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First Look: TCU Horned Frogs

The Baylor Bears are back in Waco this Saturday after more than a month on the road to welcome the #9 TCU Horned Frogs, fresh off their stunning win over OU.

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
vs.
5/3 BAYLOR (5-0, 1-0) vs. 9/12 TCU (4-0, 1-0)
Oct. 11, 2014 | 2:30 p.m. CT
Waco, Texas | McLane Stadium (45,140)

TV: ABC
Listen | Gametracker Gametracker | Game Notes Notes | Tickets Gameday Central

OPPONENT: TCU Horned Frogs
ODB GAME HUB:
Baylor Bears vs. TCU Horned Frogs 2014
ODB PREDICTS:
Baylor vs. TCU
MEET THE PRESS: Baylor vs. TCU
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: GoFrogs.com
HORNED FROGS MEDIA GUIDE Click for .pdfs (depth chart pg. 17)
LAST MEETING: 41-38 Baylor win in 2013 | ODB Game Hub
LAST GAME (for TCU): 37-33 W vs. OU
SB NATION BLOG: Frogs O' War, at right
SPREAD: Baylor -10 (Open: Baylor -10.5)
TV COVERAGE: ABC
WEATHER FORECAST: Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms in the morning. High near 85F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
BAYLOR UNIFORMS: Unknown

SB Nation TCU Preview
BaylorBears.com Preview
Horned Frogs vs Bears coverage

About the TCU-Baylor Rivalry

I'm not going to sugarcoat it: when Baylor and TCU play, it represents a meeting of two fanbases with a lot of history, acrimony, and, if we're being honest, similarity between them.  That makes almost any discussion about a game like this a breeding ground for name-calling, trolling, and the like. You'll see a lot of Baylor fans talking crap about TCU in other places and vice versa, a lot of people talking about how much they don't like the other side or what they wish would happen to that guy they met once that was a total douchebag and definitely represents every single Bear/Horned Frog (depending on your alignment) in existence.

I can't tell you not to hate the Horned Frogs.  Horned Frogs, I can't tell you not to hate the Bears.  Part of being a fan is having strong feelings with almost no justification, and that's fine.  I can't change the way you feel, nor do I want to detract from the overall atmosphere of the game itself, which should be amazing.  What I can tell you is that if you come here as a troll, you will be banned as a troll.  The same goes if you leave here as one to head somewhere else.  You may think that's just a natural part of online interaction, but I don't care.  All are welcome here as long as they are civil, and that rule applies no matter the color of the jersey you root for on Saturday.

TCU Horned Frogs' 2014 Schedule

August
Samford Bulldogs Saturday, August 30 2014 win 48-14 coverage
September
Minnesota Golden Gophers Saturday, September 13 2014 win 30-7 coverage
@ SMU Mustangs Saturday, September 27 2014 win 56-0 coverage
October
Oklahoma Sooners Saturday, October 04 2014 win 37-33 coverage
@ Baylor Bears Saturday, October 11 2014 3:30 PM EDT coverage
Oklahoma State Cowboys Saturday, October 18 2014 4:00 PM EDT coverage
Texas Tech Red Raiders Saturday, October 25 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
November
@ West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday, November 01 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
Kansas State Wildcats Saturday, November 08 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage
@ Kansas Jayhawks Saturday, November 15 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage
@ Texas Longhorns Thursday, November 27 2014 7:30 PM EST coverage
December
Iowa St. Cyclones Saturday, December 06 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage

I didn't realize before doing this post that TCU has played a grand total of zero games outside the DFW Metroplex, with their only away game so far coming against SMU in Dallas two weeks ago.   I also did not realize that they've had two bye weeks already with a third coming before their game in Austin on 11/27.  That's a very favorable schedule for implementing a new offense and getting it off the ground.

TCU in 2014

Speaking of that new offense-- if you've somehow avoided paying any attention at all to TCU's football team thus far this season, you're going to be very surprised to see that everything you thought you knew about the Horned Frogs' offense is now wrong.  Over the offseason, TCU brought in two new coaches-- Sonny Cumbie from Texas Tech and Doug Meacham from Houston-- and named them co-offensive coordinators.  With them came the New Hotness of college football: an up-tempo spread attack designed to bring TCU out of the offensive Dark Ages.  That change spurred the obvious question asked by the subtitle to Bill C's TCU preview linked above: Could tweaking the offense provide the missing link for TCU Football?

