College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the TCU Horned Frogs season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– TCU Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 5-7 overall, 3-6 in Big 12
Head Coach: Gary Patterson, 20th year, 172-70
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 47
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 82
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 21
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: TCU Horned Frogs Offense 3 Things To Know
– It was a better year for the offense than 2018, but it wasn’t good enough. Time and time and time again, the Horned Frogs just needed a little extra something and big drive, and it didn’t happen with six of the seven losses by a touchdown or less.
Former co-offensive coordinator Doug Meacham returns to help out with the receivers, and there are plenty of cooks in the offensive kitchen, but this is still OC Sonny Cumbie’s plane to fly. Any improvement starts with a far more efficient passing attack.
CFN in 60 Video: TCU Horned Frogs Preview
– Sophomore Max Duggan was allowed to battle through his mistakes in an interesting freshman campaign. The 6-2, 190-pounder ran for 555 yards and six scores, and he threw for over 2,000 yards with 15 scores, but he also gave away ten picks and was way too inconsistent – again, he was a freshman.
With Justin Rogers transferring to UNLV, and Mike Collins going off to Rice, 6-4, 218-pound recruit Eli Williams and JUCO transfer Stephon Brown will get long looks for the backup role.
And then there’s the question mark about the receivers with star playmaker Jalen Reagor off being a Philadelphia Eagle. No. 2 target Taye Barber has good wheels, and five top receivers – including five-touchdown TE Pro Wells – after Reagor are back. They should all be stronger if Duggan improves.
– The offensive line not only needs replacements, but it has to be stronger. Three starters are gone including both tackles, but there’s decent bulk in the interior and a little bit of versatility depending on where 6-3, 317-pound Quazzel White ends up woking.
The running backs are also a bit of a question mark with leading rusher Darius Anderson gone along with thumping No. 2 man Sewo Olonilua. However, landing superstar recruit Zachary Evans should be an upgrade. Former JUCO transfer Emari Demercado and quick redshirt freshmen Daimarqua Foster and Darwin Barlow will get more work after getting their feet wet.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: TCU Horned Frogs Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: TCU Horned Frogs Defense 3 Things To Know
– The Horned Frog defense led the Big 12 in total D, and it did it’s part in the high-powered Big 12. It allowed 31 points or more in four games – one was in the loss to SMU – but that’s the cost of doing business in the conference.
It’s hard to ask more out of a Big 12 defense than to lead the league in pass D, and despite the loss of Jeff Gladney to the Minnesota Vikings, it should be every bit as solid starting with the terrific young safety tandem of Trevon Moehrig and Ar’Darius Washington – they finished second and third on the team, respectively, in tackles and combined for nine picks.
The corners, though will need some work. Gladney was just that good.
– Ross Blacklock left early – he’s now a Houston Texan – but there’s enough back up front to be okay. More of a pass rush is a must from all spots, but Ochaun Mathis is coming off a decent freshman year, and there’s good enough size inside to hold up. It’ll help the overall cause for the line that …
– The linebackers are going to be terrific. The TCU twosome in the 4-2-5 are always going to be active and they’re always going to put up big stats, but junior La’Kendrick Van Zandt, sophomore Dee Winters, and senior Garret Wallow will all be in for big years. They’re almost all built like safeties, and they can all pop. Wallow – the one linebacker-sized defender – led the team with 125 stops.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top TCU Horned Frogs Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top TCU Horned Frogs Players
Best TCU Horned Frogs Offensive Player
QB Max Duggan, Soph.
Duggan might be keeping the seat warm for superstar RB recruit Zachary Evans – who originally signed with Georgia, but left, and is now a Horned Frog. Duggan had a decent first year for a true freshman, but it was definitely a lump-taking season in a lot of ways. A dangerous dual-threat playmaker, he’ll grow into a star as he cuts down on the interceptions.
2. RB Zachary Evans, Fr.
3. WR Taye Barber, Jr.
4. TE Pro Wells, Jr.
5. C Coy McMillon, Jr.
Best TCU Horned Frogs Defensive Player
LB Garret Wallow, Sr.
The All-Big 12 star got the honors, but he didn’t have the national name recognition despite his massive season. Fast enough to work as a defensive back early on in his career, the 6-2, 230-pounder is one of the bigger linebacker options in a smallish group. He came up with a team-high 125 tackles with 3.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss – he’ll be a statistical superstar once again.
