Josh Hoover made his first collegiate start on Saturday against BYU, and he led the Horned Frogs to a convincing 44-11 victory, snapping a two-game Big 12 losing streak.
Hoover threw the ball 58(!) times, completing 37 passes for a total of 439 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions, which was more than enough to earn the Killer Frogs Player of the Week. Fans may have wondered how the offense would look with a backup freshman quarterback after two straight weeks of under-production. It looked the best it has looked all season.
BYU's defense is not a unit that stops teams often, but what TCU's offense did was impressive nonetheless. The Frogs racked up 584 yards, topping its previous best outcome which came against Colorado (541). Hoover proved his comfortability immediately, leading a seven-play, 68-yard touchdown touchdown drive on the offense's first drive of the game.
In the days since his dominant debut, Hoover has gotten plenty of recognition. The redshirt freshman signal-caller earned Co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week alongside Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, who completely terrorized Kansas, rushing for 168 yards and a touchdown and receiving for 116 yards and a touchdown. Hoover was selected to the Davey O'Brien Great 8 quarterback list and was awarded the Maxwell Football Club Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Week. Hoover was also the PFF's Highest-Graded quarterback of the week, ahead of names like Spencer Rattler, Jayden Daniels, and JJ McCarthy.
Hoover's performance not only allows the TCU coaching staff to let out a sigh of relief, but it also welcomes good-old quarterback controversy. Chandler Morris could be sidelined for up to a month with the knee injury he suffered in the loss to Iowa State, and if Hoover builds on his performance against the Cougars and is able to play well against Kansas State and Texas Tech, a permanent change of quarterback may be in order. But that is an article for another time.
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