The Horned Frogs starting quarterback Kenny Hill has lived up to his “Kenny Trill” days from Texas A&M, leading TCU to a #4 ranking in the AP Poll and making a serious case for the Heisman trophy. The senior transfer from Texas A&M is in his first season as starting quarterback for the Frogs after sitting out last season as a redshirt transfer. Hill has tossed 10 touchdowns to only three interceptions so far this year in Sonny Cumbie’s offensive system. This offense ranks in the top 15 in scoring offense in the FBS.
TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson’s defense will have ULM transfer defensive end Ben Bangou and defensive end Mat Boesen to get after Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender, who has been able to find some success through the air this season with almost 1400 yards passing. The Jayhawks might be without their leading rusher in running back Khalil Herbert, as he missed last week’s loss to Iowa State with a hamstring injury. Kansas will need to exploit TCU’s secondary to give themselves a better chance at defeating the current first place team in the Big 12. Kanas will look for their big playmaker in wide receiver Steven Sims Jr. to make some plays in the passing game, as he averages almost 19 yards per catch.
Last year’s meeting between the two teams saw TCU barely edge out Kansas by a score of 24-23 after they scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to propel them to a victory in Lawrence. This year, coming in as the #4 ranked team in the country will give TCU ultimate confidence against the team ranked in the bottom two in the Big 12 standings. If TCU ends the season undefeated, their chances of getting into the College Football Playoff are very high. Standing in their way will be Texas and Oklahoma, who are still on TCU’s remaining schedule.
It would be tough to predict Kansas to pull off one of the most unpredictable upsets of the season. TCU is clicking on both sides of the ball and have multiple impressive wins this season coming into Saturday. Kenny Hill gives the Horned Frogs a weapon that the Jayhawks can only hope to contain. TCU will win this game, 45-3 to bring their overall record to 6-0 and keep their first-place standing in the Big 12. Patterson will have another tune-up game against Iowa State next week before their three-game stint against Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