2. S Trevon Moehrig, Jr.
3. DT Corey Bethley, Sr.
4. S Ar’Darius Washington, Soph.
5. DE Ochaun Mathis, Soph.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: TCU Horned Frogs Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: TCU Horned Frogs Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The TCU Horned Frogs Offense
Get the downfield passing game going again. The TCU defense will again be among the Big 12’s best, and the running game might be outstanding if Zachary Evans is the real deal right out of the box, but as Max Duggan and the passing game go, so goes the offense.
Duggan had to get through his true freshman season in the high-powered world of the Big 12, and for the most part, he did just fine. However, TCU won when the passing game was great, and it will again with all of the other parts in place.
As a team, TCU was 3-0 when it averaged 7.7 yards or more per attempt. The 2019 passing game averaged a paltry 6.2 yards per throw after sputtering in 2018 averaging 6.7 yards per pass. Before that, the O averaged eight yards or more per throw in three of the previous four seasons.
Biggest Key To The TCU Horned Frogs Defense
The defense has to get nastier when its back is up against the wall. TCU was awful at red zone D last year, allowing offenses to score 90% of the time.
The year before? 80%. In 2017? 69% – TCU was second in the nation in red zone D that year.
But it’s more than that.
TCU lost six games by a touchdown or less, and it didn’t help that 22 touchdowns were scored in 31 trips inside the 20 in the seven losses. In the five wins, offenses scored just three touchdowns in the nine trips.
It’s this simple. In the seven losses, had TCU held offenses to field goals instead of touchdowns just once in each of the games, it would’ve had a winning season.
Key TCU Horned Frogs Player To A Successful Season
WR Taye Barber, Jr.
Go ahead and put QB Max Duggan here, or RB Zachary Evans, or one of the corners, or the new punter, but getting more pop out of the passing game is a must, especially without Jalen Reagor around.
There’s promise and potential thanks to a whole slew of decent options, but it’s the 5-9, 186-pound Barber who has to grow into a No. 1 target. In just nine games, he finished second on the team with 29 catches for 372 yards, but he didn’t score. He’s got the speed and experience to do a whole lot more – Duggan needs a go-to guy.
Key Game To The TCU Horned Frogs Season
Oklahoma State, Oct. 3
This is going to be a very, very good Cowboy team returning – it should be better than the one that whacked around TCU 34-27 last season. It’s the Big 12 opener for the Horned Frogs, though, and it’s a huge moment to do something big early on.
It’s going to be a tight race for the Big 12 title spots, and one loss right out of the gate to a team that might get there would be a killer.
– TCU Horned Frogs Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 TCU Fun Stats
– Time of Possession: TCU 32:55 – Opponents 27:05
– Fumbles: TCU 19 (lost 9) – Opponents 13 (lost 4)
– Punt Return Average: TCU 19.9 yards – Opponents 6.4 yards
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: TCU Horned Frogs Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: TCU Horned Frogs Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
There are a whole lot of ifs around TCU.
If the team can start winning close games again, and if QB Max Duggan takes the next stop up in the progression, and if there’s a downfield passing game, and if the corners can emerge right away, and if the kicking game is solid, and if …
If most of that happens, it’s not going to be too big of a leap to go from being a five-win team to winning at least seven.
The defensive back seven is going to be outstanding, and the running game might be sneaky-good – Duggan will play a part in that – but the pass rush has to be better, and the offensive line has to be stronger right away with a trip to Cal to kick things off.
There shouldn’t have been a loss to SMU last season early, and there shouldn’t have been a loss to West Virginia in the season finale.
Set The Northwestern Wildcats Regular Season Win Total At … 7
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 6.5
This is going to be a better Horned Frog team.
The program might have been a disappointment over the last few seasons, but it’s got the rising young talent at the skill spots to go along with what should be one of the Big 12’s best defenses.
Considering Kansas is a road game in the regular season finale, and road games at SMU and Cal are part of the three-game non-conference slate, there aren’t any layups outside of the Prairie View A&M game.
Even so, expect TCU to be at least two wins better with one big win along the way to make a little noise in the Big 12 title chase.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
