I am home from the disappointment that was the Fiesta Bowl and after a fifteen hour drive that included going through the toilet of Texas that is known as West Texas, I have a few thoughts on the TCU loss.
- What happened to TCU’s running game? Why did the Frogs only run the ball twenty times? TCU’s two best running backs combined for 8 carries TOTAL! The Frogs had success on the ground in last year’s Poinsettia Bowl against Boise State but completely abandoned it in this game.
- Another problem with the lack of a running game was… where was the wildcat? Boise State did a great job of getting the ball into their playmakers hands. You have to at least get Jeremy Kerley a few snaps from the backfield. He has the greatest big play potential of all players on this team.
- To go along with the lack of a running game, TCU tried to turn Andy Dalton into Kellen Moore. There was absolutely NO reason to have Dalton throwing the ball 44 times.
- The play calling was atrocious. TCU ran way too many screens and draws. There was one series inside Boise State territory where the Frogs ran two straight QB draws and a bubble screen on third down. Seriously?
- It is hard to win a game when you lose the turnover battle. TCU turned the ball over way too often, and also had a lot of untimely penalties.
- What happened to the Frogs receivers hands? It looked as if we had a team full of Roy Williams’.
- I should have seen this coming. TCU has a heart breaking loss every season, and this one wasn’t the exception. If it’s not Southern Miss its SMU, if it’s not SMU, its Utah. It goes on and on. Every time we get close to accomplishing something, we fall apart.
- I really don’t want to hear any more of this TCU can’t travel crap you BCS homers like to throw around. TCU sold out their allotment of tickets and traveled deep to Glendale. There were 20,000+ TCU fans in attendance and the Frogs section was just as packed as the Boise State designated sections. The TV numbers were also good. The Fiesta Bowl drew a 8.2 and the Orange Bowl between Georgia Tech and Iowa drew a 7.1.
- In N Out Burger was delicious!
Overall, I had a great time in Arizona until the game ended. I am still embarrassed and disgusted from what I saw on the field Monday night. My biggest problem is I know TCU is better than that. They played better than that all season long. This was the Frogs opportunity to show the country on National TV that they could play quality football, and we laid an egg. I am also sickened that TCU let a Boise State fake punt change the game. Everyone knows they run those types of plays and the team should have been prepared for those things.
To put a positive spin on it, as bad as TCU played, and as many turnovers as we had, the Frogs were still in the game until the final minute. The defense played good. They were able to hold the high powered Boise State offense to 10 points. Unfortunately, the Frogs offense didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. In my opinion, three plays changed this game… the pick six thrown by Dalton, the fake punt by Boise State, and the dropped touchdown by Antoine Hicks. If one of those plays goes the other way, it could have been a different game.
I am now trying to recover from this loss, but it is not easy. A great thing to think about though, is that this team is young and returning a lot of starters. TCU will be right back in the mix next year and I expect nothing less. This season has been one of the most fun to follow since I have been a Frog fan and I appreciate the ride this team took me on.
