TCU Football: Horned Frogs lick up Southern behind Robinson

Shawn Robinson currently has the best record among starting quarterbacks all-time at TCU football, winning his first two starts dating back to 2017.

Robinson, who won his only start last year as a true freshman, accounted for five touchdowns as the Horned Frogs wiped the field with Southern, 55-7, in the season opener for both teams.

Robinson threw three different touchdowns to three different receivers, adding two more in the opening 30 minutes of a play against an over-matched Jaguar team from the SWAC.

After appearing in a handful of games last year, Robinson won the starting job over the summer to replace Kenny Hill. He completed 17 of 24 for 182 yards, adding another 45 yards on the ground on just two carries.

It’s difficult to judge just how good the TCU offense is going to be considering the level of competition they faced, but 264 passing yards and 235 rushing yards as a team will get the job done most games.

Emari Demercado averaged over seven yards per carry on his eight totes, racking up 57 yards. Darius Anderson, the featured back a year ago, had eight carries for 36 yards.

Five different receivers had at least two catches, with six in all averaging over 10 yards per reception. That included a 57-yard TD by Trevontae Hights.

Always one of the better Big XII defenses, the Horned Frogs forced two turnovers, limited Southern to 2.5 yards per carry and just nine first downs. The Jaguars were 3-for-14 on third-down attempts and had only 185 yards in all.

This marked the seventh time in the past 15 games that TCU has held the opposition to seven points or less.

In defeat, Southern did become the first team from its conference to score points against TCU. Jackson State was shutout last year, 63-0, and Grambling State had fallen in 2012 to the Horned Frogs, 56-0.

That scoring strike came courtesy John Lampley, who hit Cameron Mackey from 55 yards out.

We’ll have to wait two weeks to find out if TCU and head coach Gary Patterson are legit College Football Playoff contenders this year, though, as they travel to SMU next Saturday before a huge showdown with Ohio State. That is followed up by a meeting with Texas to begin conference play with Oklahoma on the horizon, as well.