CAN FROGS MAX OUT?
Talented dual-threat junior quarterback Duggan remains key to the team’s success
Is Max Duggan the answer?
Max Duggan has started 19 of 22 games at quarterback since arriving in 2019. In that time he's completed 56.5 percent of his passes for 3,872 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He's also rushed for 1,081 yards and 16 scores, including 10 last season. And if Duggan can improve as a passer, he’s got a chance to help TCU play spoiler in a league where No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 7 Iowa State look like locks for the Big 12 championship game. Accuracy is his biggest issue, though a porous offensive line didn’t help much in 2020. If Duggan’s completion percentage can creep past 60 percent, the dual-threat junior should have the ability to keep TCU competitive against its schedule.
Is it Zach Evans’ time to shine?
Tops among all 2020recruits in Texas, per the 247Sports composite, sophomore running back Zach Evans is the first five-star signee in program history. And he looked the part of a superstar at times last season, piling up 416 rushing yards and four scores on 7.7 yards per carry. And Evans should see much more action after averaging just 6.8 touches as a true freshman. What he did over the final three games of the 2020 season – 264 yards and three scores on 29 carries (9.1 ypc) – should instill some fear into Big 12 defenses this year.
Can Ochaun Mathis make a run at Big 12 DPOY?
Defensive end Ochaun Mathis is a supreme disruptor. Last season he paced TCU with 9.0 sacks and ranked second with 14.0 tackles for loss. The All-Big 12 preseason selection will anchor this TCU defense, which lost all-conference linebacker Garret Wallow and safety Trevon Moehrig but returns eight other starters. Mathis will also look to raise his 2022 NFL draft stock by barging in on the conversation for Big 12 defensive player of the year. And from a team perspective, it would bode well for TCU if Mathis remains in that conversation at the end of the year.
Will TCU continue dominating Texas?
The Horned Frogs have won seven of nine against Texas since joining the Big 12, including the last two. TCU opens with three winnable games against Duquesne, California and SMU before welcoming Texas to Fort Worth. A win over the Longhorns would launch 4-0 TCU into conference play with consecutive road trips to Texas Tech and Oklahoma looming.
How much longer does Gary Patterson want to do this?
Gary Patterson already guided TCU through its transition from the Mountain West to the Big 12. Now that the Horned Frogs’ current conference has burst into flames, will he really want to coxswain this program through another round of realignment? TCU is also just 18-17 overall and 12-15 in conference play over the past three seasons. And as the recruiting landscape shifts, the Horned Frogs could struggle to attract top talent to a conference now viewed as second-tier. There’s no indication Patterson, 61, has loss his appetite for coaching. But with conferences restructuring and forming alliances as the antiquated notion of “amateurism” fades out, it’s worth wondering whether the program’s all-time winningest head coach wants to stick around to see how it all plays out.