FORT WORTH — The hoped-for consolation that is an invitation to the First Responder or Liberty bowls, or something of the such, went poof on Friday afternoon for TCU, vanishing into the chilly, damp Texas air just as an offensive lineman makes a turkey leg disappear.
For only the third time in the past 22 seasons, the Horned Frogs will not be participating in college football’s postseason after a 20-17 loss to West Virginia at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
It was a fact of life that left coach Gary Patterson as ill-tempered as the reclusive Grinch, to say it mildly.
Despite it all – a disappointing 5-7 season, capped by an even more disappointing season finale in which the Frogs simply didn’t play well – there was reason to walk away with the optimism of the size and degree of the holiday season.
Namely, we learned that quarterback Max Duggan, he of the Missouri River’s east bank, can play and lead.
The gritty true freshman from Council Bluffs, Iowa, struggled on Friday under the constant duress of West Virginia’s defensive front, going 15 for 36 for 144 yards and two interceptions while being reacquainted time and again with the stadium turf.
If it were grass stains he was after, he got them.
Duggan won the starting job by eventually beating out Alex Delton, a graduate transfer with lots of experience. To some – this writer included – that surprised, but Duggan showed from the first snap in reserve duty — in reality, a co-No. 1 on the depth chart — against Arkansas-Pine Bluff that the game wasn’t too big for him.
On the season, Duggan passed for 2,077 yards on 181-of-339 passing and 15 touchdowns. He threw 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 555 yards and six TDs, demonstrating both athleticism and no concern about taking on would-be tacklers. His best game statistically was in victory against Texas Tech, going 25 for 42 for 323 yards and two TDs, including a 55-yarder to Jalen Reagor, and another running.
Certainly, he was inconsistent, but that’s typical of a teen playing at this level for the first time. As the season wore on, he seemed to find some nuance on his passes after coming in literally firing fastballs at receivers. His deep balls improved as the season progressed. He tossed a nice one, albeit incomplete, on TCU’s last play on fourth down Friday with Darius Stills in his face.
Duggan was also probably subjected to some confusion about what TCU’s philosophy is on offense.
It was hard to tell sometimes in 2019.
That’s probably question No. 1 about his future at TCU.
Duggan is expected to face competition for the starting job in 2020 from Matthew Baldwin, the transfer from Ohio State. Duggan will enter as the front-runner and with the experience he gained this season, he can expect to win that battle.
But what offense will he be running?
Speculation has run the gamut on the future of offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie. Many are expecting – those irritable fans with CFP dreams dancing in their heads, quite frankly, hoping – that he will enter a Soviet-style Central Committee meeting with Gary Patterson and leave with one of those bad colds.
That is, fired.
At various times this season on the sideline, Patterson was visibly displeased with the offensive coordinator. After a loss to SMU — to TCU, those always feel like a kick to the you know where — Patterson took the highly unusual step — as in never — of allowing a coordinator to talk after the game. That was Cumbie that day, leaving as-plain-as-a-pikestaff impression that whatever went wrong with the offense that day — Duggan struggled early in his first start and a very questionable fourth-and-1 call that failed was put under a black light — was his fault.
Patterson denied the reporter’s intuition, and, to be fair, he does have a history of employing various tactics to “inspire” a different field result next time.
But, if a decision is made to let Cumbie go, how would Duggan feel about that? Cumbie, after all, is the one responsible for Duggan being at TCU. He recruited him.
Duggan is not a finished product. There is much more about his game to develop. Is Cumbie the best person to add all that polish? Is that what Duggan wants?
The best guess is that Patterson hasn’t made up his mind about Cumbie, taking some time to reflect rather than act on a bitter taste.
“You wouldn’t decide anything right after something happened to you, would you?” Patterson said. “That wouldn’t be very smart.”
It’s safe to say that one chief consideration in making that decision is how will it affect Duggan’s development.