FWST: TCU defense struggles in opener against FCS foe

BY JIMMY BURCH jburch@star-telegram.com

TCU football coach Gary Patterson envisioned leaning on a veteran, improved defense to carry the day in Saturday’s season opener against South Dakota State while the offense attempted to find its rhythm under new quarterback Kenny Hill.

Instead, the Horned Frogs arrived at halftime in a dogfight with their FCS opponent after allowing the Jackrabbits to produce a 100-yard rusher (Isaac Wallace), 100-yard receiver (Jake Wieneke) and a 100-yard passer (Taryn Christion) in the opening half.

The early struggles caused Patterson to offer his troops a spirited pep talk after Wieneke’s 31-yard touchdown grab in the final minute of the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium upped the visitors’ totals to 296 yards and 24 points by intermission. And the numbers kept building in the second half.

Patterson said three key defensive starters missed more than half of fall camp because of injuries: cornerback Ranthony Texada, linebacker Travin Howard and safety Denzel Johnson.

Their lack of conditioning showed.