So far, the answer is a resounding yes.  Always a defensive powerhouse under Gary Patterson and longtime DC Dick Bumpas, TCU now boasts one of the best statistical offenses in the country, a unit finally capable of turning a weakness into a strength and a one-dimensional team into a complete unit.  They've gone from unranked to #9 in a matter of weeks, along the way notching their first huge win of their Big 12 tenure and changing the complexion of their program going forward.

TCU's Individual Statistics

Quarterbacks
Passing
Rk Player Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
1 Trevone Boykin 99 161 61.5 1176 7.3 8.0 10 2 140.9
2 Matt Joeckel 9 15 60.0 104 6.9 6.6 2 1 148.9
3 Cameron Echols-Luper 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0.0
4 David Porter 0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0.0
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CFB: View Original Table
Generated 10/6/2014.

The big story of TCU's season thus far has been the play of junior Trevone Boykin, a player Baylor fans know well from his destruction of our defense in that awful 2012 game, our last loss in Waco.  After playing WR during much of last season following Casey Pachall's return, Boykin seized the starter's job in the offseason over Aggie transfer Matt Joeckel and has almost bested his 2013 statistics in just four games.  So far, he's avoided turning the ball over, improved his completion percentage, and run TCU's new offense as well as can possibly be expected.

Running Backs
Rushing Receiving Scrimmage
Rk Player Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
1 Trevone Boykin 51 260 5.1 3 51 260 5.1 3
2 B.J. Catalon 46 220 4.8 4 8 80 10.0 1 54 300 5.6 5
3 Aaron Green 20 121 6.1 0 2 15 7.5 0 22 136 6.2 0
4 Kyle Hicks 14 60 4.3 0 14 60 4.3 0
5 Trevorris Johnson 12 41 3.4 1 1 23 23.0 0 13 64 4.9 1
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CFB: View Original Table
Generated 10/6/2014.

Clearly, because I just talked about him with the QBs, Boykin is not a running back.  Still, he's TCU's leading rusher, meaning this will be the second game in the last three where Baylor faces a team led in rushing by a dual-threat QB.

Yes, that Aaron Green is the same one that played at San Antonio Madison in high school, initially went to Nebraska after supposedly considering Baylor, and then transferred.

Wide Receivers
Rushing Receiving Scrimmage
Rk Player Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
1 Josh Doctson 19 212 11.2 3 19 212 11.2 3
2 Deante' Gray 6 73 12.2 0 16 196 12.3 3 22 269 12.2 3
3 Kolby Listenbee 14 272 19.4 2 14 272 19.4 2
4 David Porter 13 162 12.5 1 13 162 12.5 1
5 Ty Slanina 13 126 9.7 0 13 126 9.7 0
6 Desmon White 7 47 6.7 1 7 47 6.7 1
7 Ja'Juan Story 5 51 10.2 0 5 51 10.2 0
8 Jordan Moore 3 17 5.7 0 3 17 5.7 0
9 Charlie Reid 2 36 18.0 1 2 36 18.0 1
10 Cameron Echols-Luper 2 20 10.0 0 2 20 10.0 0
11 Emanuel Porter 1 13 13.0 0 1 13 13.0 0
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CFB: View Original Table
Generated 10/6/2014.

That's a lot of receivers to know.  Listenbee leads the way in yardage, Doctson in catches.  TCU has been remarkably good at distributing the load so far this year.

