QB issue aside, Frogs need to find the rest of the offense
Quarterback Marcus Jackson led the Frogs to their only offensive touchdown Saturday.
He is not the starter. He is one of two.
In some locales, this qualifies as the dreaded QB controversy. Not at TCU. This is actually good news, considering many in Frogland were starting to wonder if they had a QB at all and had serious doubts about a Division I-A-caliber offense.
But Saturday, the football gods brought in what amounts to as close to a sure thing as exists in college ball, SMU, and the Frogs walked away with an ugly but effective 21-7 victory.
The what is the good news. The how is less so. The Mustangs have one of I-A's worst defenses, and yet, of the Frogs' three touchdowns, one was scored by the special teams off a blocked punt, another by the defense on an interception return and another by the backup quarterback.
"There will not be a controversy," Frogs coach Gary Patterson said. "Offensively, we have two quarterbacks."
Two quarterbacks or 10 quarterbacks, Marcus Jackson or Andy Dalton, the Frogs have offensive issues that make Britney Spears look together.
What saved them Saturday was a 16-play, 78-yard touchdown drive led by Marcus Jackson and with him accounting for 75 of them either by passing or by running.
He is the sophomore the Frogs decided not to make the starter, going with the redshirt freshman Dalton instead. Marcus Jackson is the guy who figured he'd play when needed and do whatever was needed to help the team win.
"I never thought of leaving," Marcus Jackson said. "Coach had a decision to make, and he did. I have to prove to him what I can do."
Done. And done.
What follows are fair and justified questions: Did the Frogs wait too long to go to him? Might they have beaten Texas with Marcus Jackson at QB?
This is what is commonly referred to as the cheap second guess and grossly unfair to Dalton. The problems with the Frogs' offense go way beyond any QB controversy -- real or imagined.
Their play-calling is at times uninspired and at others confounding. They have little to no speed at receiver. They have had serious injuries, especially at running back.
And it is not good enough.
This is kind of your fault, Gary. You're too good. You got yourself into a jam.
It was not too long ago smacking around SMU, on homecoming weekend, would count as a pretty win. It was not too long before that when beating SMU saved an otherwise disastrous season.
Since taking the handoff from Fran, though, Gary has redefined what is possible for TCU to dream of being -- by beating Big 12 teams like Tech and Baylor, by winning conference championships, by winning bowl games.
All of this has served to jack up expectations among fans. What has to come now is that proverbial next step. Be a Boise State. Undefeated. BCS Bowl. National acclaim.
To take said step, TCU has to field an offense at least half as good as its defense. The Frogs have to be able to score points. They have to be better on offense than they have been.
"I think we have to get better," Patterson said. "But I think we are very capable."
Offense can not be this thing they do on the other field while Gary is getting his defense ready. It has to become a priority. He has to keep his headset on when one of the biggest offensive plays of a game is going down.
Yes, the now infamous and ignominious play call against Air Force came up again Saturday night as did Patterson blaming his offensive coordinator, Mike Schultz.
"No. 1, we are not going to get into coach Schultz," Patterson said. "We've always been about team. This is about me. I am the one that manages the game."
He said he is the one to blame for the loss to Air Force. He said he was wrong in blaming Schultz. He said he never should have said anything. What he needed to say was that he, Schultz, Dalton, Marcus Jackson, whoever, were going to fix what is obviously broken.
Saturday's game began with three and out, then six and out, and so on and so forth. For a while, the Frogs did not have a first down that running back Aaron Brown did not get them.
And I do not care how good your defense is, you can not leave them on the field as long as TCU does and expect to win.
That is exactly what happened at Texas. And Air Force.
"The offense, we need to step up big time," Marcus Jackson said. "The defense is playing way more snaps than they need to. We have to be better, and we will."
One quarterback or two, it doesn't matter.
What TCU needs is the offense to be better because you can not play SMU every Saturday.
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