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.”

UNT struggling to finish

North Texas suffered its second loss of the season. Unfortunately, the 29-21 loss to UAB happened almost exactly in the same way as the earlier 29-27 loss to Louisiana Tech in Week 5.

The Mean Green took a 21-10 lead over UAB heading into the half, and seemed to be in total control of the game. The Blazers allowed just 14 total points in three conference games before their matchup with UNT; it was a strong performance against an elite defense.

However, just like against Louisiana Tech, things fell apart in the second half. The Mean Green turned the ball over on downs three times down the stretch, including with less than a minute left in the game with a chance to tie the game.

The defense allowed 19 unanswered points, but don’t blame them. The high-flying offense mustered just 198 yards in the second half. Two-thirds of them came on the final two drives of the game. One ended in the turnover on downs that cost UNT the game. The other was a Mason Fine fumble within the 5-yard line.

The issues start up front. Fine was sacked four times. He ran for his life on several other occasions. The running game averaged a paltry 2.8 yards per attempt. That won’t cut it against good opponents.

Suddenly, what seemed to be a historic team might just be a fun one. The Mean Green are likely out of the Conference USA title race, as the Blazers have an overwhelming advantage to reach the title game. UNT can probably reach nine wins; the Mean Green already accomplished that a season ago.

But regardless, if UNT can’t find ways to finish games, it’s all moot. Good football teams can’t give up double-digit leads. The Mean Green will have to fix it quickly, or the season could fade quickly.

A Star is Born in Houston

Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver gets a plurality of attention at Houston, and for good reason. But on the other side of the field, former Manvel quarterback D’Eriq King is having a phenomenal season.

The junior came into Saturday’s matchup with Navy averaging just a shade under 300 total yards per game, and with 20 passing touchdowns, eight rushing scores against just three interceptions. King’s performance was even better against Navy on Saturday.

King completed 25-of-38 passes for 413 yards and three touchdowns. He also added seven carries for 56 yards and another touchdown to lead the Cougars in rushing in the 49-36 win over the Midshipmen.

The quarterback does a fantastic job of spreading the ball out to his wide receivers. Seven players caught a pass against Navy. Three players posted at least five catches and 100 receiving yards in the dominant offensive performance.

Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles was brought in to take Houston’s offense to the next level after losing Brian Johnson to Florida. Thanks to King’s efforts, it’s working. The Cougars ranked No 4 in total offense and No. 3 in scoring offense nationally. King ranks No. 14 in total offense

Houston has produced some outstanding quarterbacks in recent years. Case Keenum, Kevin Kolb and Greg Ward immediately come to mind. By the time he leaves Houston, his playmaking ability will match any of them.

UTEP will win a game

If that sounds like a lukewarm declaration, it’s not. The Miners have not won a game since the 2016 season. It’s been so long, that win was against Seth Littrell in his first season.

However, something is happening in El Paso. Suddenly, a team that appeared to be the consensus worst team in FBS football – and still probably is, for the record – is fighting its butt off against really talented conference opponents.

UTEP lost just 31-24 against a talented Louisiana Tech squad. The Miners were 24-point underdogs coming into the game. To say the least, no one expected them to give the Bulldogs this much of a scare, especially not on the road in Ruston.

The game was not pretty. Louisiana Tech won with just 325 total yards. The Miners mustered just 1.9 yards per rush attempt. However, quarterbacks Ryan Metz and Brandon Jones combined for 262 yards through the air to at least give the Miners a fighting chance.

That’s exactly what has happened the last several weeks. The Miners lost by just three to UNT, by seven to New Mexico State and by nine to UTSA. That’s a far cry from the 20-plus point losses from when the season opened.

Things are getting better in El Paso. Eventually – eventually – it will pay off.T

Around the state:

Texas Tech 48, Kansas 16: The Red Raiders took care of business against the Jayhawks in Alan Bowman’s return to the starting lineup. Despite not playing a football game in three weeks, Bowman threw for 408 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. It was against Kansas, but it’s good to see he hasn’t lost a step.

SMU 27, Tulane 23: Apparently, SMU is just going to be the exciting inconsistent team this season. Ben Hicks completed barely 50 percent of his passes and added a pick-six, but threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns as well. But of course, James Proche made the play of the game, nabbing a 67-yard game-winning touchdown with 75 seconds remaining.

FIU 36, Rice 17: Rice’s offense looked decent for a few drives with Evan Marshman at quarterback, but the Owls couldn’t consistently generate enough offense without Shawn Stankavage and Emmanuel Esukpa. Marshman did finish with 175 total yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his first significant game action.

Southern Miss 27, UTSA 17: Different quarterback, pretty much the same result. UTSA freshman Jordan Weeks threw for 117 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. However, UTSA allowed six sacks and finished with a paltry 174 yards of offense. UTSA scored two garbage time touchdowns to make it look closer than the 27-3 it was halfway through the third quarter.

ULM 20, Texas State 14: The Bobcats probably missed out on their best shot at a win because defensive end Ishmael Davis moved offsidese to cause an automatic first down. Texas State finished with 100 fewer yards than the Warhawks, but still had a shot to win. Tight end Keenan Brown is becoming a must-watch player.