TCU's Team Stats and Rankings

Statistic National
Rank
Conference
Rank
Value National Leader Value Conference
Leader
Value
3rd Down Pct 63 7 0.421 Georgia Tech 0.581 Kansas St. 0.508
3rd Down Pct Defense 9 1 0.278 Louisville 0.231 TCU 0.278
4th Down Pct 29 3 0.667 5 teams tied 1.000 Baylor 0.824
4th Down Pct Defense 89 8 0.636 Alabama
West Virginia
Middle Tenn.
0.000
0.000
0.000
West Virginia 0.000
Blocked Kicks Rutgers 5 Oklahoma
Oklahoma St.
3
3
Blocked Kicks Allowed 104 7 2 67 teams tied 0 Iowa St.
Oklahoma St.
Texas Tech
0
0
0
Blocked Punts 4 teams tied 2 Oklahoma St.
West Virginia
Kansas St.
1
1
1
Blocked Punts Allowed 1 1 0 107 teams tied 0 9 teams tied 0
Completion Percentage 57 4 0.607 Oregon 0.732 West Virginia 0.690
Fewest Penalties 41 5 29 Wyoming 17 Kansas St. 20
Few. Penalties/Game 89 7 7.25 Navy 3.17 Kansas St. 4.00
Few. Penalty Yards 45 4 255 Wyoming 146 Kansas St. 162
Few. Penalty Yards/Game 87 6 63.75 New Mexico St. 29.00 Kansas St. 32.40
First Downs Defense 1 1 59 TCU 59 TCU 59
First Downs Offense 79 7 109 Washington St.
Texas A&M
169
169
Baylor 144
Fumbles Lost 70 8 4 Kansas
Boston College
Missouri
0
0
0
Kansas 0
Fumbles Recovered 28 1 5 FIU 13 Kansas
TCU
Oklahoma
5
5
5
Kickoff Return Defense 42 4 19.31 Tulsa 13.69 Kansas St. 14.68
Kickoff Returns 8 3 26.50 West Virginia 31.54 West Virginia 31.54
Net Punting 56 7 38.21 Utah 45.20 Iowa St. 40.52
Interceptions Thrown 25 2 3 4 teams tied 0 Baylor 2
Passes Intercepted 23 3 7 Louisville
Boise St.
12
12
Texas
Oklahoma
9
9
Passing Offense 19 4 320.0 Washington St. 523.0 West Virginia 381.8
Passing Yards Allowed 13 3 172.5 San Jose St. 89.6 Texas 134.6
Passing Yards/Comp. 67 6 11.85 Georgia Tech 18.42 Baylor 15.60
Punt Return Defense 3 1 -0.67 Purdue -1.25 TCU -0.67
Punt Returns 42 4 10.00 Georgia Tech 25.33 Kansas St. 24.70
Red Zone Defense 27 3 0.750 Temple 0.444 Texas 0.692
Red Zone Offense 41 5 0.870 5 teams tied 1.000 Oklahoma 0.957
Rushing Defense 18 3 106.8 Louisville 58.3 Kansas St. 81.4
Rushing Offense 40 3 196.3 Navy 340.5 Baylor 247.4
Sacks Allowed 43 4 1.50 New Mexico St. 0.00 Baylor 0.60
Scoring Defense 7 2 13.5 Stanford 8.6 Baylor 12.4
Scoring Offense 12 2 42.8 Baylor 51.0 Baylor 51.0
Tackles for Loss Allowed 36 5 4.75 Cincinnati
Toledo
2.50
2.50
Baylor 2.60
Passing Efficiency 49 5 139.96 Oregon 202.25 Baylor 164.64
Pass. Efficiency Defense 4 1 88.61 Temple 81.39 TCU 88.61
Team Sack 12 3 3.75 Utah 5.60 Texas 4.00
Team Tackles for Loss 2 1 9.8 Utah 10.2 TCU 9.8
Time of Possession 87 6 28:28 Michigan St. 36:25 Kansas St. 33:06
Total Defense 7 2 279.3 Louisville 230.2 Baylor 267.2
Total Offense 16 3 516.3 Marshall 595.6 Baylor 590.6
Turnover Margin 10 2 1.25 Temple 2.50 Oklahoma 1.40
Turnovers Gained 17 2 12 FIU 21 Oklahoma 14
Turnovers Lost 38 5 7 Washington 1 Baylor
Iowa St.
5
5
Winning Percentage 1 1 1.000 10 teams tied 1.000 TCU
Baylor
1.000
1.000

We're taking a clear step up in opponent difficult this week.  F/+ hasn't yet updated because the FEI components are missing, but S&P+ rates TCU 11th overall against Baylor's 6th and gives them the #12 and #18 offense and defense, respectively.  They are a healthy #16 in the country in total defense per the chart above and #7 in total defense.  It's worth noting that because they have only played 4 games, some of the pure counting stats above are skewed, like first down offense and defense (both of which just count first downs obtained and allowed).

QUESTION TIME!

  • FIRST -- Do you have any specific questions about TCU that we can have answered?
  • SECOND -- How worried are you about Bryce Petty at this moment?
  • THIRD -- Have you watched the TCU-OU game?  If so, I'd like your impressions.  If not ... watch it, I guess.
  • FOURTH -- How scared are you to face a legitimately talented dual-threat QB in Boykin?
  • FIFTH -- What uniform combo do you want to see this week at home?
  • BONUS -- Had GameDay chosen Baylor-TCU, what would your sign have said?  Assume for a second that signs can contain gifs.