Quick Thoughts: TCU 35, SMU 24

McAlister Magic🪄

After spending much of the first two games “blocking his ass off” supporting his teammates, today in Fort Worth he turned in one of the best wide receiver performances in TCU history. His 254 yards is the second-most in a single game in program history, just 13 yards short of Josh Doctson’s 267 yards in the 2015 win over Texas Tech. McAlister took some heat early as an endzone fade was ripped from his hands by the SMU defender for a brutal red zone turnover, but Hoover trusted his go-to target and McAlister delivered on that trust. McAlister opened the scoring with a 27 yard score, breaking tackles near the sideline to skip into the endzone. He later delivered a major sigh of relief to Frogs fans everywhere with a 70-yard catch and run to answer after SMU had briefly taken the lead in the 4th quarter. Then a few minutes after that McAlister hammered the nail into the Ponies’ coffin with a 44 yard score that would prove to be the final blow. McAlister’s day would have been even more remarkable if the ACC refs hadn’t suffered temporary blindness while also forgetting that replays exist in college football. After a week of praise about the ACC’s “transparency” in putting cameras in its replay center, the officiating crew didn’t even send what was a brilliant – and, as it turned out, obviously in bounds – catch down the sideline and into the end zone. In any case, McAlister proved why he was regarded as one of the top targets in the country. And with him, one of the nation’s elite passing attacks; TCU has had a 100+ yard receiver in each of the first three games, each coming from a different player with McAlister adding to Jordan Dwyer’s 136 vs. UNC and Joseph Manjack’s 114 vs. ACU.

Hoover Has Wheels?

A growth opportunity for QB Josh Hoover after his standout 2024 was that he was a full zero in the run game. Any zone read or action that suggested he may take off was met with indifference by defenses, everyone knew he wasn’t going anywhere. In 2025, it appears Josh Hoover has removed the concrete from his cleats and is moving with speed and purpose. He escaped pressure and created big plays out of the pocket, throwing on the run and connecting with targets down field. Hoover Had his best game of his career on the ground, with 27 yards (after sacks), including multiple rushes for first downs on key conversion spots. Those were often designed runs, including QB draws where the offense put confidence in Hoover to find the space. If Hoover is really going to be a threat with his legs it’s a “Happy learned how to putt” revelation to be feared. 

Killer Penalties

Last season following TCU’s stunning loss to UCF, I suggested Remington Strickland’s goal line false start was the most damaging penalty in TCU history, up there with the Kenny Hill throat slash and the Jordan Hudson offensive pass interference. Luckily it didn’t end up costing TCU the game, but linebacker Max Carroll got himself added to this wall of shame. In the third quarter, TCU had just scored to go ahead 21-10. TCU had SMU in a dangerous 3rd down where a stop would swiftly rip the Mustangs off the field and give the Frogs the opportunity to truly put some distance on the scoreboard. Kevin Jennings hit RB TJ Harden on a short check down. Max Carroll met Harden near the TCU sideline like a brick wall, three yards short of the first down marker, delivering a textbook tackle for the momentum swinging stop. Carroll could’ve taken two steps towards the bench and celebrated with his teammates and it would have been one of the biggest moments of the game. Instead Carroll taunted Harden right in front of the officials, got smacked with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, giving SMU new life on the drive and in the game. While such absurd behavior may get you the lead on SportsCenter if you are a famous QB, for Carroll, it just puts you in the dog house. The drive would go on to produce a touchdown and keep the Ponies within striking distance throughout the 2nd Half. While this penalty stood out for its direct impact, it wasn’t the only devastating foul of the day for the Frogs. TCU was flagged nine times for 65 yards, including many brutal false starts and holds on the offensive line. TCU will certainly need to be more disciplined during Big 12 play to not push its offense into bad situations or allow free first downs on defense.

Defending Fort Worth

While the performance was far from perfect for the Frogs, most notably allowing the coverage break down for the go-ahead touchdown scored by Jordan Hudson, the Horned Frogs defense showed again how far things have come since last season’s Iron Skillet battle in Dallas. A year after surrendering 66 points and 238 rushing yards to SMU with zero sacks and just 1 TFL, in 2025 TCU held the Mustangs to just 94 rush yards, held the Ponies to just 4-13 on 3rd down, sacking QB Kevin Jennings twice. Jamel Johnson snagged his first career interception and moments later grabbed another to fully seal the victory. Kaleb Elarms-Orr starred for the Frogs as the unit’s leading tackler, adding two QB hurries, two tackles for loss, and a monster 3rd down sack in the 3rd quarter. The secondary did a fair job handling the SMU wideouts, despite a couple big plays with Vernon Glover & Jevon McIver flashing in coverage. The unit will have a whole new set of challenges next week with Arizona State’s dynamic weapons, but the group passed another major test in slowing the explosive SMU attack.