TCU Preview
October 29, 2014 11:22 AM | General
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Three years ago, West Virginia and TCU were just looking for a seat at the big boy table. Well this Saturday all eyes will be on Morgantown to watch two of the hottest teams in college football play at Milan Puskar Stadium.
No. 20 West Virginia (6-2, 4-1) won its fourth straight Big 12 game last weekend at Oklahoma State, 34-10, while TCU has won six of seven so far this year and last Saturday chased Texas Tech all the way back to Lubbock with a record-setting 82-27 victory over the Red Raiders in Fort Worth.
What has happened this year at West Virginia and TCU this season has been impressive. Both programs were in the unusual position of experiencing losing records last year, and it has taken them a while to adjust to the style of play in the Big 12 after enjoying considerable recent success in lesser conferences.
But today, we are now seeing the fruits of their labor.
“It’s ironic to see two teams as similar as we are, coming from two non-power five conferences,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. “We were winning – dominating could be the word used; what they were doing in the conferences that they were in and obviously we were in the Big East. Being able to win conference championships and then have the opportunity to move forward to the Big 12, we’re all excited about that.”
“They're kind of in the same situation we've been in coming into the Big 12,” added TCU coach Gary Patterson. “We've had identical records the first two years.”
The Horned Frogs (6-1, 3-1), ranked 10th in the country this week, are just a couple of plays away from being undefeated and in the national championship discussion. For years, TCU was known for a smothering defense and an offense that played to Patterson’s defensive-oriented style, but now Patterson is lighting up the scoreboard just like the rest of the teams in the Big 12.
“The biggest difference in them from this year to last year is obviously what they’re doing offensively,” Holgorsen pointed out Tuesday afternoon.
Yes, co-offensive coordinators Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meacham, both having ties to Holgorsen, are one big reason. The other is Trevone Boykin.
As you may recall, Boykin began his career at quarterback and led the Horned Frogs to an overtime victory over West Virginia in Morgantown in 2012. Then he moved to wide receiver (he caught 11 passes for 100 yards in last year’s game in Fort Worth) in 2013 but is once again back where he belongs under center.
Boykin threw a school-record seven touchdown passes against Texas Tech and has developed into one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country by averaging 329.4 yards per game through the air with an impressive 21-to-3 TD to interception ratio. He is also the team’s second leading rusher with 374 yards and a 4.4 yards-per-carry average.
“He’s the most improved player in college football. I texted (Meacham and Cumbie) earlier this week and told them to move him back to receiver because he was so dang good,” Holgorsen joked.
"Trevone has to understand that the longer it goes, the more (the hype) surrounds you,” said Patterson. “If you don't stay focused on the task at hand, you won't achieve what you want to. The best thing you can do is keep climbing the pyramid and only worry about things that you can control. If you do that, you have a chance to be successful. He's grown up a lot during his three years here."
One of Boykin’s big weapons may or may not be available on Saturday, however. Senior wide receiver Josh Doctson, who leads the team with 35 catches for 573 yards and seven touchdowns, left last Saturday’s game in the third quarter with an ankle injury but Patterson said earlier this week that Doctson has made “dramatic improvement” and will make the trip to Morgantown this weekend.
Doctson has four touchdowns in his last two games and two of those, covering 77 and 84 yards, are the two longest scoring plays from scrimmage for TCU since Josh Boyce’s 94-yard touchdown catch against West Virginia in 2012. If Doctson goes and is capable of playing near 100 percent then he will demand the attention of West Virginia’s secondary.
Two other guys who will also require close attention are Deante’ Gray (27 catches for 431 yards and six touchdowns) and Kolby Listenbee (22 catches for 494 yards and three touchdowns).
The Horned Frogs have three quality running backs, but Patterson terms junior B.J. Catalon the team’s “most complete” runner. Catalon is the top rusher with 388 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging five yards per carry. Junior Aaron Green has 34 carries for 315 yards with three touchdowns while redshirt freshman Trevorris Johnson is averaging a team-best 6.6 yards per carry with four rushing touchdowns.
“They’ve got great skill,” said Holgorsen. “Their running backs are dynamic, fast and can take it to the house at any point. And their receivers are fast.”
Through seven games this season, TCU is averaging a nation’s best 50.4 points, while their 573 yards per game are second in the country. Those totals are an improvement of 25.3 points and 228.2 yards per game over last year’s averages. In fact, the Horned Frogs are on pace to break Oklahoma State’s Big 12-record 19.1 points per game improvement set in 1999.
