Making the Grade

Quarterback: B+
Brandon Hassell did the best he could with what he was told to do. His interception on the play action play was a misread, but it proved to be big momentum shifter in the first half. Hassell refused to give up, despite the mistakes. His passes were on target and his leadership was without question.

Running Backs: B
Robert Merrill and Lonta Hobbs broke tackles, refusing to be taken down and took advantage of every opportunity presented to them. Kenny Hayter scored two critical touchdowns in the fourth quarter that gave the Frogs life.

Wide Receivers: C
They played well late, but their early game drops cost this team momentum early on which ultimately cost the Frogs the game. Critical third down passes were put in the hands of the receivers, and they didn’t convert. A holding penalty on an outside running play in the first quarter cost TCU a touchdown and was a huge difference in the game.

Offensive Line: C
This is a unit built to pound it out on the ground. It rarely received the opportunity to do so, yet it blocked well enough to win the game via the running game. The blitz was not picked up efficiently and Hassell was chased most of the night. One on one, the Frogs shut down the USM pass rush, but somewhere along the line, the failed blitz pickups cost this team dearly.

Defensive Line: D
The USM rush statistics looked as if they were shut down, but they picked up yards when they needed them, especially on the last drive of the game that allowed USM to go up 34-28. The fact that the front four was once again unable to put pressure on the quarterback allowed USM to pick apart the TCU pass defense.

Linebackers: C
They played as brilliantly as they played poorly. Josh Goolsby made key tackles for loss but missed some key tackles as well. Their blitz packages were ineffective, and their coverage was inconsistent.

Secondary: F
One on one coverage is nothing new to this unit. They are asked to play tough press coverage on almost every play. They failed to provide the coverage needed to come out on top. The Eagles converted big third down plays and scored touchdowns on coverage that was not up to TCU standards. The biggest failure of this unit was the huge pass play that allowed USM to extend its drive and its lead to 34-28.

Special Teams: D
The two onside kick recoveries are the only thing that brought this unit up from an F. Special teams played poorly in all aspects of the kicking game. They were unable to give the Frogs decent field position. USM was able to turn the tables and put the Frogs defense in tough situations.

Overall: C+
The Frogs refused to give up and fought until the last second. They played well as a whole with what they were asked to do. The game was a microcosm of the entire season, down but never out. The desire to turn a potential blowout into an exciting contest showed the nation what this Frogs team is made of. The defense was unable to match the fire and intensity of the offense and couldn't make plays when it needed to.

Coaching: F
On offense, the Frogs got too fancy. The offense got away from the running game and ran multiple empty backfield sets.

Compiled by Carlos Alvarado