Stanford Football: 3 takeaways from Alamo Bowl loss to TCU

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SAN ANTONIO, TX – DECEMBER 28: Desmon White #10 of the TCU Horned Frogs returns a punt for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Stanford Cardinal during the Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome on December 28, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

1. TCU has more athletes than Stanford

You could see the game ramping up for the Frogs in the second half. The 93-yard touchdown catch from Reagor, where he was just able to out run the entire Cardinal secondary, was a true example of the flat out speed on the Frogs offense.

Moreover, a punt return for a touchdown from senior Desmon White put the Frogs in position to take TCU’s first lead of the game. The 21-3 deficit TCU saw in the first half was able to get closed by the speed and athleticism that the Frogs have to work with on offense and special teams.

Meanwhile, Stanford’s offense did become very predictable in the second half. Costello stopped finding his targets and the pass rush started to get to him. The Cardinal does not possess a big-play offense in the pass game and that showed in the second half.

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Stanford pass-catchers like star receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and tight end Dalton Schultz needed to play a bigger role down the stretch. A nice touchdown catch from Arcega-Whiteside in the fourth quarter made things interesting, but Costello struggled while throwing a late interception that sealed it.

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