FORT WORTH, Texas - It almost looks like a typo when you look at the NCAA football statistics.
TCU, which under Gary Patterson has built one of the top defensive programs in the country, is ranked 57th nationally in total defense. But that number is skewed because of the 782 yards the Frogs allowed in Saturday's wild 61-58 loss to now fourth-ranked Baylor. TCU had a top 20 defense before that shootout.
No the eye-popping number comes from the other side of the ball as the new wide-open TCU offense is ranked 15th nationally heading into this weekend's game against No. 15 Oklahoma State. The Frogs have already scored 229 points in five games, putting them third in the country in scoring offense They scored 301 points in 12 games last season.
What is even more astounding is that the Frogs are still a work in progress offensively and know there's still room for improvement for No. 12 TCU.
"The sky's really the limit for us," said receiver Kolby Listenbee, who has set career highs for receiving yards in each of the last two weeks. "We can do anything we really want to do. We just have to have the will and stay determined."
TCU (4-1, 1-1 in the Big 12) believes it left points on the table in the loss to Baylor. While the Frogs scored 44 points on offense, they also settled for a short field in the third quarter and failed to answer any of Baylor's three touchdowns to end the game.
TCU has scored 95 points in its first two Big 12 games. The Frogs didn't reach the 95-point mark in Big 12 play last season until the fourth quarter of their sixth conference game.
"It's pretty crazy," said running back B.J. Catalon, who scored three touchdowns against Baylor. "I don't think he (head coach Gary Patterson) would have thought that but I'm sure he's excited about the offense. I know we have guys that can catch the ball. We have guys that can run. We have quarterbacks that can make good decisions. From here on out, if we just play smart and play well we'll be fine."
While the offense can score in bunches that doesn't mean that it has to. Patterson said Tuesday he thought the Frogs got in too much of hurry in the fourth quarter against Baylor. That led to them not controlling the clock as well as they should have once they got up 21 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game.
The offense wasn't able to keep pace late but the defense knows it played a role too. If the defense makes more stops, the offense wouldn't have had to try and outscore the Bears.
"We've got to finish in the fourth quarter," defensive end Josh Carraway said. "We just can't let them run the ball like that on us. I feel like we're going to get our legs back this week, and we're just going to get better at stopping those certain plays like that."
The defense isn't the only unit confident it's going to get better every week. Despite the early gaudy numbers Patterson has even higher expectations for his offense.
"They got better between SMU and Oklahoma," Patterson said. "I thought they got better between Oklahoma and Baylor and hopefully they get even better against the teams we have to play. I think they've done a phenomenal job. I think the gets have bought in. They're having fun doing what they're doing. Like I told them you've got a find way to gut it out. You've got to find a way not matter what the defense is doing to get first downs when you've got to get first downs."
