TCU PASS OFFENSE vs TEXAS PASS DEFENSE
First-year starter Shawn Robinson is getting more comfortable as he gains experience, and he’s shown that each week this year. He’s getting better with the deep ball and hit two big ones against Ohio State last week. His top target is Jalen Reagor and those two have developed a good connection through three games. TreVontae Heights made big a play last week, which is pretty much his specialty (he has three catches this year, two for TDS). KaVontae Turpin is a guy Texas will have to account for on every snap with his ability to break big plays. Robinson did make a couple mental mistakes that cost him against OSU last week, but he has a huge arm and has showed pretty good touch this year as well.
Edge – TCU *
TCU RUN OFFENSE vs TEXAS RUN DEFENSE
It’s a two-man snow for TCU with Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua leading the way, combined with the efforts of QB Shawn Robinson. With the two backs, they complement each other tremendously well with their varied skill sets. Anderson has had success against Texas in the past and ripped off a 93-yard touchdown against Ohio State last week. Olonilua is more of a grinding power back who wears guys down. Through three weeks, the carries are split very evenly. This run game, when you factor in the quarterback, will be as good as anything Texas will see this year. The Horned Frogs average 5.7 yards per carry as a team and are rushing for 226 yards per game.
Edge TCU ***
TCU OFFENSIVE LINE vs TEXAS DEFENSIVE LINE
Coming into the season, most thought TCU’s o-line would be a big weakness since the Frogs were replacing four starters. Through three weeks, the line has really gelled well. TCU allowed only sack to OSU last week (albeit a big one for fumble in the end zone). Left tackle Anthony McKinney, a JUCO transfer has done a decent job, but had his hands full with last week with Nick Bosa (who doesn’t?). Austin Myers, a backup tackle, slid into right guard last week to get more size and ability on the interior. That could be something to watch this week again. Inexperience is still a concern, and McKinney can have issues at times, so Texas might be able to attack there.
Edge Texas *
TCU PASS DEFENSE vs TEXAS PASS OFFENSE
This is a back-end that has a bunch of speed. Junior Cornerback Jeff Gladney is the number one guy who has shined and developed into a great corner in the Big 12. Julius Lewis has started other corner but struggled against Ohio State and was replaced by freshman Noah Daniels. Daniels stepped in and played well so he may be in line for more work this week. TCU will play a lot of base nickel with Ridwan Issahaku, Nico Small and Innis Gaines on the field as three safeties. Small is a big hitter Gaines leads the team in tackles. This is an experienced group overall, but the second corner spot is still a bit iffy. TCU does rank 27th nationally in pass efficiency defense (for comparison, UT is 65th).
Edge TCU **
TCU RUN DEFENSE vs TEXAS RUN OFFENSE
It’s always hard to run the ball on TCU. That’s been a staple of Gary Patterson’s teams for the past 15 years and this year is no different. The Frogs did take a hit to the interior of their defensive line when they lost Ross Blacklock for the year, but they’ve recovered pretty well and currently rank fourth in the conference in rushing defense. Defensive tackle Corey Bethley has stepped in and played pretty well, but TCU is young up the middle, including at linebacker. The Texas ground game has been decent but the Longhorns currently rank sixth in the conference in rushing yards per game, eight in rushing yards per attempt. The ground game will have to be better than that this week.
Edge – Texas *
TCU DEFENSIVE LINE vs TEXAS OFFENSIVE LINE
Senior defensive end Ben Banogu is a really good player. He struggled in the first game and a half but has come on lately, made a lot of pressure plays against OSU. Corey Bethley has three sacks from his defensive tackle position and L.J. Collier is back after missing the first two games. Ty Summers is one of leading tacklers in TCU history. He rotates between defensive end and linebacker.
Edge – Texas *
TCU SPECIAL TEAMS VS TEXAS SPECIAL TEAMS
TCU has had a punt blocked the last two weeks. True freshman long snapper Antonio Ortiz has been up and down. The kicking game was led by Cole Bunce, who was perfect until the start of the Ohio State game and they pulled him and replaced with Jonathan Song. The Texas special teams have been good aside from inconsistencies in the punting game.
