GAME BREAKDOWN
KEY MATCHUP: The TCU defense against Iowa State’s varied attack. The Horned Frogs have squandered first-half leads in each of their past two games and lost, subsequently falling from the Top 25. TCU seemed to have Texas under its thumb in the second and third quarters last week, but turnovers and poor punting put the defense’s back against the wall and it didn’t fight back, which is uncharacteristic of Patterson-coached teams. Look for the TCU defense to make a statement this week against the Cyclones.
DRAFT SLANT
–DE Ben Banogu is the easy pick to be the Horned Frogs’ first player taken in the 2019 draft. He’s a speed rusher off the edge and will be looking to build on his junior season in which he had 8.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. Banogu could’ve tested the draft waters after last season but opted to return. A big season could make him a Day 2 prospect and have him in line for even more honors than he earned after last season. He showed his skills over the past three weeks when he forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown in the win over SMU, recorded three tackles and a quarterback hurry in the loss to Ohio State and racked up three tackles, a sack and two quarterback hurries in losing to Texas last week.
ROSTER REPORT:
–TCU tops the Big 12 and is 12th nationally in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert on just 27.6 percent (15-of-58) of their opportunities.
–Seventeen of Jalen Reagor’s team-best 23 receptions have resulted in a first down or touchdown. He has had a career-high in receptions in each of the last two games. He had seven catches versus Ohio State and eight at Texas.
–RB Darius Anderson is TCU’s career leader in yards per carry at 6.6. He leads the Horned Frogs with 274 yards rushing on a 7.4 per carry mark.
–PR/KR KaVontae Turpin is TCU’s career leader in punt returns for a score (four) as well as special teams touchdowns (five). He also holds the Horned Frogs’ career record for kickoff return yards (1,812).
–Garret Wallow has a team-best 28 tackles, including career-best totals of eight and 11 versus Ohio State and Texas, respectively, the last two games.
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