Frogs have to try and slow down Doege, Tech

Things aren't getting any easier for the TCU Horned Frogs. Two weeks ago the Frogs had to play Iowa State without then suspended quarterback Casey Pachall and lost to the Cyclones. Last week the Frogs (5-1, 2-1 in Big 12) were still dealing with the Pachall fallout after he left the team for treatment but were able to roll over Baylor 49-21. Their reward for surviving a turbulent two weeks is a Saturday home game against a Texas Tech team that's coming off a 49-14 rout of then-No. 5 West Virginia. So much for having time for a breather. "I think Tech has a really, really good football team," TCU head coach Gary Patterson said. "They get in your face. They want to be physical. They push you around. You've got to understand you're in a fistfight. They're big. They're physical. They come after us. You have to understand in this league you've got to be ready for this ballgame." That's something Patterson thinks his team is realizing. They didn't practice well before the loss to Iowa State and it showed. Patterson said they practiced like a Big 12 title contender leading up to the Baylor game and played like it too.Patterson said he thinks his team may have found some peace now that the Pachall situation in resolved. The play of his replacement Trevone Boykin makes that easier. He completed 22 of 30 passes against Baylor for four touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown. As exciting as Boykin is, he may be overshadowed Saturday by Tech quarterback Seth Doege. He was the Big 12 offensive player of the week after a near-perfect performance against the Mountaineers. Doege threw for 499 yards and six touchdowns against West Virginia as the Red Raiders (5-1, 2-1) moved to No. 18 in the Associated Press rankings. He's also the main reason the Red Raiders average more than 537 yards a game. "He understands the offense and he's done well in it the couple of years he's played in it," Patterson said. "He moves around. When you have a quarterback who understands what he's trying to accomplish it always makes it harder on the defense." Doege knows having another big game won't come easy against TCU, which leads the nation in takeaways with 20 and 15th in the country in total defense. Doege will also be without some of his receiving weapons. Receivers Bradley Marquez and Javon Bell were lost for the season against West Virginia and Jace Amaro is questionable for the game. If he can't play, the Red Raiders will be without three receivers who accounted for 56 catches and five touchdowns for Tech this year. "Their defense plays really hard," Doege said. "They're well coached. They're very athletic on the ends. So I think we're going to have to have some guys that have big weeks of practice and are ready to play."