Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. were showing us the money in the hit film “Jerry Maguire.” Hootie and the Blowfish won a Best New Artist Grammy after giving us a peek through their “Cracked Rear View.” Slick Willy Clinton rolled through his Presidential re-election bid.
The year was 1996, and in Norman, Oklahoma, Sooner fans were anxiously awaiting the debut of new football coach John Blake. Blake came back to his alma mater for his first head coaching job with Barry Switzer’s stamp of approval, generating lofty expectations among a downtrodden fan base that had slogged through years of probation-induced setbacks.
The Crimson and Cream offered a preview of what was to come when they took the field against TCU on Sept. 7 for Blake’s first game. OU bumbled and stumbled to a 20-7 loss against the Horned Frogs, who notched their first victory over the Sooners since 1947.
It has become a running theme throughout the last 20 years. Despite Oklahoma’s frequent dominance on the gridiron, TCU just has a knack for giving the Sooners fits. The Horned Frogs have won three of their seven meetings with OU during that period, including last year’s 37-33 upset in Amon Carter Stadium that launched TCU toward the top of the college football food chain and sent the Sooners spiraling toward rock bottom. Even when coach Gary Patterson’s teams combined to go 6-12 in conference play in 2012 and 2013, they played OU within seven and three points.
Once again, the Horned Frogs have a shot to harsh the strong buzz around Norman. OU’s big win at Baylor last week have the Sooners in striking distance of not only the Big 12 title, but a potential bid to the College Football Playoff.
Meanwhile, in the last two weeks, TCU has suffered a blowout loss to Oklahoma State that ended any national championship talk and then squeaked by the lowly Kansas Jayhawks. Trevone Boykin, TCU’s Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, is smarting from an ankle injury sustained last week. Likewise, Josh Doctson, the Horned Frogs’ rampaging wide receiver, is dealing with a wrist injury that occurred during the OSU game.
In other words, TCU is reeling, and OU is riding high. Sounds like the perfect opportunity for Gary Patterson to remind everyone why he’s so good at his job.
So, how does Patterson pull off a win on Saturday night?
If Boykin and Doctson are both ready to play at full blast, do what you do, TCU. If not, the Horned Frogs might look back at their past history to get a sense of how to beat the Sooners.
Back before TCU’s offensive awakening, Patterson had his frequently overmatched team ugly up games. Offensively, they relied on the running game to move the ball and milk the clock. Importantly, the Horned Frogs also played slowly: The team averaged 68.5 plays per game in ’13 (approximately 2.1 plays per minute of possession), compared with 84 this season (approximately 2.7 plays per minute of possession).
Defensively, Patterson tailored his patented 4-2-5 scheme to clog up the holes that spread offenses like to exploit in the passing game. He built his personnel around speed, enabling the front six to attack the line of scrimmage at angles and blitz opportunistically.
All in all, playing TCU could make for a frustrating experience for teams in the spread-heavy Big 12. To wit, TCU held the Sooners to 24 and 20 points in their first two meetings as conference foes.
Unfortunately for TCU, the Horned Frogs are no longer built to play that style of ball. The uptempo offensive scheme installed by coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie doesn’t just morph into a ball control O overnight.
More importantly, TCU’s defensive regression this season dictates that the squad really needs a high-flying offense to win games. TCU’s D ranks 51st nationally in yards per play, 34th in passer rating and 54th in rushing yards per attempt. Efficiency-wise, the Horned Frogs come in at 77th overall in Defensive S&P+ and 70th in Defensive FEI. As such, it will take an extraordinary effort for the unit to slow OU’s prolific offense.
So, no – assuming Boykin and Doctson are limited, TCU’s hopes to knock off OU don’t sound great. However, if the Horned Frogs holds true to form, don’t be shocked if they find a way to push the Sooners to the limit.
