After the game, a wise man said to me – well, lyle – that “Hey, in 15 degree weather, a win is a win,” so I guess that’s something ot take away from all of this, but man, why did it have to be so close? Who would’ve EVER thought that Kerley would be the one who almost blew it for us? Was Ross Evans really the player of the game? I understand the weather factor and how in sub freezing temperatures that football is like a really slick rock, but it sure didn’t slow down the Academy. It felt a lot like 2007 and fortunately enough, we ended up on the right side of the 20-17 score this time. It may have felt like a hollow victory, but the great teams win these types of games and keep rolling.
Offense – B-. The bottom line here: Three turnovers, including two inside the five. We were fortunate enough to rebound this week, but that isn’t going to get it done in two weeks, Frogs. Heck, the way Wyoming is playing, and with the overwhelming chance of terrible weather for that game, it might not get it done then. Still, I won’t be too harsh, because the weather obviously played much more of a factor that we thought it would inititally and, let’s be honest, it looked MISERABLY cold. The biggest disappointment for me though might have been Jake Kirkpatrick, if only because the Star Telegram wrote an article praising him the day of the game, and I saw him get beat badly for 2 sacks. Our O-line was overwhelmingly larger and better than their defensive line, but still got to Dalton three times. Our protection has been great all year, so I don’t see this being a major issue, but that definitely played a role in this ugly offensive performance inside the 20.
In all fairness, Red stayed the course and played the game just as he has all year, going 16-28 for 198 yards with no TDs and an INT, although the INT wasn’t all his fault as it was a fair throw that bounced off of Evan Frosch. I’d use this time to say that perhaps this is why Dalton doesn’t throw to tight ends, but the later first down play to Logan Brock was SO clutch and hopefully silenced the Red haters out there. Red also rushed 10 times for 57 yards. Most importantly, though, was the reemergence of the Dalton/Young hookup. After coming into the game with only 7 catches for 2 TDs, Dalton ended up hitting Young 6 times for 113 yards, including the first play of the game. Dalton also hit Young on a beautiful turnaround catch down the sidelines that set up our first score of the day, a Turner TD. Young moved into 10th place all time in receiving yards for TCU with the big day. If you’re going to give an offensive MVP, it’s gotta be Luxury Tax.
Running the ball, TCU was outgained for the first time all season, only gaining 195 yards on 52 attempts. The slick field conditions definitely played a role in the low total, as well as the 3 Dalton sacks. Turner led all rushers with 73 yards on 18 carries and a TD, but his one fumble, which occurred inside the Air Force 5, was inexcusable and kept the game a lot closer than it should have been. Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker also rushed for 49 and 29 yards, respectively. Jeremy Kerley rushed twice for 5 yards, but it was his second of the day that played the biggest impact. Late in the fourth quarter after the Frogs had held Air Force to a 4 and out, Kerley took an outside handoff to continue icing the game… and fumbled it right back to Air Force, leading to a touchdown that pushed the score to 20-17. Fortunately AF ran the worst two minute drill in the history of the game on the drive, but ouch, what a terrible time to have your second fumble on the year. Perhaps this is why the Wildfrog has been pretty quiet this year? You can bet the coaching staff is going to work on his carries this week before giving him any more touches.
As mentioned, Jimmy Young led all receivers with 6 catches for 113 yards. Everyone else, though, was pretty quiet with Jeremy Kerley catching 3 balls for 26 yards, Antoine Hicks catching 2 for 27, both of which went for big first downs, and Bart Johnson, Logan Brock, Curtis Clay and Ed Wesley with 1 a piece. The Brock catch was arguably the highlight of that bunch, but Curtis Clay continues to impress as his catch was perfectly timed and he caught the ball right as he turned around. Overall, not a great day for the offense with the three turnovers and sacks, but they scored 3 more than the other guys, and that’s 2 more than GP asks of them.
Final Numbers - 23 First downs, 393 total yards (195 rush, 198 pass), 3 fumbles – 2 lost, 1 INT, 8/16 third down conversions, 4/6 red zone, 33:25 TOP.
Defense – A-. The 229 rushing yards given up by our defense is going to look like a lot, especially considering we came into the game onwing the #1 rush D in the country, but Air Force also didn’t meet their season average of 291, so I guess everybody wins… except the Falcons. Seriously, though, the defense looked phenomenal during the first half, holding the Falcons to 124 yards and only getting beat on a well timed halfback pass that, had Rafael Priest not slipped, may have been broken up in the end zone. However, when you turn the ball over three times, it keeps your defense on the field well longer than you’d like and eventually an offense like Air Force is going to break a big play, which they did several times, including a reverse play to Mikel Hunter that went for 36 yards. We did slow the pass down as Connor Dietz went 6-17 for only 42 yards, but he’s their backup QB, so that’s supposed to happen. Another thing that sticks out to me is that we only had one sack, but when the ball is handed off every single play, it’s hard to get to the QB quick enough. Also, with up to 4 guys setting up in the backfield, you can’t be overly aggressive in your blitzing because the ball could be going anywhere. Still, the defense played a great game and was the key difference in the game as the offense simply couldn’t put the ball in the end zone with great frequency.
