The Frogs clinch bowl eligibility with a balanced offensive and defensive effort. 

The Horned Frogs (6-4, 4-3) secured bowl eligibility for the eighth time in 11 seasons and 16th in the past 20 with a 38-13 home win over Oklahoma State (3-7, 0-7) on Saturday.  

TCU’s win simultaneously guaranteed a losing record for the Cowboys, the second in Mike Gundy’s 20 years as head coach. The win was TCU’s fifth in the last seven contests against Oklahoma State, giving the Frogs an all-time 15-14-2 advantage in the series. 

The Frogs’ offense, explosive in its penultimate home outing of this 119th season of TCU Football, was matched by a stout showing from the defense: The 13 points allowed were the third-fewest for an opponent all year. The Cowboys were shut out in the first half and averaged fewer than 3.8 yards per carry on the night. 

“No matter what bowl it is, no matter how it is, we plan on winning out,” captain Bud Clark said after the win. “We win out and do what we need to do, and go win the bowl game, too.” 

TCU takes a Week 12 bye before hosting Arizona in the home finale Nov. 23. 

Here are five takeaways from the Horned Frogs’ sixth win of the season as they head into that 2024 home closer against the Cats. 

JP Richardson posted 100 receiving yards against his former team, his second highest total of the season. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

JP Pops Off Against Former Team

In his first head-to-head meeting with his former team of two years, JP Richardson paced the Frogs with 100 receiving yards. He and Savion Williams shared the TCU lead at seven catches apiece. 

Richardson was involved from the first play from scrimmage, reeling in a Josh Hoover pass for 16 yards to set the tone for a third consecutive 35-plus-point performance from the offense.   

He was targeted four times by the end of the first quarter, posting three catches for 38 yards in the first 15 minutes. 

“This felt good for sure,” the senior wideout said during his postgame availability. “But at the same time, I still have a ton of love for those guys. I think that’s what made it so fun, so good. I’m still great friends with a lot of those dudes.” 

Though he’s yet to pull in his first touchdown catch of 2024, the Missouri City, Texas, native is six catches and 14 receiving yards away from setting new career highs in those categories, while his 192 punt return yards rank 13th in the nation.   

Jordyn Bailey brought the Horned Frog faithful to their feet with his second score in as many games. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Bailey’s Breakthrough

Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles dialed up several deceptive run calls that kept the Cowboys’ defense on its heels — Jordyn Bailey’s 59-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter a prominent example. 

Nine Horned Frogs handled at least one carry on Saturday, with myriad receivers motioning in and out of the backfield throughout the night.  

Bailey got his lone opportunity late in the game, taking a wildcat formation handoff left and streaking to the end zone through a wave of Cowboys defenders.  

The former Denton Ryan standout has earned a combined five touches the past two weeks, his most over a two-game stretch. He’s turned those opportunities into 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Cam Cook’s two-touchdown effort against the Cowboys marked his second multi-TD game of 2024. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Cam Cooking Up Touchdowns

Cam Cook had one of his more efficient outings of the year, accruing 6.7 yards per carry on seven attempts while contributing his second career multi-touchdown effort.  

It was the best Cook has looked since Williams’ rushing role increased Week 8 at Utah (the fifth-year wide receiver has carried the ball a combined 31 times in the four games since).  

Getting the team’s running backs going, Cook atop that list, in tandem with the unicorn Williams, who is averaging 7.1 yards per carry since Oct. 19 and tallied another two touchdowns against the Pokes, will make the ground game all the more dynamic. 

The Horned Frogs secured their second consecutive home win with a 38-13 triumph over Oklahoma State. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Taming the Turnovers 

TCU went a second consecutive game without committing a turnover. That’s an impressive shift from the previous five games, where the offense gave up the ball 16 times in total. 

“That’s been such a point of emphasis for us. It’s good to see that,” Coach Sonny Dykes said after the win. “It’s good to see all the work you’ve put in and the players have put in to understand how important that is.” 

“We’re just a bunch of fearless guys that go out there and make plays,” added Hoover, who has played interception-free football in three of his past four starts. “We got a bunch of ballers. When you got guys like that, you don’t worry about those statistics. You do what you can to prepare. Then you trust yourself and go ball.” 

The Frogs’ defense understood the assignment, bagging three Cowboys turnovers — including an Ollie Gordon II fumble in the first quarter, plus second and fourth-quarter interceptions from Alan Bowman and Maealiuaki Smith, respectively. 

Safety Abe Camara came up with the fumble recovery, and Clark and defensive lineman Travis Jackson the interceptions, as the Frogs held their opponent under 14 points for the second time in four weeks. 

Each of NaNa Osafo-Mensah’s sacks has come in his hometown of Fort Worth. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

A Dominant Defensive Showing 

Front to back, side to side, the Frogs defense showed out.  

Clark came up with his second pick in four games. He also co-led the team in tackles, all eight of the solo variety.  

Jackson was credited for a sack two plays before his fourth-quarter interception after he pressured Smith into an intentional grounding penalty that resulted in a loss of 23. 

Linebacker Devean Deal pushed to a team-leading 7.5 tackles for loss when he diagnosed a second-quarter screen designed for Oklahoma State receiver Brennan Presley, taking him down for a loss of two. 

NaNa Osafo-Mensah, the senior defensive lineman formerly of Notre Dame, collected his second sack of the season and his first since Week 2, each of which has come at home.  

 — Corey Smith