I guess the bowl season was saving the best for last.
It looked like we were in store for another boring bowl blowout, as Oregon took a 31-0 lead over TCU in the first half of the Alamo Bowl, but then TCU coach Gary Patterson changed his shirt and changed the face of the game.
OK, so maybe Oregon losing quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. to an injury had more to do with it, but either way, TCU stormed back to tie the game at 31-31 in regulation before beating the Ducks 47-41 in triple-overtime.
The 31-point comeback matches the greatest comeback in FBS bowl history.
So, you know, just a boring night in San Antonio.
Story of the Game: It really was a tale of two halves … and backup quarterbacks. TCU’s offense struggled early as Bram Kohlhausen struggled to fill the shoes of Trevone Boykin, but once Oregon lost Adams and Jeff Lockie replaced him, it was the Ducks who found themselves out of sync.
TCU outgained Oregon 403 yards to 43 yards in the second half, running 61 plays to Oregon’s 31 and just dominating time of possession. Of Oregon’s six possessions in the third and fourth quarters, only one lasted longer than three plays or covered more than 10 yards. TCU, meanwhile, had six second-half possessions of its own, and it scored points on each and every one of them.
Then, once things got to overtime, both teams exchanged touchdowns in the first session, and long field goals in the second. TCU got the ball first in the third overtime, and Kohlhausen broke loose for an eight-yard touchdown run, though TCU would not come through on the two-point conversion.
Oregon’s possession was ruined by a botched snap — a theme for the Ducks throughout the night as Oregon also lost its starting center to injury — and the game ended when Lockie heaved up a prayer on fourth down that was knocked down near the goal line.
Player of the Game: Listen, you don’t come back from a 31-0 deficit thanks to just one player, it takes a team effort. That said, this can’t go to anybody but Kohlhausen. He was put into an extremely difficult position after Boykin’s arrest, and he took full advantage of it.
Kohlhausen threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 45 yards and another two scores. When this one became a battle of backup signal callers, Kohlhausen proved to have a major advantage.
Highlights of the Game: We’ll start with what proved to be the game-winner, but we won’t end there.
Now, all the way back in the first half, when Oregon was dominating, there was one play that perfectly summarized how the game had been going to that point for both teams.
Oregon actually had to punt, which was a rarity in that first half, but a strange thing happened. TCU blocked the punt … and then Oregon turned it into a first down. Seriously. Look.
Here’s Oregon’s punt block turned first down. pic.twitter.com/L9uYt1mYAH
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) January 3, 2016
And that would prove to be only the second-most incredible thing to happen in this game.
Tweets of the Game: There were a lot of great ones. Here is a small sample.
ESPN just reported Gary Patterson changed clothes in order to try and improve TCU’s second half play. Well that should fix everything.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) January 3, 2016
It did!
This ends with both coaches completely naked on the sidelines because of superstition
— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) January 3, 2016
Here come the Horned Frogs? #AlamoBowl #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/eqniP8kIL0
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 3, 2016
— Peter Berkes (@peterberkes) January 3, 2016
#AlamoBowl pic.twitter.com/vxZCwfOsPp
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 3, 2016
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 3, 2016
When you realize your squad might not need you anyways. #AlamoBowl pic.twitter.com/gvOPAmxKuj
— pat muldowney (@patmuldowney) January 3, 2016
Grade: Have your read this breakdown? This was the best bowl game of the season. What grade do you think it’s going to get? A+++++++++++++
Bram Kohlhausen (upside down) turned the Alamo Bowl on its head. (USATSI)This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
