Beebe and the rest of K-State’s experienced line. Kansas State pummeled TCU for 238 yards on the ground with a diverse rushing attack.
Jet sweeps, quarterback power, and the ole’ reliable inside zone were all effective against a defense that had only been allowing 121 on average. What about the linebackers? Shad Banks had a missed tackle in the backfield on one touchdown and was in coverage on that 61-yard wheel route that broke the game open.
The secondary? K-State quarterbacks only went seven of 18 in the first half, but they gained 168 yards on those seven completions. Aside from a good few plays from Josh Newton and Namdi Obiazor, it was a sad performance by a unit that had been playing so well.
The Horned Frogs allowed 587 total yards as the Wildcats averaged 9.4 yards per pass and 6.6 yards per rush.
A horrendous quarter
Remember how TCU had a near flawless start to the victory over BYU last week? Well it was the exact opposite against Kansas State as the Horned Frogs played their worst quarter of the season. How bad was it? The Wildcats’ first three possessions all resulted in touchdowns and they moved the ball with ease.
At one point Kansas State was averaging over 12 yards per play and 10 yards per carry against TCU’s vaunted rushing defense. A 35-yard run from Emani Bailey set up to TCU to briefly stop momentum as the Horned Frogs cut the Wildcats’ lead to 14-3. The Wildcats needed just three plays to respond with a touchdown as DJ Giddens slipped out of the backfield unconvered on a wheel route for a 61-yard touchdown.
In totality TCU allowed 238 yards and let the Wildcats average 11.9 yards per play in a dreadful first quarter that set the tone for the rest of the game.
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 9:19 PM with the headline "TCU embarrassed by Kansas State in disappointing road loss."
