1. Is TCU a better team with Boykin at quarterback than they
were with Pachall? Why or why not?
Well,
Boykin had a spectacular game against Baylor last week but I'm not ready to anoint
him better than Pachall yet. Can he be? Absolutely.
He does give the offense a dimension that Pachall
couldn't with his legs and I can already count at least 8-9 plays in the last
two games that Boykin made that Pachall wouldn't have
a chance at making. Obviously everyone knows of what kind of problems Boykin
can create with his feet, but he's a much better passer than he's given credit
for. His throwing motion isn't anything to write home about, but he gets the
ball to where it needs to be. He was 14-of-14 against Baylor throwing the
football on third down attempts. What he lacks that Casey had was the vertical
throw in the seams, once he gets better at that or at least equal, TCU's
offense will be better with Boykin under center.
2. What defensive approach did TCU take
with Baylor? Will the Frogs do the same with Tech?
Although they said they didn't change anything, it was apparent early on that
they wanted to get pressure on Florence early and often. They sent more safety
blitzes in that game than I believe I've seen all season long. Instead of
having their corners play on an island, they got help over the top. Of course,
Terrance Williams made them pay with that coverage a couple of times and I
doubt that they show that look as much this week.
3. Talk about freshman Devonte Fields. Did Patterson and staff think he would make
this big of an immediate impact?
Well, the plan initially was to bring him along slowly behind senior Ross Forrest. Unfortunately for Forrest, he was forced to end his career with a
re-occurring injury so Fields was thrust into the starting position. Quite
honestly, I'm not sure Forrest's injury would've mattered because Fields from
day one showed that he was one of the top two defensive ends on the team. The
other being Stansly Maponga.
4. What should most concern Tech about
TCU's offense?
I think it starts with Boykin and his ability to keep Tech's defense on their
toes with his running ability. They didn't worry about Geno
Smith beating them with his legs last week but he had the opportunity on a few
plays to make some plays on the ground but he chose not to run. The difference
with Boykin is he will run. The receivers are also dangerous. In my opinion the
receiving corps is the most athletic and talented group of receivers in the
Patterson era.
Matthew Tucker still isn't 100% so I'd expect to see a good dose of freshman
B.J. Catalon getting some carries. He's drawn some
good praise from Patterson with his performances the last two ball games.
5. What should most concern Tech about
TCU's defense?
With Tech's strength being their passing game, the TCU defensive line has shown
tremendous improvement the last three ball games. They've been getting pressure
on the quarterback and when you're able to do that, the secondary plays much
better, which TCU has. The Frogs have led the nation in turnovers gained and a
lot of that can be attributed to the play of both Kevin White and Jason Verrett and the safety trio of Sam Carter, Elisha Olabode and Chris Hackett. If they can eliminate the deep
ball on the outside, TCU would be a complete defense right now.