Patterson, TCU offer examples for OU defense
NORMAN — In a league defined by offense, TCU has played defense at a level unmatched by its conference counterparts.
Since being admitted into the Big 12 in 2012, the Horned Frogs have led the league in total defense three times: 2017, 2013, 2012.
OU and TCU will kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in a matchup pitting the Big 12’s best offense
against its best defense.
TCU coach Gary Patterson has built a fortress in Fort Worth while his nine conference colleagues have been in an offensive arms race.
Patterson, who’s led the Frogs since 2000, is the lone Big 12 coach with a defensive background. Baylor coach Matt Rhule played linebacker at Penn State, but he hasn’t held a defensive coaching job since 2006.
“Gary is in a pretty small class of elite guys as far as defensive minds and having the sustained success that he’s had,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said.
The proof is in the numbers.
TCU is tracking toward its fourth conference defensive crown in 2018. The Horned Frogs have allowed 306 yards per game in conference play. That’s the best mark by more than 40 yards. Oklahoma is ninth in the conference with 480 yards allowed per game in Big 12 play.
TCU has consistently drawn recruiting classes that rank in the top-half of the Big 12, but Oklahoma has been ahead of TCU in the 247Sports composite team rankings every season since the Frogs joined the conference.
“I can’t tell you how many high school running backs they’ve moved to D-ends,” Riley said. “They’ve done a great job of evaluating and developing guys.”
Including this year, in the seven seasons since TCU joined the conference, its average Big 12 finish in total defense is second. The Frogs have never finished worse than fourth.
Oklahoma’s average Big 12 defensive rank is fourth during that period. The Sooners have boasted the Big 12’s best defense just once (2015) since 2012.
As for why TCU has been the gold standard?
“Continuity, I would say first,” Riley said. “They’ve got a good thing going. And with (Patterson) running it all these years, a lot of those assistants have been with him here for a long time. They’ve got something that they really believe in. They have confidence in it.”
Belief and confidence have been largely absent in the Sooners’ 97th-ranked defense.
Allowing 48 points to Texas two weeks ago ended Mike Stoops’ employment. Ruffin McNeill will debut as Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator Saturday.
There’s no better example for McNeill to follow than Patterson, but the 60-year-old veteran wants to craft his own identity at OU.
“Gary does it Gary’s way,” McNeill said. “That’s why I appreciate what he does. I’ve found it in my best interest to make sure I do it the way I can fix, and it’s the way I believe in.”