Defensively, TCU is one of the best teams in the country at getting off the field, ranking second to Louisville with an average of 7.8 three-and-out possessions per game. Since 2010, the Horned Frogs have held their opponents to 10 points or less 15 times, fifth best among FBS schools, and they are also fifth over the last seven seasons with 47 games of at least three sacks.
“Their defense does a great job of getting them the ball back,” said Holgorsen.
Strongside linebacker Paul Dawson has put up big numbers across the board, leading the team with 79 tackles, 11 tackles for losses, three fumble recoveries and three sacks while also recording a pair of interceptions, three pass breakups and a couple of quarterback hurries.
“(Patterson) is one of the best defensive minds in college football,” said Holgorsen. “When you look at them on tape this year they are no different; they’re sound; they’re not trying to trick you; they’re just trying to beat you with what they do defensively.”
Thirteen different players have at least one sack so far this season, demonstrating that the Horned Frogs can get to the quarterback in a variety of ways.
That would normally not bode well for a Mountaineer offense so geared toward the pass - and earlier this season West Virginia was relying heavily on senior quarterback Clint Trickett’s right arm and Kevin White’s game-breaking abilities at wide receiver, but in recent wins over Kansas, Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma State, the Mountaineers have been throwing it less and running it more.
In last Saturday’s 24-point win in Stillwater, West Virginia had 14 more runs than passes and finished with an impressive 210 yards on the ground against a pretty good Cowboy defense. It was the fourth time this year the Mountaineers have rushed for more than 200 yards in a game, boosting West Virginia’s season average to 180.9 yards per game.
Against OSU, sophomore Wendell Smallwood ran for a career-best 132 yards on 23 carries in place of injured starter Rushel Shell, while Dreamius Smith rushed for 72 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown jaunt late in the fourth quarter.
Shell, who made the trip to Oklahoma State last weekend but was unable to go because of an ankle injury he suffered early in the Baylor game, continues to lead the team in rushing with 503 yards and six touchdowns.
Smallwood is a close second with 476 yards and a touchdown.
And the running game has clearly benefitted from the attention defenses are now paying to White and senior Mario Alford.
White had his streak of seven straight 100-yard receiving games stopped last Saturday at Oklahoma State (three catches for 27 yards and a touchdown), but Alford was able to shake free for a 79-yard touchdown catch and finished the game with seven receptions for a season-high 136 yards.
White shows 72 catches for 1,047 yards and eight touchdowns while Alford is also having an outstanding year with 45 catches for 600 yards and six scores.
Trickett is completing 68.3 percent of his pass attempts so far this year for 2,763 yards and 17 touchdowns; he is averaging 345.4 yards per game through the air and has only thrown five interceptions in 319 pass attempts.
West Virginia’s across-the-board improvement on defense continued last weekend when the Mountaineers held Oklahoma State to only 10 points – the lowest number of points the defense has allowed in a conference game since joining the Big 12 in 2012.
True freshman free safety Dravon Henry had a big day by intercepting two passes, including a fourth-quarter pick that he returned 52 yards for a touchdown to put the Mountaineers ahead of the Cowboys, 27-10.
West Virginia had a plus-two advantage in turnovers – the first time this season that has happened - and the Mountaineers are also getting more pressure on the quarterback, sacking Baylor’s Bryce Petty four times two weeks ago and last week getting to Oklahoma State quarterback Daxx Garman twice.
Senior defensive end Shaq Riddick has a team-best six sacks to go along with seven tackles for losses, while junior linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski continues to lead the team with 62 tackles and nine tackles for losses.
Right behind Kwiatkoski is play-making safety Karl Joseph with 60 total stops.
TCU is making its second appearance in Morgantown and the last two times these two teams have met the games have gone to overtime. Josh Lambert’s 34-yard field goal in overtime was the difference last year in Fort Worth, and the Horned Frogs won 39-38 in double-OT win on a trick play in 2012.
Interestingly enough, TCU has spent the entire year in Texas so far this season, playing five games at home and taking two short bus trips to SMU and Baylor. This is the first time the Horned Frogs are getting on an airplane to play a football game and weather could be a factor on Saturday with temperatures expected to dip into the low 40s with a possibility of rain or snow in the forecast.
Saturday’s game will have national coverage with ABC’s lead crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Heather Cox calling the game. The ESPN GameDay crew will also be in Morgantown covering the game.
There are no tickets remaining.
“I admire not only Coach Holgorsen and his team, but the West Virginia crowd,” said Patterson. “Just like here in Texas, they make football very important. They're very passionate about the team and what they do. You always like to go places and play where they have that kind of enthusiasm in the stands. It's a lot of fun."
Indeed, it should be a lot of fun.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
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