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Match-ups: Horns hold a slight edge over TCU on paper

Suchomel

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Aug 10, 2001
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TCU PASS OFFENSE VS TEXAS PASS DEFENSE


In talking to people who cover the TCU program, this one's pretty simple - when QB Kenny Hill on, he's on. When he's off, he's way off. It's been a bit of a Jeckyll and Hyde year for Hill but when he presents the good version of himself, the offense has performed well. Hill has had one interception in every game this year aside from Baylor. He's had issues with his accuracy this year and more often than not, his passes are off target. KaVontae Turpin is the passing game's top weapon, and Texas fans should be familiar with him from last year. He missed several weeks with a knee injury, but came back against Texas Tech and is slowly building back his strength and endurance. He's now close to 100 percent.

Edge: TCU *

TCU RUN OFFENSE VS TEXAS RUN DEFENSE

Kyle Hicks ranks fifth in the conference, averaging just under 84 yards per game. Hes' an explosive playmaker with really good vision and footwork. Hicks has struggled at times, but it's more been a matter of the offensive line being physical enough to create holes for him. His strength each week is based on whether or not the offensive line plays well, as it did against Baylor.

Edge: Texas *

TCU OFFENSIVE LINE VS TEXASDEFENSIVE LINE

TCU's offensive line got its butts kicked last week by Oklahoma State, and there's talk that the group needs to get tougher and stronger. This is definitely the weakness of the offense. It's a group that doesn't block particularly well and gets flagged for a large number of penalties. The biggest victim has been right tackle Aviante Collins, a senior. The best lineman is center Austin Schlottmann. He missed some games but is back. As he goes, so goes the line.

Edge: Texas **

TEXAS PASS OFFENSE VS TCU PASS DEFENSE

TCU's pass defense has come a long way since the beginning of the season. The biggest issue for the secondary is that most of the players were injured coming into the season. Corner Julius Lewis got hurt on the first day of spring practice. He came back midway through the season and is now the No. 2 corner. Ranthony Texada is the No. 1 corner, and he's coming off an ACL tear from last year. He has been playing well of late and did a great job against James Washington last week.

Edge: Texas *

TEXAS RUN OFFENSEVS TCU RUN DEFENSE

Ty Summers, is one of the team leaders in tackles and he's the hardest hitter on the team. He's really good in the run game but is not as reliable in coverage. Travin Howard leads the team in tackles. The run defense has been up and down, like a lot of elements on this team. It struggled terribly against Oklahoma State, but was great against Baylor. If summers is going well, the run defense does well.

Edge: Texas **

TEXAS OFFENSIVE LINE VS TCU DEFENSIVE LINE

The defensive line is probably the strength of the team. TCU leads the Big 12 in sacks per game (3.60). Defensive end Josh Carraway has had big games against Texas. Mat Boesen, a transfer from Long Beach Community College and Boise State, is playing pretty well. He had an injury at the beginning of fall practice, but has been playing pretty well of late.

Edge: TCU *

SPECIAL TEAMS

TCU has been pretty bad on special teams overall. That seems to be the case with just about every team in the Big 12. Turpin can be a weapon in the return game with his speed.

Edge: Texas *

INTANGIBLES

Who the heck knows in this one? Texas is at home, but TCU has played better on the road than it has at home. The Longhorns should have all the motivation in the world, but TCU gets the edge here due to Gary Patterson and the Frogs' demolishing of Texas the past couple years.

Edge: TCU **
 
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