Jayhawks Fall Hard To TCU

Those hoping for the annual "how does Kansas always play TCU so tough?" matchup Saturday did not get what they asked for. Les Miles' squad dropped to 0-2 in Big 12 play as the Horned Frogs never let this one get close.

The 1st half looked more like what we've been accustomed to seeing under the last three coaching staffs. The offense couldn't stay on the field and the defense couldn't get off of it. Four possessions in, Kansas had a pair of 3 and outs to their name while TCU had two touchdown drives. After 4(!) plays and a punt for Kansas, TCU then took a punt return to the house on the final play, making it 21-0 just 15 minutes in.

The second quarter started with...you guessed it! 3 and out! Whatever offensive magic KU had found in the previous two weeks was easily contained by Gary Patterson's defense, as TCU continued to absolutely hammer the Jayhawks. The Horned Frogs took a 38-0 lead into halftime. Let's take a look at some other halftime stats:

3rd down conversions: TCU 10/10, KU 0/6

Total Yards: TCU 351, KU 41

1st downs: TCU 16, KU 3

Carter Stanley: 5/13, 13 yards

Pooka Williams: 8 touches, 14 yards

Yeah, it was a bloodbath.

TCU let their collective foot off the gas in the second half, and it ended up 51-14.

If the BC and West Virginia games were two steps forward, this was definitely a step back. Kansas didn't look like they belonged on the same field as TCU's starters, and that's a team that lost to SMU last week and may not appear in the top 25 at any point this year. Hopefully it was just a hiccup, and not a bad sign headed into the meat of a tough conference schedule.

Speaking of a tough schedule, Kansas plays Oklahoma next Saturday at 11:00 AM Jayhawk Time.