TCU 52, Kansas State 45: What We Learned

6078c8079ca3aa2097ba0592eeb315ebTrevone Boykin produced his signature Heisman moment. As if the entire second half wasn’t evidence enough that as Boykin goes, so go the Horned Frogs, the West Mesquite quarterback produced two huge drives with the game on the line. Down 42-37, he broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown run, and then threw a strike to Josh Doctson on the two-point conversion to take a 45-42 lead. Tied 45-45, he hit a wide-open Doctson for a 54-yard touchdown. He was cool and composed in crunch time, and made the best of every opportunity he was given. Leonard Fournette is fantastic, but Boykin has done everything to stay right there with him. He threw for 301 yards, ran for 124, and accounted for four scores, overcoming two interceptions. That was one terrible first half by TCU, but the second half was beyond impressive. The Horned Frogs entered the break down 35-17, barely had the ball in the first half, and were completely controlled by the Wildcats’ offense. Gary Patterson said after the game that his team didn’t take their opponent seriously enough, and it showed. But whatever was realized at halftime, there was no mistaking TCU’s purpose in the second half. A pick six, a stop, and a touchdown drive got things started straight away, and put all of Manhattan on its heels. Answering a 35-17 deficit with a 35-10 second half is certainly one way to win a game. These kinds of games are not sustainable for a team trying to reach the College Football Playoff. Going down to the wire with teams like Texas Tech and Kansas State is playing with fire, especially with Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Baylor still to come. If TCU allows those teams to keep it close into the fourth quarter, the Horned Frogs are going to get burned eventually. On Saturday night, though, it was another sign that TCU is made of some strong stuff.