Oklahoma vs. TCU: Game Grades, Analysis for Sooners

The TCU Horned Frogs and Oklahoma Sooners didn’t disappoint when the two Big 12 rivals met on Saturday. 

In a game that came down to the final play, the Horned Frogs outlasted the Sooners, 37-33. With the loss, Oklahoma became the fourth Top 10 squad to fall this weekend.

Upset Saturday, anyone?

Check out the game’s final stats here and take a look at first- and second-half game grades below.

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Second-Half Grades
Pass Offense	B+	D
Rush Offense	C+	C
Pass Defense	C-	C+
Rush Defense	A-	A-
Special Teams	A	A+
Coaching	D	D

Passing Offense

Coming out of the gate, quarterback Trevor Knight knew he had to win this game with his arm.

In the first half, it looked like the sophomore was up for the task, throwing for 231 yards and a touchdown on 6-of-13 passing. He also added another 28 yards on five carries.

But in the second half, Knight broke down. He only threw for 81 yards and tossed two interceptions on 8-of-22 passing. One of those interceptions was taken back for a pick-six.

Knight’s passes were all over the place and rarely on target. If Oklahoma hopes to rebound and re-enter the national title race, Knight will have to do better. A lot better.

Rushing Offense

The Sooners tried and tried but just couldn’t get the running game going.

Samaje Perine may have finished with three touchdowns, but he also only rushed for 87 yards on 25 carries (3.5 YPC). That includes being stopped short on a key 4th-and-1 late in the game.

Letting Knight run the ball—61 yards on 13 carries—is definitely a facet of the Oklahoma offense that should be utilized more often. However, if Knight can’t make things happen with his arm, nothing will stop opposing defenses from loading the box to stop the run.

Passing Defense

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Time after time, the Sooners secondary was beaten and beaten bad.

TCU converted third downs at will throughout the game, going 10-of-18 in such situations. In addition, quarterback Trevone Boykin had all day to throw, as he racked up 318 yards through the air with two touchdowns and an interception on 20-of-38 passing. Both his touchdown strikes went for more than 25 yards to wide-open receivers.

If the West Virginia game was reason for concern, this one was certainly an eye-opener.

Rushing Defense

This was the one area on defense where Oklahoma did well.

Whether it was Boykin or running back B.J. Catalon, the Sooners front seven was there to shut the Horned Frogs down. Boykin finished with 77 yards on 22 carries, while Catalon had 48 yards on 11 tries.

The unit did concede a touchdown to Catalon, however.

Special Teams

The special teams did its job on Saturday.

Place-kicker Michael Hunnicutt connected on his only attempt of the day, and Jed Barnett punted consistently well for Oklahoma. But the highlight came in the fourth quarter when special teams came up with a blocked PAT that Zack Sanchez returned for two points.

Had the Sooners offense looked alive, that play would have easily been the talking point of the day.

Coaching

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

We would need an entirely separate article to get down to every topic regarding this issue.

Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel called a poor, poor game plan. For the second straight week, Heupel caused a lot of head scratching by his refusal to give the ball to Perine when he was rolling. At times, Alex Ross even substituted in for drives—all three drives went for three-and-outs.

Defensively, Mike Stoops had a bad day. His secondary seemed lost on several occasions, and his front seven couldn’t get a pass rush if their life depended on it. It was a rather embarrassing showing from the unit.

Kudos have to be given to Oklahoma for making some key stops late in the fourth quarter and forcing some turnovers.

All stats courtesy of NCAA.com.

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