Postgame Reaction: TCU-48, Texas-10

I journeyed to Austin for Thanksgiving to see the family, catch a UT basketball game (Myles Turner - holy %@ 6-11 guys shouldn't move that easily) and attend the TCU game where I assumed we'd lose in gutty, competitive, Look How Far We've Come fashion.

I'm glad I did two of those three things.

I'll keep it short and sweet...

This was a thorough ass-kicking delivered by a team that is more coached-up and coherent than overwhelmingly talented - shades of Kansas State and BYU all over again, isn't it?  I don't think that's a coincidence.  Hats off to the Frogs for throwing us a box of grenades and then standing there grinning as we pull pin after pin and make left-handed cross body heaves only to have them plummet around us like hail.

The fourth and an inch offsides penalty inside the TCU 25 when the game was still mildly competitive at 13-0 was my personal favorite self-grenading moment, but y'all feel free to add more.  There were many.

Tyrone Swoopes was unbelievably, almost incomprehensibly bad (4 interceptions, 1 sack fumble) even within the context of shoddy OL play, receivers who separated as frequently as Chinese twins and an offensive game plan that owed more to a spaghetti distributed by ceiling fan than some real plan for attacking quarters coverage.  The problem in evaluating Watson is that it forces us to really evaluate what his pupil on the field can execute and understand. Swoopes doesn't see the field.  At all.  He's overwhelmed and once his spiral of defeat begins, there is no return.  He doesn't account for the extra man when we go to spread looks, he doesn't really understand zone-man principles and he's still self-pressuring.  The futile end of half run for empty yards as the clock ticked to zero was a good example of where he is right now.  The interceptions also all looked to be on him.

I think we all understand that Tyrone is incompetent against solid defenses.  He should be given his background.  He's a feral cat suddenly enrolled in Guide Dog School.  The question was, and hopefully still is, how long until he is competent?  I think Never earned a few more percentage points tonight at the expense of By The Bowl Game, Sometime In 2015, Yum Kippur 2019.  Hey, There Are Any Good Transfer QBs just made a push as well.

Seriously.  Anyone know any?

Armanti Foreman provided our only offensive highlight when he dropped a 73 yarder on the TCU DBs on a simple swing pass. Good speed, good blocking, bad pursuit angles.  Offense doesn't always have to be that hard?

Special teams were disappointing, setting up TCU early with a gift field goal and good field position on several possessions and a gift touchdown courtesy of Quandre's big toe.  The Nick Rose Experience made a 47 yard field goal.  And an extra point!

I have no problems with the defense aside from a few lost jump balls.  It turns out that when you throw a catchable ball in single coverage, tall receivers can make a play on it.  Throwing it ten yards past them or into a Gatorade cooler on the sideline does not allow this phenomenon to occur.

We mixed coverages, blitz and 3 man pressure nicely and held Boykin well under his accustomed performance benchmarks.  Boykin was contained by design (but only turned it over once - he has knack for not taking negative plays even when the defense plays it perfectly) and the Texas D held down the TCU offense for three and a half quarters.  48 points on the scoreboard was a lie as far as the defense was concerned.  They did more than enough to win.

Unfortunately, our D's assigned dance partner of the Texas special teams/offense roughly equate to Julianne Hough paired with Larry Flynt asked to dance the Paso Doble.  There's only so much she can disguise.

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving.

Snap up those bowl game tickets now.

Hook 'em.