TCU gets a home opener with a little more pressure attached to it Saturday night, but the opponent coming into Amon G. Carter Stadium is hardly a soft landing.
The Horned Frogs, coming off a bye after the Week 0 upset to North Carolina, will face Grambling State at 7 p.m. with a chance to get in the win column before the schedule turns tougher. TCU is a heavy 44.5-point favorite, but Grambling arrives at 2-0 and with enough firepower - and pride - to make sure the Frogs can’t treat this like a tune-up.
Grambling has already shown what kind of team it wants to be: run first, run often, and make opponents deal with it. The Tigers have rolled up more than 292 rushing yards per game and are scoring 48.5 points a night through two games.
They’ve done it with volume, not one star carrying the load. Eleven different players have gotten carries, including four quarterbacks, and no running back has topped 100 yards yet.
Junior Tony Phillips leads the group with 94 yards and is averaging better than 13 yards a carry. At 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds, he’s the quick-change option.
Louisiana-Monroe transfer D’Shun Ford has been the heavier-duty piece, leading the team in touches with 15 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Ford is listed at 5-10, 230 pounds.
Up front, Grambling leans on senior offensive lineman Alexander Vigil, a preseason second team All-SWAC pick who logged more than 600 snaps last season and is one of the unit’s most experienced pieces.
The Tigers also have a quarterback who has already shown he can do more than just hand the ball off. Florida A&M transfer Reginald Johnson has been steady through two games. He threw for 133 yards in the opener against Clark Atlanta, then stepped up his workload against Central State, finishing 18 of 23 for 233 yards with an interception.
Johnson’s ceiling is a lot higher than the early-season numbers suggest. Last year with the Rattlers, he had five games with at least 270 passing yards, including 323 against Alcorn and 293 against Alabama A&M.
His top targets so far have been sophomore receivers Jordan Bride and Tyson George. Bride leads Grambling with 142 receiving yards and is already close to last season’s production.
George has a team-high 12 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown.
That passing game gives Grambling enough balance to matter if TCU comes out flat.
Defensively, the Tigers are strongest in the back seven. Senior linebacker Marcellus Johnson, who was one of the SWAC’s better linebackers last season, entered the year with preseason second team all-conference recognition and is tied for the team lead in tackles. The overall tackle leader is Arlington native Lonell Cunningham II, a transfer from North Alabama who has nine tackles and a pass breakup while bringing range from his 6-3 frame.
Junior defensive back Jalen Guillard has also made life difficult for opposing offenses, stacking up four pass breakups and two forced fumbles. TCU should have an edge in size and speed against that part of Grambling’s defense, but the Tigers have enough playmakers back there to keep things from feeling automatic.
And then there’s the part of a Grambling game that goes well beyond the scoreboard. The Tigers’ “World Famed Tiger Marching Band” carries a reputation as one of college athletics’ most entertaining groups, and the halftime show can become its own event.
Last season’s trip to Ohio State turned into a showcase for the bands as much as the football. With Grambling’s band marking its 100-year anniversary, Saturday offers another national stage.
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