Eric McAlister was a man amongst boys against Southern Methodist University as he propelled the Horned Frogs to a 35-24 victory.
There was a moment when the facade slipped. The Frogs were up 14-10 and in the red zone, looking to add to their lead before halftime. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover launched a jump ball in the end zone for McAlister.
The Frog Horn went off. The TCU fans celebrated.
A moment later, their celebration turned to shock. SMU cornerback Jaelyn Davis-Robinson stood with the ball and began to celebrate with his teammates.
The touchdown became a turnover.
“I could see the energy go to their sideline after that play, and I told myself that I wouldn’t let a play like that happen again,” McAlister said.
In the second half of the game, McAlister racked up six catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns. He logged a career high in receiving yards and touchdowns, and tied his career high in catches with eight catches for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Short passes from Hoover had him tallying 145 yards.
The Horned Frogs trailed once. The third quarter deficit — the score was 24-21 — didn’t last long. McAlister took a slant from Hoover 70 yards to the house to put the Frogs back on top.
A 44-yard touchdown to McAlister made the score 35-24. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings threw a pick shortly after to put the game to bed.
Hoover slung the ball all over the field, finishing with 379 passing yards and a career-high five passing touchdowns, along with an interception. He also ran for 27 yards, though the plays he made with his legs won’t show up in the box score. He evaded pressure on an early third down on TCU’s first drive and found McAlister for his first touchdown.
The TCU running game had success as well, eclipsing 100 yards on the ground, finishing with 138 spearheaded by the duo of Jeremy Payne and Trent Battle.
The TCU defense bent, but did not break, as they only allowed SMU to score on four of their 12 drives. They held the SMU rushing attack under 100 yards and to four of 13 on third down.
SMU’s Jennings had over 300 total yards and three touchdowns.
TCU’s Jamel Johnson came down with two interceptions.
“There are some things that we need to clean up,” defensive captain Kaleb Elarms Orr said. “I feel like we aren’t even at our best yet.”
Head Coach Sonny Dykes pushed all the right buttons as TCU converted three out of four fourth downs, with the only turnover on downs came with less than a minute left in the game.
TCU won the turnover battle compared to SMU, 2-1. This was a significant improvement from the previous year, when they lost the turnover battle 5-1 and lost the game.
“We’re going to have to be smart with our practices and make sure that our guys are fresh,” Dykes said looking ahead to next week. “We can’t throw a pick in the end zone, and you can’t have an unsportsmanlike penalty to keep a drive going.”
TCU will go on the road against Arizona State on Sept.26 at Mountain America Stadium.
