5 Things We Noticed

1. All Signed Pointed to No

The omens looked bad from the get-go, when the Frogs were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the first series. And when the defense ran on the field for Oklahoma’s first possession, a senior defensive end was ejected from the game. Then came the season’s first missed field goal. The overall environment was not favorable, either. No one wants to be the visiting team during the most-attended football game in the history of the state of Oklahoma. Alas, the football gods can’t always be on your side, or the game just wouldn’t be any fun.

2. A Tale of Two Andersons

The divergent fates of the game’s two big Andersons illustrated the night’s fortunes for both teams. After rushing for 42 yards and a knife-through-warm-butter touchdown, TCU’s star running back Darius “Jet” Anderson took a hard fall at an uncomfortable angle and needed help leaving the field. After the game, Coach Patterson announced that D. A. would likely be sidelined for the rest of the regular season. Meanwhile, Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson was celebrating his Big 12-record-setting combination of 151 yards on the ground and 139 catching passes.

3. Game of Adjustments

Oklahoma’s offensive players put on a master class in blocking in the first half, opening holes as wide as the Red River and allowing an onslaught of frustrating gains. By the time the whistle blew on the first half, Oklahoma had gained 415 yards and scored 37 points. But as it usually does, the TCU defense made changes at halftime and pitched its fourth-consecutive second-half shutout, holding the Sooners scoreless in the final 30 minutes. Not much to hang your purple hats on, given the first-half points, but if TCU and OU by chance meet up again this year, perhaps the TCU defense will be stout for the full 60 next time around.

4. Baked and Burned

The Baker Mayfield – TCU saga stretches back to the quarterback’s recruitment out of Austin’s Lake Travis High School. Mayfield reportedly wanted to come to TCU but waited in vain for a scholarship offer that never came. Gary Patterson probably thought twice after Mayfield, then at Texas Tech, helped the Raiders beat TCU in 2013. Mayfield has now led Oklahoma to three-straight wins over the Frogs. And Saturday night, the Heisman contender did it in high fashion, throwing for 333 yards and scrambling for another 50. But oh well. To quote Hillary Clinton about regret: “Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been.”

5. Gut Check

Saturday’s loss brought words such as crestfallen, dejected and dispirited to the tongues of Horned Frog Nation. Some college football commentators even attributed the lopsided game to a talent gap between the two teams. Ouch. But it’s Monday now. Pick yourselves back up, fans, and focus on next Saturday’s opponent, Texas Tech. The Eyes Up Keep Climbing motto didn’t ward off a fall, but future heights could still hold untold miracles, including a spot in the revived Big 12 Championship game and an opportunity for vengeance against OU.

5 Tweets That Told the Tale

First we lose Song. Then we lose Boesen. Then we lose Anderson. This game will test TCU’s adversity and perseverance.

— Sara 🐸🏈🏀⚾️🏐⚽💜 (@thepoptartqueen) November 12, 2017

Anderson breaks approximately 500 tackles on his way to the end zone for the third time. 31-14 OU. This is less than ideal.

— Frogs O’ War (@FrogsOWar) November 12, 2017

We are a 2nd half team right? RIGHT??? #BeatOU pic.twitter.com/ZjL7Wt6uic

— Misty (@missmisty124) November 12, 2017

https://twitter.com/Ace_Gagnon/status/929546917201301504

TCU Defense shuts down Heisman front runner and the nation’s top offense in the second half. #BrightSide

— Killer Frogs (@Killer_Frogs) November 12, 2017