TCU Horned Frogs
Mountain West
TCU is leaving the Mountain West with a conference title and some may be happy to see them go. The Horned Frogs knocked off BCS hopeful Boise State on November 12th and that put an end to any hope the Broncos had of getting to the BCS National Championship game. And this was a TCU team that had a lot of questions heading into the 2011 season. They answered those questions and then some.
2011 Record: 10-2, 7-0
Last Bowl Appearance: 2010 Rose Bowl vs. Wisconsin (W 21-19)
Big Wins: 10/28 BYU (38-28), 11/12 at Boise State (36-35)
Bad Losses: 9/2 at Baylor (48-50), 10/1 SMU (33-40)
Coach: Gary Patterson (108-30 at TCU, 108-30 overall)
Bowl Record: 6-4 at TCU, 6-4 overall
Offensive Coordinator: Jarrett Anderson and Justin Fuente
Defensive Coordinator: Dick Bumpas
Strengths:
Could the offense really be the strength of a TCU team? It may be partially because everybody expects so much out of the Horned Frogs defense and they cannot live up to their lofty expectations. For more than a decade the defense has been consistently among the best in the nation. This year they are not, but the offense has picked up the slack. Quarterback Casey Pachall threw just nine passes as a freshman, but he had no problem stepping into a starting role. The 6-4 sophomore is not a big rushing threat, but he is relatively elusive. More importantly, he is an accurate passer who is making smarter decisions every game. Wide receiver Josh Boyce is the go-to-receiver and is always a threat to go deep. Skye Dawson, Brandon Carter and Antoine Hicks are also reliable and dangerous pass catchers. In the backfield Coach Gary Patterson has found a three headed monster to share the load. Matthew Tucker is the back who will get into the end zone, but Ed Wesley and Waymon James are threats to break the big run.
Weaknesses:
The defense is not awful, but in years past this is not a program that would give up 40 points to SMU or even 20 points to Wyoming. The biggest problem has been stopping the air attack. There is not a single player in the secondary who is a major ball hawk and that has caused some problems since this TCU defense will not make many game changing plays. Safeties Tekerrein Cuba and Johnny Fobbs are good tacklers and Greg McCoy is an experienced corner who is pretty consistent. Youngster Jason Verrett is getting better every game, but the unit lacks a superstar and will occasionally get beat for big yards. Stansly Maponga is one of the few players who can get consistent pressure in the backfield. The sophomore defensive end is already very good and he just keeps getting better. Maponga can lay out some big hits and seems to cause a fumble just about every game. Tank Carder is the star of the defense, but he has had a relatively disappointing season. He is not getting to the quarterback as much as he did in 2010, although he is still making some tackles and Carder can only do so much without the help he got last season.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Waymon James, RB, 824 yards
Passing: Casey Pachall, QB, 2,715 yards
Receiving: Josh Boyce, WR, 932 yards
Tackles: Kenny Cain, LB, 67
Sacks: Stansly Maponga, DE, 8.5
Interceptions: Tank Carder, LB, 2; Kris Gardner, LB, 2
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 212.36 (20th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Passing Offense: 236.91 (55, 2)
Total Offense: 449.27 (27, 3)
Scoring Offense: 40.36 (10, 2)
Rushing Defense: 127.00 (31, 2)
Pass Defense: 235.91 (71, 7)
Total Defense: 362.91 (45, 2)
Scoring Defense: 22.36 (36, 2)
Turnover Margin: .18 (42, 5)
Sacks: 1.91 (64, 3)
Sacks Allowed: 1.18 (24, 5)