Edge – Texas **
First-year starter Shawn Robinson is getting more comfortable as he gains experience, and he’s shown that each week this year. He’s getting better with the deep ball and hit two big ones against Ohio State last week. His top target is Jalen Reagor and those two have developed a good connection through three games. TreVontae Heights made big a play last week, which is pretty much his specialty (he has three catches this year, two for TDS). KaVontae Turpin is a guy Texas will have to account for on every snap with his ability to break big plays. Robinson did make a couple mental mistakes that cost him against OSU last week, but he has a huge arm and has showed pretty good touch this year as well.
Edge – TCU *
TCU RUN OFFENSE vs TEXAS RUN DEFENSE
It’s a two-man snow for TCU with Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua leading the way, combined with the efforts of QB Shawn Robinson. With the two backs, they complement each other tremendously well with their varied skill sets. Anderson has had success against Texas in the past and ripped off a 93-yard touchdown against Ohio State last week. Olonilua is more of a grinding power back who wears guys down. Through three weeks, the carries are split very evenly. This run game, when you factor in the quarterback, will be as good as anything Texas will see this year. The Horned Frogs average 5.7 yards per carry as a team and are rushing for 226 yards per game.
Edge TCU ***
TCU OFFENSIVE LINE vs TEXAS DEFENSIVE LINE
Coming into the season, most thought TCU’s o-line would be a big weakness since the Frogs were replacing four starters. Through three weeks, the line has really gelled well. TCU allowed only sack to OSU last week (albeit a big one for fumble in the end zone). Left tackle Anthony McKinney, a JUCO transfer has done a decent job, but had his hands full with last week with Nick Bosa (who doesn’t?). Austin Myers, a backup tackle, slid into right guard last week to get more size and ability on the interior. That could be something to watch this week again. Inexperience is still a concern, and McKinney can have issues at times, so Texas might be able to attack there.
Edge Texas *
TCU PASS DEFENSE vs TEXAS PASS OFFENSE
This is a back-end that has a bunch of speed. Junior Cornerback Jeff Gladney is the number one guy who has shined and developed into a great corner in the Big 12. Julius Lewis has started other corner but struggled against Ohio State and was replaced by freshman Noah Daniels. Daniels stepped in and played well so he may be in line for more work this week. TCU will play a lot of base nickel with Ridwan Issahaku, Nico Small and Innis Gaines on the field as three safeties. Small is a big hitter Gaines leads the team in tackles. This is an experienced group overall, but the second corner spot is still a bit iffy. TCU does rank 27th nationally in pass efficiency defense (for comparison, UT is 65th).
Edge TCU **
TCU RUN DEFENSE vs TEXAS RUN OFFENSE
It’s always hard to run the ball on TCU. That’s been a staple of Gary Patterson’s teams for the past 15 years and this year is no different. The Frogs did take a hit to the interior of their defensive line when they lost Ross Blacklock for the year, but they’ve recovered pretty well and currently rank fourth in the conference in rushing defense. Defensive tackle Corey Bethley has stepped in and played pretty well, but TCU is young up the middle, including at linebacker. The Texas ground game has been decent but the Longhorns currently rank sixth in the conference in rushing yards per game, eight in rushing yards per attempt. The ground game will have to be better than that this week.
Edge – Texas *
TCU DEFENSIVE LINE vs TEXAS OFFENSIVE LINE
Senior defensive end Ben Banogu is a really good player. He struggled in the first game and a half but has come on lately, made a lot of pressure plays against OSU. Corey Bethley has three sacks from his defensive tackle position and L.J. Collier is back after missing the first two games. Ty Summers is one of leading tacklers in TCU history. He rotates between defensive end and linebacker.
Edge – Texas *
TCU SPECIAL TEAMS VS TEXAS SPECIAL TEAMS
TCU has had a punt blocked the last two weeks. True freshman long snapper Antonio Ortiz has been up and down. The kicking game was led by Cole Bunce, who was perfect until the start of the Ohio State game and they pulled him and replaced with Jonathan Song. The Texas special teams have been good aside from inconsistencies in the punting game.
Edge – Texas **
Last edited:
