Frog Report

Passing offense: B
The Horned Frog coaching staff put redshirt freshman Tye Gunn in position to succeed in his first career start. He responded with a solid 15 completions of 26 attempts. The adrenaline from his first start likely caused his incompletions and two interceptions, which were mostly on overthrows. Senior Adrian Madise led all receivers with four receptions for 72 yards.

Rushing offense: A
The future is now for the Horned Frogs. True freshman Lonta Hobbs averaged 6.1 yards a carry and showed a combination of speed and power not seen by a Frog running back since LaDainian Tomlinson, despite having some problems holding onto the ball. Houston’s secondary received migraine headaches and leg cramps from chasing Gunn, who scrambled all over the field for 63 yards. The Frog offensive line also had their best run-blocking performance of the year.

Passing defense: A-
Teams need to learn to quit throwing senior Jason Goss’ way. He broke up two passes and intercepted another. Senior safety Jared Smitherman made another important play, recovering a fumble on the Houston 33-yard line to set up TCU’s last touchdown. Senior Kenneth Hilliard intercepted a tipped Nick Eddy pass and scampered 43 yards for a touchdown.

Rushing defense: A+
Houston ran for 31 yards on No. 2 Texas’ defense. They could only muster 27 on TCU’s defense. TCU held senior Joffrey Reynolds, the second leading rusher in C-USA, to 44 yards on 15 carries. The Frogs combined for 14 stops behind the line of scrimmage.

Special teams: B+
Senior LaTarence Dunbar received C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his 96-yard kickoff return touchdown that gave TCU a 17-10 lead it would never relinquish. Junior Nick Browne missed his first field goal this year and senior Joey Biasatti struggled with a 27.8 net punting average.

— Jay Zuckerman