FORT WORTH -- Heading into the season, we knew one thing for certain about TCU. The Horned Frogs were going to defend at an elite level.
Even after losing five starters from the 2017 lineup, and even after going 3-3 to start the season, that did not change. TCU ranks No. 14 in defensive S&P+, which ranks best in the Big 12 and No. 11 among all Power Five teams.
But now, seven games in, the injuries are starting to pile up. Safety Innis Gaines and defensive tackle Ross Blacklock are out for the season. Defensive backs Niko Small, Julius Lewis and Jeff Gladney are also dealing with injuries.
All of that came to a head in a 52-27 loss to No. 9 Oklahoma. The Horned Frogs allowed 536 yards, including 323 on the ground on 6.9 yards per carry. That’s uncharacteristically poor for a unit that consistently ranks among the best run defenses in the country.
The Horned Frogs played linebacker Garret Wallow at strong safety for stretches. He went down too. Freshmen Trevon Moehrig-Woodard and La’Kendrick Van Zandt were called on to play major snaps in the second. Upperclassmen Vernon Scott and Markell Simmons also played major snaps next to usual starter Ridwan Issahaku.
“The narrative about this is that Oklahoma played good,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “The reality is that we gave up seven more points than Texas did last week. One of the things you need to look at is that they’re a good offense, and two we’ve got to make plays because we’re a better defense than that. I’m not giving them any outs.”
Patterson dismissed the injury issues, saying he dealt with it in 2012 and 2013. Of course, the Horned Frogs won seven and four games over those two seasons. In TCU’s four other seasons in the Big 12, the Horned Frogs averaged 10 wins per year.
It doesn’t help that TCU isn’t getting much help from its offense. Offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie benched starting quarterback Shawn Robinson, and backup Michael Collins did give the Horned Frogs a brief lift. Collins threw a pair of touchdowns, and led a 17-0 run against the Sooners to end the first half. However, Collins hurt his throwing hand while sliding onto a mat, and his numbers plummeted from there.
Patterson always seems to pull a rabbit out of his hat on defense. Even after losing Blacklock before the year and playing without a couple other defensive linemen early in the year, the production continued. It’s much harder to do that when your offense has the ball for fewer than 23 minutes, like it did on Saturday against the Sooners.
If TCU can take care of the football, there’s reasons for optimism. The ESPN Football Power Index still favors the Horned Frogs in four additional games this season.
"The kids are fighting and they fought back once we got going,” Patterson said. “We have five games left to play. The bottom line is we got beat 52-27. We are 3-4 and we've got to battle. We've got quite a road to get through to get to four.”