TCU completes comeback, beats Kansas State 52-45
TCU is still undefeated.
The Horned Frogs survived a scare from Kansas State on the road Saturday night and won 52-45 after Trevone Boykin hit Josh Doctson on a 55-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute left.
Kansas State had one more chance to tie the game but quarterback Joe Hubener was sacked and fumbled. TCU recovered and ran out the clock.
The Horned Frogs couldn’t stop Kansas State in the first half. The Wildcats jumped out to a 35-17 lead in the first half and it figured that KSU would be deliberate and continue to control the clock with the run game in the second half. And you couldn’t have been blamed for thinking that Saturday would be the night the depleted TCU defense would meet its match and the Horned Frogs would fall from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Kansas State didn’t stick with the running game. And TCU’s comeback was sparked by Kansas State’s passing game. The Horned Frogs got to within 11 after a pick-six of Hubener to begin the second half and were down 42-31 before taking the lead for the first time since being up 17-14.
The lead was all Trevone Boykin too. If Leonard Fournette is the favorite for the Heisman Trophy for the first six weeks, Boykin needs to be on the stage in New York with him.
He closed the gap to within four with a nifty 14-yard touchdown run to the left side. And TCU got a 45-42 lead when Boykin scored on a 69-yard run on a fantastic keeper that faked out the KSU defense.
As TCU was closing the gap, Kansas State kept passing. It didn’t work. Hubener, who became the first Wildcat since Collin Klein in 2012 to have four rushing touchdowns, was 13-33 passing for 157 yards and an interception. The aerial attack seemed the far inferior option to a ground game that averaged nearly five yards a carry. Hubener himself finished with 111 yards rushing on 26 carries.
Yet Kansas State stuck with the pass game. And TCU completed the comeback with the touchdown strike. Boykin finished with 301 yards passing and 124 yards rushing. Doctson had eight catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
TCU kept pace with both Baylor and Oklahoma State with the win. The Bears throttled Kansas 66-7 and Oklahoma State moved to 3-0 in the Big 12 with an overtime win over West Virginia.
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
