Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

September 25, 2018 at 8:52 pm.

TCU looks to get back on track versus Iowa State

TCU has dropped from the Top 25 after consecutive defeats at the hands of No. 4 Ohio State and Big 12 rival Texas on the road but has no one but itself to blame for the setbacks after blowing first-half leads and committing costly turnovers in both games.

Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson and his staff are looking for answers as TCU returns home for the first time in three weeks to host Iowa State, another team that’s not played as well as expected this season.

“This is the second time, two weeks in a row against two good football teams, we turned the ball over and had 14-plus point swings in less than four minutes, this ballgame (against Texas) was in about 20 seconds, to where you let a ballgame get out of hand,” Patterson said on the Big 12 coaches teleconference on Monday.

The Iowa State game will begin a stretch of four of the next five games at home for TCU.

Saturday’s loss marked the first time since the end of the 2016 season that the Horned Frogs have dropped back-to-back games. Patterson said he needs to find someone that can make the plays that can reverse that trend.

“Losing is a disease,” Patterson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “When it’s your turn to make a play, when things are going good, somebody finds a way to make a play. Things aren’t, somebody finds not a way to make a play. There were guys that made plays (against Texas) — we just need to make more of them.”

TCU (2-2, 0-1 in Big 12 play) needs a better performance from quarterback Shawn Robinson, who’s shown his dynamic play-making ability the past two weeks but also committed six turnovers.

“You can’t turn the ball over and beat people,” Patterson said. “Some of that’s on us. It’s not just on Shawn. He’s a sophomore. So, we’ve got to do our job.”