After TCU rolled through and over a woefully out-manned Jackson State, 63-0, Gary Patterson wasn’t sitting back.
“We’ve got work to do,” he said.
Quarterback Kenny Hill was on almost from the start as the Horned Frogs ran up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, opened it to 35-0 at halftime and coasted.
Still, Patterson found things to nitpick.
“This next one is a test,” Patterson said of this week’s game against Arkansas.
TCU felt they let last year’s game get away from them, losing 41-38 in double overtime.
Hill was out of his pads midway through the third quarter after throwing four touchdown passes and hitting 18-of-23 with one interception.
“Been waiting too long for this,” Hill said. “I feel comfortable in the offense, each game trying to get more comfortable, more confident in the offense and the game plan.”
While other Big 12 teams struggled on Saturday, Patterson had to acknowledge that his team took care of business as TCU won its 16th straight home opener, the nation’s fifth-longest streak.
”I was proud of the group. Proud of how they handled themselves,” Patterson said. ”They acted more like that was what we were supposed to, which probably excited me more than anything else.”
TCU scored on all three possessions in the first quarter, including a 13-yard touchdown in the first quarter where Kenedy Snell took shovel pass and broke five tackles on a weaving sideline-to-sideline run.
TCU posted its first shutout since 2014 and scored twice on defense as Ridwan Issahaku returned an interception 53 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and Arico Evans returned a fumble 32 yards in the third.
”A shutout is a shutout (no matter who),” Issahaku said. ”We just want to win by one point, but it’s good to see the hard work pay off.”
Jackson State was limited to 24 yards rushing and 41 passing as it fell to 0-14 all-time against FBS competition.
Jackson State reached the TCU 7-yard line on the game’s opening drive, but a fumbled snap led to a 28-yard loss and was followed up by a failed fake punt.
