For the final time, Oklahoma will host a Big 12 contest in Norman.
The No. 13-ranked Sooners (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) welcome in the TCU Horned Frogs (5-6, 3-5) on Black Friday to close the 2023 regular season.
Regardless of if OU wins or loses, there are pathways for the Sooners to qualify for next week’s Big 12 title game, but Brent Venables’ team isn’t focused on any of that.
All Oklahoma wants to do is close the regular season slate out with 10 wins and send the seniors out on a high for their last game at Owen Field.
TCU is far from last year’s national runner-up, needing one more victory to get bowl eligible on Friday.
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A mid-season quarterback change didn’t slow down the Horned Frog passing game.
In fact, redshirt freshman Josh Hoover getting thrust into action actually bolstered offensive coordinator Kendall Briles’ aerial attack.
TCU averages 309.3 passing yards per game, the ninth-best mark in the FBS.
Hoover threw for more than 400 yards against BYU and Baylor, and crossed the 300-yard mark against Texas Tech and Texas in his five starts on the year.
He has plenty of options to distribute the ball as well, as 18 different Horned Frogs have caught passes on the year and 11 of Hoover’s teammates have hauled in touchdown catches.
The efficiency through the air has allowed TCU to dig out of early holes if the offense gets behind the chains, and the Horned Frogs rank No. 17 in third down conversion percentage.
But Hoover has struggled to protect the football.
The redshirt freshman has tossed 11 touchdowns, but also thrown eight interceptions on 241 passing attempts in 2023.
Hoover’s carelessness with the football paired with the Horned Frogs’ struggles to force turnovers have TCU ranked 120th in the nation in turnover margin headed into the final week of the regular season.
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Even though the TCU defense gets a great look at an explosive passing attack every day in practice, the Horned Frogs have struggled to limit opposing quarterbacks.
Opponents average 240.4 passing yards a game against the TCU defense, which ranks 96th.
The Horned Frogs struggle to pressure the quarterback as well, posting 2.1 sacks per game, which should allow Oklahoma’s offensive line to protect either Dillon Gabriel or true freshman Jackson Arnold in the pocket.
The Sooners have allowed just 1.3 sacks per game this year, which is 21st in the country, and the emergence of Gavin Sawchuk in the running game will take even more pressure off of whoever starts at quarterback for OU on Friday.
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The strength of TCU’s offense matches up well with Oklahoma’s defensive weakness.
The Sooners allow 232.9 passing yard per game, but OU has done a nice job of finding ways to make huge plays with its back against the wall this year.
Last week, Billy Bowman’s 100-yard pick six added to a host of plays the Sooner defense has made on the goal-line.
Unfortunately for Horned Frogs, they’ve struggled in the red zone this season.
TCU scores on just 68.9 percent of trips inside the 20-yard line, which ranks 127th nationally.
Though running back Emani Bailey has rushed for 1,059 yards and seven scores for the Horned Fogs this year, the entire offense has struggled to run consistently when the field shrinks in the red zone.
Hoover’s carelessness with the football and TCU’s inability to consistently punch the ball into the end zone once set up with first-and-goal scenarios could play right into Oklahoma’s hands on Friday if the Horned Frogs struggle to execute in the biggest moments on Owen Field.
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