OU Football: A Closer Look At TCU's Impact Players

Oh how the tides have turned.

After an offseason filled with high expectations, specifically a return to the college football playoff, the Oklahoma football team faces a must-win matchup only four games into the year. With two blunders against contenders such as Houston and Ohio State, the Sooners desperately need a win against No. 21 TCU just to keep their heads above water.

Related: Stoops Doesn't Believe The Sooners Have A Culture Problem

A road win against the Horned Frogs not only cools the criticism, but it also helps save face with the 2017 recruiting class, which currently ranks in the top 5 in the country according to multiple outlets, but could eventually suffer if Oklahoma fails to right the ship.

Despite the issues surrounding the slow start, Bob Stoops remains confident OU can turn it around.

“We’ve won a lot of championships around here with a couple of losses,” Stoops said at his weekly press conference. “Keep fighting, keep improving, the better teams continue to improve throughout the year and that’s what we have to do. We have to keep improving this week to next week.”

That being said, here are a few of TCU’s impact players that Oklahoma will need to contain in order to get back on the right track.

Kenny Hill, Quarterback

Formerly the gunslinger for Texas A&M, Hill has reemerged on the college football scene after an impressive start to his TCU career. Hill has already thrown for 1,487 yards and six touchdowns through four games while leading the Horned Frogs to a 3-1 record.

Hill is very effective through the air, but much like the other opposing quarterbacks the Sooners have faced this year, he can take care of business on the ground as well. Along with his six passing touchdowns, Hill matched that total with rushing scores.

“I think their quarterback Kenny Hill is really an excellent football player” Stoops said. “He’s doing a great job for them throwing the football as well as the ability to create some things, pulling the ball down and run and make things happen scrambling around as well.”

Kyle Hicks, Running back

In OU’s two losses, the Sooners’ defense has struggled to slow down the opposing team’s running back. Houston’s Duke Catalon rushed for 88 bruising yards while Ohio State’s duo of Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel combined for 291 yards on the ground.

Unfortunately for OU, TCU has a pretty solid running back as well in Kyle Hicks. The junior has rushed for 314 yards and five touchdowns, while he’s also a threat as a pass catcher as well, adding 20 catches for 221 yards and a score.

Hicks is a big play threat, and is capable of posting solid production despite running behind a mediocre offensive line.

“Number 21, he’s a terrific player,” OU defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said of Hicks. “He’s a lot like the kid from a year ago who can run and catch, does a lot of different things for them.”

TCU’s defensive line

It wouldn’t be right to only pick one impact player on the TCU defense, so it only makes sense that we highlight a few of the big boys in the trenches. Both Josh Carraway and James McFarland were both preseason All-Big 12 selections from the defensive end positions, while defensive tackles Aaron Curry and L.J. Collier combine to make one of the best fronts in the entire conference.

Curry and Collier lead the team with 2.5 sacks apiece, but all four guys are crucial to how the Horned Frogs operate on defense. Similar to the Sooners, TCU has its struggles in the secondary, which makes their pass rush even more paramount to their success.

It will be no easy task for the Sooners’ offensive line against TCU, especially since Oklahoma will be without starting left guard Cody Ford, who was injured in the loss to Ohio State. OU must win the battle in the trenches if the Sooners hope to move past their early season woes.