TCU Sets Up Controversial Finish With Blowout Win

We may have a problem with the College Football Playoff…assuming that the Big 12 gets a team in. At the present moment the team most poised to represent the conference is TCU thanks to a 41-20 win over Kansas State.

In a battle between the upstart Frogs and the only team unbeaten in conference play, it was TCU that dominated the day. TCU racked up 553 total yards of offense with Heisman Trophy candidate Trevone Boykin accounting for 342 of them. The 6-2/205 junior threw for 219 yards and a score and also ran for 123 yards and three more touchdowns.

“I told him before the ballgame, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything to him, but I have a great deal of respect for him,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said of the TCU signal caller. “I’ve always thought he’s been a great player. You guys talk like he’s all of a sudden come to the forefront.”

Boykin was a one-man wrecking crew against Kansas State and Snyder’s club just didn’t have the firepower to answer. Wildcats’ senior quarterback Jake Waters was picked once but also had two scores and 291 yards through the air. However, this game was lost on the ground where the K-State was held to just 34 yards on 19 attempts. The inability to control the clock by moving the ball on the ground was lethal to Wildcats’ hopes of remaining unbeaten in the conference.

The game’s result creates a logjam at the top of the Big 12 standings with TCU, Kansas State, and Baylor all sitting with one loss. Going into the weekend TCU was highest ranked conference team in the College Football Playoff Rankings and you’d have to expect it to remain that way even though Baylor made a statement of their own by destroying Oklahoma in Norman earlier in the day.

Kansas State is essentially eliminated from the playoff after suffering their second loss of the season which leaves a two-way race between Baylor and TCU…and there lies the problem. The Bears scored a ridiculous come-from-behind win over TCU four weeks ago when a late field goal lifted them to a 61-58 win. Yet the Bears were six spots behind the Horned Frogs going into the weekend.

With Kansas State still having road games at West Virginia and at Baylor there’s the very likely scenario that it’ll be TCU and Baylor left at the top of the standings when the season ends. By way of the head-to-head win, the Bears would be conference champs but TCU would most likely be the highest ranked team in the playoff standings.

When asked about the scenario after the game, TCU head coach Gary Patterson replied that Minnesota was 7-2. It was an obvious shot at Baylor’s non-conference schedule. TCU beat the Golphers 30-7 on September 13 and Baylor beat…well…no one of worth in their non-conference schedule. Yet, Baylor still has that 61-58 win in their back pockets.

“If they can’t see what we have in front of us, I can’t help them,” Patterson said when asked about his team’s chances of making the playoff. “Bottom line is, there it is. It’s laid out. Here’s what you’ve got to do. They’re smart kids. They’re mature. They understand what we’ve got to do.”

*Section Photo credit to Cooper Neill, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Matthew Emmons, USA Today Sports

Hoosiers Waste Great Defensive Performance, Fall 13-7 to Penn State
Hoosiers Waste Great Defensive Performance, Fall 13-7 to Penn State