PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Darius Anderson is by far TCU’s most explosive and dependable playmaker entering the 2018 season and will be leaned on heavily to move the chains if the passing game fails or offensive line falters. But Anderson was used sparingly against Texas, carrying just eight times for 15 yards as the bulk of the work went to Sewo Olonilua, who had 12 totes for 55 yards. Anderson now has 278 yards and three touchdowns on 37 carries for the season.
–QB Shawn Robinson had 254 total yards (197 passing and a team-high 57 rushing) in the loss to Texas, but also uncorked two interceptions and fumbled once, with two of the turnovers leading directly to points for the Longhorns. Robinson is the first TCU quarterback to win his first three starts since Jeff Ballard won 11 straight from 2005-06. He did not have an interception in his first 70 pass attempts at TCU, the longest streak by a quarterback to begin his career under coach Gary Patterson.
–LB Ty Summers has been Mr. Production for TCU, needing just 57 tackles to become the all-time tackling leader in the Gary Patterson era. He played quarterback in high school, so he has position flexibility, too, playing linebacker and defensive end. Summers ran a 4.55-second 40-yard dash in the spring and has recorded a 36-inch vertical. He has 16 stops, two of them tackles for a loss, two quarterback hurries and a sack through the first four games.
–DE Ben Banogu, a senior, made a huge splash in his first season with TCU. After transferring from Louisiana-Monroe and sitting out the 2016 season, he became one of the nation’s top defensive ends. Banogu was first in the Big 12 with 16.5 tackles for loss and was second with 8.5 sacks. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder was named Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year, First-Team All-Big 12, First-Team AP All-Big 12 and Honorable-Mention Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year. He had three tackles, a sack and two quarterback hurries in the loss to Texas and now has eight stops, a forced fumble that led to a TD return, a sack and four quarterback hurries for the season.
SERIES HISTORY: TCU leads Iowa State 7-2. TCU is 3-1 versus Iowa State in Fort Worth, 3-1 in Ames and 1-0 at neutral sites (2005 Houston Bowl).
QUOTE TO NOTE: “For us, we need a big crowd and we need to get ourselves going. We need to get back in the win column in the Big 12 Conference, get ourselves 3-2 going into the break.” — TCU coach Gary Patterson on the state of his team heading into the Iowa State dustup