Once again, Daryl Washington lived up to his billing, recording 10 tackles, including one for a loss, but he wasn’t the only linebacker making noise as Tank Carder – still wearing those arm bands, even with sleeves – had 8 tackles himself, including the team’s only sack, and he broke up 2 passes. The paper may have listed Washington as the breadwinner on defense, but they obviously didn’t watch what Tank was doing out there. Tekkerin Cuba, getting his first start due to Alex Ibolye not making the trip – any news on that one, guys? – played a solid game, totaling 7 tackles, as did Tejay Johnson. Wayne Daniels continues to be a machine on the line, coming up with 6 tackles, and Cory Grant and Kelly Griffin did their part with 4 a piece. My main man from the 903 Corderra Hunter came up big in the fourth quarter, breaking up a key first down pass as well as making a big stop to force a fourth and long which the Falcons didn’t convert. It’s a shame Kerley turned the ball over on the next play or Hunter’s stop would be remembered among the best of the game, if not the best. It should be noted that Nick Sanders sat for the second consecutive game.
Overall, a solid defensive performance, despite the score line, as they held the Air Force offense to only 287 total yards and 17 points.
Final Numbers – 287 total yards (229 rushing, 58 pass), 14 first downs, no INTs, 26:05 TOP, 5/16 third down, 2/3 fourth down, 3/3 red zone, 1 sack.
Special Teams – A. As David Letterman taught us last week, sometimes you have to man up and admit you made a mistake, and I’ll admit, I made one. I’ve been very hard on Ross Evans this season based almost solely on one failing performance in the clutch and his habit of missing extra points which, while not excusable on his part, isn’t exactly fair. However, after Saturday night, I’ll ease up on the guy. Those field goals, in those conditions, were HUGE and the situation was almost as big as Utah last year – not quite, but in the same ballpark. Like most of you, I assumed he’d miss at least one of those field goals and was mentally getting back on defense, but he came through big and is reason 1b why we won that game. You’d like the offense to put the ball in the end zone and avoid those situations, but if he can continue to do that, then god bless him. Great job, Evans. Congratulations, you’re off the hot seat.
Continuing last week’s trend, Jeremy Kerley continued to shine on special teams, racking up 120 return yards, including a 52 yard kickoff return to set up Evans’ second field goal on the night, the winner, mind you. No TDs this week, but I suppose we shouldn’t be greedy. Speaking of ?kickoffs – why go back with Sharples and risk a bunch of penalties? Evans can go out there and kick the ball to the five or ten yard line every time and he typically keeps it in bound. I hope we aren’t wasting a scholarship on that guy. Still, maybe TCU should bring back men’s soccer simply for the sake of finding a guy who can kick the ball to the end zone? I’m just sayin…
Anson Kelton had a pretty mediocre evening, punting for times for a 41 yard average, but he did manage one for the highlight reel. Clinging to a 20-10 lead, the Frogs were stopped deep in their own territory and were forced to give it back to Air Force, who was playing with a ton of confidence at the time. Kelton’s punt didn’t look great coming off his foot, and the Air Force return man apparently felt the same way as he let it bounce over his head, expecting a kickback. Instead, the ball took a very friendly TCU kick and rolled to the Air Force 9 yard line, 72 yards after it left Kelton’s foot. This led to the big 4 and out series for the Falcons and, although they ended up scoring soon afterwards, played a big part in the outcome.
Final Numbers – 2/2 Field Goals (38,27), 2/2 extra points, 41 yard punt average, 6 yard punt return average, 32 yard kick return average, 63 yard kickoff average, no touchbacks.
Overall. I thought this one would be close –I just didn’t think it'd be THIS close. I hope we don’t’ have to depend on the kicking game to win us too many games from here on out, but for now I’ll take it. It’s always a part of these recaps to think about what could’ve been and, let’s be honest, it should’ve been 28-7 early in the third quarter and out of reach. However, when our offense falters, it seems to ramp up our defensive effort as they played a fantastic game for the most part and kept Air Force out of the end zone almost all game. I have to think Air Force is going to look at that last drive and think about what could’ve been as they wasted close to 3 minutes off the clock in order to drive 54 yards, which allowed TCU to simply kneel out the game after the failed onside attempt.. I guess you win by the run and you die by the run. Regardless, you have to give Air Force tons of credit as they aren’t the biggest guys, and most of them probably wouldn’t be playing college football at another school, but they’re really a pretty good football team. I fully expect them to knock off either BYU or Utah this season and finish in the top 3 in the conference. As WWHD said, it’s hard to cheer against a service academy, and now that this week is over, I’ll certainly be pulling for them the rest of the way. Great win for the Frogs in their third straight bad weather game and let’s hope that this week brings clear skies and allows our offense to run smoothly. Go Frogs!
