A New Frog on Campus

By now most of you have seen or heard about many of the highlights from last night's dramatic battle between Baylor and 14th ranked TCU. If you were lucky enough to catch Baylor's 50-48 victory, you witnessed an instant classic shootout. It's safe to say that if you like offense, you loved last night's game. At times, the scoring was so rapid and furious that I had to check to make sure that I wasn't actually playing the game on my Playstation! Both teams combined for 98 points and 1000 yards. The climactic finish to the dramatic match-up was preceded by TCU erasing a 24 point lead in the fourth quarter to go up by 1. Baylor was able to reclaim a 2-point lead with a field goal, and an interception by TCU on the ensuing drive sealed their defeat.

For all its excitement, the game did answer some obvious questions about both teams. For one, we learned that Baylor is strong and Robert Griffin III (RGIII) is REALLY good. Griffin threw for 359 yards and connected for a career-high 5 touchdowns. Most college football fans aren't too surprised by Griffin's performance considering his body of work entering this season. Last year he put up video game numbers, passing for 3,501 yards and 22 TD's, adding an additional 635 yards and 8 TD's on the ground. I don't think anyone expected him to slow down this season, considering that the line and his primary weapons on offense have returned. What was most impressive was how much he seems to have improved. It is clear that Baylor will score against any team, anywhere.

But before you jump on the Baylor/Griffin band wagon, consider how good their defense can be. Or maybe I should say how bad they can be. Last season the Baylor D was ranked 104th in total defense, and after last night's showing I don't see much of a change. TCU racked up 466 yards, at times with ease. Keep in mind this is a TCU offense that returned just three starters! The Bear's D did come up with some big plays, including the game ending interception, but overall they look like the same 104th ranked defense from last year. I see Baylor's defense struggling in conference play against teams like OU, OK-State, Missouri, and Texas A&M. Don't get me wrong, I like Griffin - he's a classy, charismatic leader that any coach or fan would love to have to lead their team. But unless the defense steps up, Baylor will be engaged in risky shoot-outs the remainder of the season. Anyone ever heard that defense wins championships?

Baylor was not the only team on the field with defensive woes. TCU's D was equally as bad. Let me rephrase that - TCU's D was terrible! The Bears stomped on them repeatedly and pushed them around like a rag doll. The once-proud #1 defense in the land lost way too much to slow down an experienced, potent Baylor offense thirsty for revenge after last year's embarrassing drubbing at the hands of the Horned Frogs. But before you sell stock on TCU, remember the 2010 Rose Bowl Champions were decimated by graduation. Only 8 starters on both sides of the ball returned from a squad that posted 25 straight regular season wins prior to last night's loss. It is extremely difficult to maintain that level of excellence after losing that many players, as recent examples like Florida and Texas demonstrate. TCU coach Gary Patterson is one of the best in the business, posting a 98-28 record over the last 11 seasons and producing elite defensive units year in and year out. TCU will struggle this season, but Patterson will coach up the defense and reload in no time.

After this game, everyone is focused on Robert Griffin's III, and rightfully so. Despite the flimsy defense, Baylor will likely roll through their first several games at 5-0. Their schedule the next few weeks includes a division I-AA team, Rice, and conference opponents Iowa State and Kansas State. On October 15, Baylor plays at Texas A&M, and if A&M can play half as well as they are hyped up to, this should be a tough test for the Bears. But the quarterback I was most impressed with last night was TCU sophomore Casey Pachall.

Pachall was a highly touted recruit that arrived in 2009. The Horned Frog faithful have been wondering who would replace the great Andy Dalton, and last night they found out. Pachall should have the fans excited for the future. The poise and confindence this first year starter showed througout the game was impressive, to say the least. Pachall was 25-31, hooked up for 4 TD passes, and connected with 10 different receivers. Not bad considering he's only thrown the ball 9 times in relief for Dalton last year. But it was the intangibles that impressed me the most about Pachall. His leadership in the fourth quarter helped the Horned Frogs recover from a 24 point deficit. Every time Pachall was under duress, he stayed in the pocket, stepped up, and delivered. The interception, his only mistake, ended a would-be magical first game - but it shouldn't overshadow what he accomplished in is his first career start.

Entering the season, TCU's offensive plan was to rely heavily on the run, simply because no one knew how Pachall would perform as the starting quarterback. We can now see that TCU's offense is light-years ahead of its defense. Patterson is undoubtedly dissapointed with his D, but he has to be encouraged by the play of Pachall. This young quarterback is well ahead of where Dalton was. Dalton only threw 21 TD passes in his first 2 season as a starter. If the more-talented Pachall stays healthy, he'll easily eclipse those numbers this season.

Horned Frog fans may still have a bitter taste in their mouths after last night's loss, but with Pachall leading the offense, they can look forward to something a whole lot sweeter.