The Alamo Bowl lost some luster with Trevone Boykin’s arrest
Valero Alamo Bowl
TCU (10-2) vs. Oregon (9-3)
San Antonio, Texas
Jan. 2, 2016
Well, this game may not be as fun as we all expected.
Saturday’s Alamo Bowl between TCU and Oregon was shaping up to possibly be the best matchup of bowl season to date. And on Thursday morning, that likelihood diminished when Boykin was arrested after a post-curfew bar incident.
TCU’s star quarterback, one of the best quarterbacks in college football, was suspended for the game along with wide receiver Preston Miller. In his absence, either Foster Sawyer or Bram Kohlhausen will start. Without Boykin, TCU’s high-powered offense isn’t nearly as high-powered.
The Horned Frogs averaged nearly seven yards per play and 580 yards of offense this season. Against Kansas (when Boykin sprained his ankle) and Oklahoma (the game he missed after the injury), the Horned Frogs had two of their three lowest yardage outputs of the season.*
*Non-Baylor in the pouring rain edition.
Oregon, meanwhile, is just behind TCU in yards per game this season and has averaged more per play than the Horned Frogs. Quarterback Vernon Adams is fully healthy – he had a broken right index finger earlier this season – and leads the nation in yards per attempt.
TCU’s defense now has a much tougher task. With Boykin on the field, you don’t have to play lockdown defense against Adams and the Ducks. Now, without him, it’s not a stretch to think TCU could need two or three more stops that it would have before Boykin was arrested.
Is the defense up to the task? We’ll find out.
PICKS
Graham: This was going to be a really fun game until Boykin went and got arrested and suspended. Oregon was has been playing really well with a healthy Vernon Adams, so it’s hard to go against the Ducks in Adams’ last collegiate game. Oregon 45, TCU 28.
Nick: I was going to go with TCU before Thursday. Not any longer. Oregon wins. Ducks 48, Horned Frogs 38.
Sam: This one had the makings of a shootout … until TCU QB Trevone Boykin got suspended. Oregon wins behind another great game from Vernon Adams. Oregon 41, TCU 24.
For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.
For more TCU news, visit PurpleMenace.com.
– – – – – – –
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!
