5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s demoralizing loss to the TCU Horned Frogs
It was not the bounce-back performance that the Oklahoma Sooners were looking for in their road matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs. For the second week in a row, the Oklahoma Sooners were dominated by a Big 12 opponent. Though the offense had some success last week against Kansas State, that wasn’t the case against TCU this week.
From the opening drive, TCU had its way with the Sooners to the tune of a 55-24 win for their first win over Oklahoma since 2014.
Oklahoma was never close in this game. TCU jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter and led 34-17 at halftime. Unlike last season against Texas, the Sooners were unable to come back from a huge halftime deficit with their backup quarterback in the game.
TCU racked up 668 total yards of offense and 29 first downs. It was a complete and utter domination of the Oklahoma Sooners, who were once ranked as high as No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.
As we begin to dissect the blowout loss, here are five takeaways from the Sooners’ 55-24 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.
Defense is Bad
Oct 1, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver Savion Williams (18) catches a touchdown pass as Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Jaden Davis (4) defends during the first quarter at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
One game can be an aberration. Two games is a trend.
After Adrian Martinez, Deuce Vaughn, and Kansas State did whatever they wanted to offensively, Max Duggan and the Horned Frogs also had their way with the Sooners’ defense.
TCU scored 41 points in the first half alone and 563 yards of total offense. They averaged 10.1 yards per play while only 5 of 10 on third down. The Sooners simply couldn’t stop the big plays from TCU. TCU had three touchdowns on plays of 60 yards or more.
On the day, the Horned Frogs racked up 668 yards of total offense and 29 first downs at 8.9 yards per play.
The defense, for the second week in a row, had no answers for their opponent.
The offense wasn't much better
Oct 1, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs running back Emari Demercado (3) runs with the ball past Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Key Lawrence (12) during the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
On Oklahoma’s second play of the game, Marvin Mims fumbled the ball, providing a glimpse of what would be an incredibly long day for the Oklahoma Sooners in Fort Worth.
Dillon Gabriel and the passing attack were out of sync all day, and Davis Beville didn’t provide much offensively after Gabriel was lost for the game.
A week after Gabriel missed on a couple of critical throws a week ago in Norman, the Sooners’ starting quarterback struggled with accuracy for much of the first half, overthrowing receivers in both the short and intermediate part of the field.
Another terrible start
Oct 1, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) throws as TCU Horned Frogs defensive lineman Terrell Cooper (95) chases during the first quarter at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
FORT WORTH, TX – OCTOBER 01: Running back Kendre Miller #33 of the TCU Horned Frogs attempts to get around defensive back Billy Bowman #5 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half of their game at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 1, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Emil Lippe/Getty Images)
The Oklahoma offense started the game with a fumble, punt, field goal, turnover on downs, and a punt before scoring their first touchdown. By the time Eric Gray scored from one yard out, the Sooners were down 20-10. There was still a lot of time left in the game, but the way they started the game offensively provided little hope that the Sooners could do enough to turn it around.
After slow starts against Kent State and Kansas State, another poor offensive performance in the first quarter at TCU reveals a real problem with this team.
Offensive Line Struggles again
Oct 1, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs defensive lineman Dylan Horton (98) helps up Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Davis Beville (11) during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Coming into this week’s five matchup, the TCU Horned Frogs had just five total sacks through three games against Colorado, Tarleton State, and SMU. This week, the Horned Frogs nearly doubled that with four sacks of Dillon Gabriel and Davis Beville.
They’ve had up and down moments all season long and while there was running room at times in this matchup, the run game couldn’t be much of a factor because of the deficit Oklahoma found themselves in early in the game.
Were the expectations unrealistic?
Oct 1, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables walks in a line with his team before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
It would seem so.
With strong work through the transfer portal, a veteran quarterback, and two of the best coordinators in college football coming to Norman, it felt like the Sooners would be better than this despite the losses to the NFL, the transfer portal, and the coaching carousel.
It’s early in the Brent Venables tenure. Way too early to consider it a bad hire, but there will be no College Football Playoff for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022. They aren’t completely out of the Big 12 title race with two months to Arlington, but with the way they’re playing, that doesn’t look realistic either.
Coming into the season, it felt like the Sooners would remain contenders for the Big 12. They were a preseason top 10 team in both the Coaches and AP polls. But after five games, they don’t look like a team that’s ready to contend for the Big 12.
Many felt like the Sooners would take a step back in Brent Venables’ first season at the helm in Norman. Not because he’s a bad coach but because it may take time to retool the program in the wake of Lincoln Riley’s departure. Through five games, it looks like they might have been right.
Big things may be coming for the Oklahoma Sooners under Brent Venables, but that doesn’t seem to be on the horizon in 2022.
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