Coming off of a bye week, TCU football barely skipped a beat against Purdue, winning 34-13 to improve to 2-0 on the season. 

The win pushes head coach Gary Patterson to his sixth win in eight tries against Big Ten opponents in his tenure at TCU.

The Horned Frogs more than doubled the Boilermakers’ 204 yards of total offense with 424, 346 of which came on the ground. Running back Darius Anderson led the way for the Frogs with a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns.

“Darius is running better right now than I’ve seen him since he’s been a sophomore,” Patterson said. “We’ve got to keep him healthy. I was very proud of them and the offensive line. It was unbelievable.”

Fellow running back Sewo Olonilua added 106 yards and a touchdown of his own. This marks the first time that TCU has had multiple 100-yard rushers since 2015.

The dominant run game played a big role in TCU having possession for 40:33, compared to Purdue’s just 19:27.  The Boilermakers finished with just 23 yards rushing.

The game was close for almost three quarters. After Purdue struck first on a 33-yard field goal from J.D. Dellinger, TCU kicked a field goal of their own before Anderson exploded for a 32-yard touchdown run to put the Frogs up 10-3.

TCU’s initial field goal was set up by safety Trevon Moehrig, who ripped a pass out of receiver Rondale Moore’s hands to give the Frogs possession with 9:17 left in the first quarter.

“We’ve been hearing a lot of things, like you said Big 12 don’t play defense, but I think we came out here tonight and put on a show,” Moehrig said.

This was Moehrig’s second interception in as many games this season. 

The teams would trade field goals before the end of the half.  Though they had outgained Purdue 188 yards to 66 in the first half, TCU went into the locker room with just a 13-6 lead.

Then, the Frogs exploded. Quarterback Max Duggan orchestrated a 9-play, 92-yard drive that ended in his passing touchdown to receiver Al’Dontre Davis.

The score was the first of Davis’ career.

Less than seven minutes later, Olonilua’s score put TCU up 27-6 with 1:24 left to play in the third quarter.

The Frogs weren’t done though, as Anderson showed off his speed once again on an eight-yard touchdown run with 5:54 left to increase TCU’s lead to 34-6 and put Purdue away for good.

Duggan finished 7-for-18 with 70 yards and a touchdown.  Though the true freshman played for the majority of the game, Patterson said that both quarterbacks will continue to see time.

Linebacker Garret Wallow finished with 10 tackles, including three for a loss. Cornerback Jeff Gladney added his third interception in the last four games.

The Frogs will return home on Saturday, Sept. 21 to host undefeated SMU.  Kickoff for the Battle for the Iron Skillet is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

“Anytime you come into somebody else’s place and get a chance to win; you know, our freshman gave up the last touchdown, but outside of that, I think we played pretty good,” coach Gary Patterson said. “So, on to SMU. That’s our goal: on to SMU.”