The Horned Frogs looked lost and outmatched against the No. 9 Mountaineers Saturday, losing 47-10 in the most lopsided defeat of head coach Gary Patterson’s 19-year career at TCU. The previous worst was a 70-35 loss to Texas Tech in 2004.
The clear underdogs, the Horned Frogs surprised the Mountaineers early by stopping them on third down to end their first drive of the game. Then, quarterback Michael Collins led TCU on a 10 play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal from place-kicker Jonathan Song, giving the team a 3-0 lead.
After forcing West Virginia to punt on three of their first four drives (the Mountaineers had kicked a 47-yard field goal to start the second quarter), safety Ridwan Issahaku intercepted quarterback Will Grier’s pass to give TCU the ball with 7:35 left in the half and the score tied at 3-3.
The Horned Frogs could not cash in on the momentum though, and after being forced to punt the ball back to West Virginia, Grier began to show the country why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.
The senior out of Davidson, North Carolina, led the Mountaineers on three-straight touchdown drives, the final one a 32-yard pass to tight end Trevon Wesco with 1:39 left to go in the half.
TCU had looked strong for almost two quarters, but the offensive explosion by West Virginia left them with a 24-3 deficit at halftime.
The woes did not stop there for the Frogs, as an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone resulted in a safety just 47 seconds into the half, pushing the deficit to 23.
The Mountaineers looked unstoppable on the ensuing drive, as they scored again in just 1:01 to make the score 33-3.
TCU was then able to catch an unlikely break as a muffed punt by West Virginia gave them the ball at the Mountaineers’ 43-yard line.
Three plays later, Collins hit wide receiver Jalen Reagor for a 28-yard touchdown to give the team their first score in two quarters.
Reagor finished with a career-high 11 catches for 150 yards and the one score. The touchdown was the 15th of his career, tying him with former TCU wide receiver Stephen Shipley for 6th on the Horned Frogs all-time list.
That would be TCU’s last score of the game, and West Virginia would cruise from there, reaching the endzone two more times to win 47-10.
Collins would finish 22-37 with 229 yards and a touchdown.
The loss marks the Frogs’ eighth-straight game with 28 points or less. The last time a streak of such fashion occurred for TCU was the 1997 season when they finished 1-10.
The team will play their final road game of the season next week against Baylor. The kickoff time has yet to be announced.
