Fort Worth, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – The fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners hit
the road for the second straight time as they challenge the 25th-ranked TCU
Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Both Big 12 Conference teams come in sporting unblemished record, with
Oklahoma sitting at 4-0, and TCU 3-0.
The Sooners, who were idle last weekend, have taken care of Louisiana Tech
(48-16), Tulsa (52-7), Tennessee (34-10) and West Virginia (45-33). The win
over the Mountaineers on Sept. 20 was the team’s conference opener and took
place in Morgantown. Oklahoma won’t play in Norman again until hosting Kansas
State on Oct. 18, and the team will head to Arlington, Texas next Saturday for
its annual clash with the rival Texas Longhorns.
TCU cracked the Top-25 this week for the first time this season after whipping
SMU in Dallas last Saturday, 56-0. It was the most lopsided outcome in the 94-
game history between the two fierce rivals. The Frogs enjoyed a bye the week
prior (their second of the season already), and they’ve now allowed a grand
total of 21 points in their first three games after blasting Samford (48-14)
and Minnesota (30-7) to kick off the campaign.
Oklahoma slipped past visiting TCU last year, 20-17, to take a 9-4 lead in the
all-time series.
Oklahoma’s offense rivals TCU’s in terms of scoring, with both checking in at
just under 45 ppg. The Sooners are churning out 222.8 ypg on the ground and
they have 15 rushing touchdowns, while the pass results in 272.2 ypg but only
five scores. Trevor Knight hasn’t gotten into a consistent rhythm just yet, as
he is completing only 58.5 percent of his passes with four TDs and three INTs.
Sterling Shepard is OU’s top pass catcher, as he has 23 receptions for 436
yards and a pair of scores.
When the Sooners decide to control the clock, it’s freshman Samaje Perine who
gets the call most often as he has carried the ball 66 times for 419 yards and
five TDs. Keith Ford, who is hobbled by a hairline fracture in his right
fibula, also has five rushing TDs, while Alex Ross has three. All three
players average at least 5.7 ypc.
Outside of the West Virginia game, the Sooners have enjoyed a tremendous
amount of success on the defensive side of the ball, the unit yielding just
16.5 points 349.8 yards per contest. They have been especially stingy when it
comes to allowing yards on the ground (99.2 ypg), and they’ve permitted only
two rushing scores. Opponents have scored only seven points in the first
quarter this season, and those same foes have reached the red zone only 10
times, coming away with points seven times.
Dominique Alexander leads the Sooners with 30 tackles, while Quentin Hayes has
three of their 12 sacks, and Zack Sanchez four of their eight picks.
West Virginia stood toe-to-toe with the Sooners in their matchup a couple of
weeks back, going into the locker room at halftime knotted at 24-24. In fact,
the Mountaineers led by seven with a little more than a minute remaining in
the second quarter before Ross returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown. In
all, the OU offense produced 510 yards, the majority of which came thanks to
the rushing exploits of Perine, who rumbled his way to career-highs with 242
yards and four scores. Knight wound up 16-of-29 for 205 yards, but did not
throw a TD pass. He did, however, catch one on a trick play in the second
quarter. Shepard finished with six grabs for 101 yards.
The Sooners bent repeatedly against WVU, permitting 513 total yards, 376 of
which the Mountaineers amassed via the pass. Oklahoma’s defensive effort was
aided by three takeaways and as many sacks, and the unit was led by Jordan
Evans and his 11 tackles, nine of which were solo efforts.
Bob Stoops, who with the win at West Virginia became the first coach to record
100 regular season Big 12 victories, spoke about the effort put forth by his
young running back.
“Samaje was just outstanding. You know about how powerful and strong he is,
but he has great vision. He had a sensational night.”
He continued to praise the rest of his team as they performed admirably in
what was a harsh environment.
“I’m really proud of our players. They played through some adversity and
persevered through it.”
TCU is putting up 44.7 ppg, doing so behind 211.3 ypg rushing and 320.7 ypg
passing. The 532.0 ypg ranks the team third in the Big 12. The primary reason
the Frogs are as potent as they are has been the play of quarterback Trevone
Boykin. The junior from Dallas has completed 64.2 percent of his passes for
858 yards, eight TDs and only one INT, while as the same time spearheading the
team’s rushing attack by turning 29 carries into 183 yards and three scores.
B.J. Catalon is right there with 172 yards and three TDs of his own.
As for the receivers, five of them are all over 100 yards, and Josh Dotson
leads the way with three TDs.
Far from a one-trick pony, TCU also possesses a dominant defense as evidenced
by the mere 7.0 points the team is allowing — No. 1 in the Big 12, No. 2
nationally. The Frogs yield only 91.7 ypg on the ground, and only once has the
opposition crossed the goal line that way. As for their effort against the
pass, coach Gary Patterson’s club gives way for only 127.0 ypg (No. 1 in the
Big 12, No. 4 nationally), with again, only one TD coming via that form of
attack.
Paul Dawson heads the unit with 21.5 tackles, which includes 5.0 TFL, and he
also has an INT and three fumble recoveries. Collectively, TCU has been
credited with 13 sacks and 10 takeaways.
Boykin turned in a masterful performance in last week’s whitewashing of SMU,
throwing for 280 yards and four TD passes while also adding a pair of rushing
scores, as the Horned Frogs rolled up 614 yards of total offense, compared to
only 245 for the Mustangs. Catalon ran for a career-high 114 yards and a TD,
while Deante’ Gray paced the receivers with six grabs for 96 yards and a pair
of scores.
TCU was once again on top of its game defensively, limiting the Ponies to a
mere 89 rushing yards on 45 attempts (2.0 ypc). SMU managed only 156 passing
yards as well, and the home team committed three turnovers while surrendering
a whopping nine sacks. Kenny Iloka led the Horned Frogs’ stand with 7.5
tackles, almost all of which were unassisted, and James McFarland dropped the
quarterback three times, which happened to be the only three tackles he was
credited with in the game. McFarland was also credited with a pair of forced
fumbles.
