Surprise star of the weekend: Darius Anderson

Darius Anderson was a big deal at George Ranch High School. When he signed to TCU, everyone knew he was going to be a talent, but it was believed that he would have two years to sit and learn behind the Horned Frogs’ Kyle Hicks. When Hicks, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2016, was ruled out of Saturday’s tilt against No. 6 Oklahoma State, Anderson got the call and made the most of his nationally televised opportunity. The Rosenberg native punctuated TCU’s impressive 44-31 road win with a 42-yard score in the fourth quarter in which he stopped on a dime to avoid the Cowboys’ rush defense and cut back to the right before going untouched to the endzone. The Cowboys sold out on the run so once Anderson hit the second level, there was no one in his path. Oklahoma State just made it a one-score game on the previous possession. The win in Stillwater officially casted the Frogs’ name as Big XII title contenders. The final nail was hammered in by TCU’s Anderson on a late third and short. "He made some cuts, did some plays, and I told him to keep his nose down because it's a long season," Patterson told the Houston Chronicle after the game. Anderson finished with 160 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. Not bad for a day’s work as a fill-in. The only other player to rush for more yards against Oklahoma State over the past 10 games, dating back to last season, was Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine. Not only did the game cement TCU as a legitimate contender or the Big XII Championship, it all happened with senior quarterback Kenny Hill throwing for less than 230 yards on 33 attempts. It was a fairly pedestrian performance from a quarterback who wasn’t asked to be superhuman against a Top 10 opponent thanks to his sophomore counterpart in the backfield. Not to mention, this was the first game so far this season in which TCU’s defense was thoroughly beaten. Mason Rudolph threw for nearly 400 yards and the Cowboys put up 499 yards of total offense, the most allowed by TCU since the Frogs last played Oklahoma State a year ago. The question after Saturday isn’t whether or not Anderson earned himself more carries, that much is a given. The question now is, when Hicks comes back healthy, how tempted are head coach Gary Patterson and offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie going to be to perhaps gradually use Anderson as the feature back.