Stanford Football: 3 takeaways from Alamo Bowl loss to TCU

A win in the 2017 Alamo Bowl would put either Stanford football or the TCU Horned Frogs in a position to finish in the top 10 rankings this year.

Stanford football entered the 2017 Valero Alamo Bowl with intentions in mind to recover from a loss in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Cardinal was in store for another positive result, in 2017, under head coach David Shaw. He’s taken Stanford to a load of conference title games in the past five years.

Meanwhile, the TCU Horned Frogs put together a run to a conference title game of its own. The Frogs did lose both the contests with Heisman Trophy winner quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners, though. TCU was also defeated by the Iowa State Cyclones this year, but this was a great season under head coach Gary Patterson.

Entering the 2017 Alamo Bowl, the Frogs had 10 wins, while the Cardinal had nine. TCU was the favorite before the game, by three points. However, most fans knew this game could have gone either way. Stanford had the run game and hot quarterback in K.J. Costello.

A lot was dependent on which Kenny Hill (TCU quarterback) showed up. Hill is a playmaker, in his own right, when he doesn’t make simple mistakes. The Frogs have the defensive talent to compete with an opponent like Stanford.

The game started out with the early 14-3 lead to round out the first quarter. TCU did start to put up a good fight in the second and third quarters. Two costly turnovers from Hill looked to be too much to overcome. But, the big plays started in the second half for the Frogs.

This was a great bowl game to watch, providing a back and forth final two quarters. TCU puts together a solid 11-win season that the Frogs can really be proud of. Yet, Stanford finished with another nine win campaign in 2017.

Here are three takeaways from Stanford’s win over TCU in the 2017 Alamo Bowl.