TCU: Trevone Boykin Gives Heisman Performance At KSU

By Christian Blood | Oct 11, 2015

The No.2 TCU Horned Frogs survive the biggest scare of the season at Kansas State on Saturday night, but only because of quarterback Trevone Boykin.

Every season three’s one of these games, one that’s kind of like a nightmare that you might have had as a child that sticks with you for a long time, perhaps even a lifetime. In some cases the bad dream is one-time thing, but in other cases it’s a recurring nuisance that seems impossible to shake.

With this kind of dream, there’s literally no remedy whatsoever like actually waking up and feeling that near-instant relief that says, “it was just a dream.”

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Such was the case for the No.2 TCU Horned Frogs in Manhattan, Kansas on Saturday night.

You can bet that the unranked Kansas State Wildcats had this date circled on the calendar for months. Aside from their annual scrum with intrastate rival Kansas, there would have been no bigger game on the 2015 Wildcats schedule.

Yes, the Wildcats weren’t playing the role of spoiler at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, which was completely packed for this highly anticipated game. This was a team that represented everything about those childhood nightmares mentioned earlier.

Kansas State might as well have been the ‘boogieman.’

If it wasn’t Heisman Trophy candidate and senior quarterback Trevone Boykin tossing two interceptions, it was that sometimes suspect TCU defense that melted during a first half in which Kansas State scored 28 points, not in the first half, but in just the 2nd quarter.

That’s right, this upstart Wildcats squad took a 35-17 lead over TCU into intermission and certainly wishes the game could have been called then.

Instead, Boykin started playing the Heisman Trophy candidate that he actually is and these Horned Frogs scored 35 points in the second half en route to a thrilling, if not highly stressful, 52-45 victory in front of a stunned crowd of 50,000-plus at one of the most difficult places to play in the Big 12.

Yes, the Kansas State faithful had every reason to believe it could – and would – win this game given not-so-distant history. TCU head coach Gary Patterson‘s team actually lost in Manhattan during his team’s first trip there as members of the Big 12 in 2013.

Boykin’s role as ‘dream catcher’ was astounding, to say the very least.

Instead of launching into a bunch of Tweets about how bad things looked at the half, and they looked pretty dire, Boykin led a charge that obviously inspired a Horned Frogs defense that gave up only 10 points in the second half. This was a dramatic reversal from the turnstile act that allowed 35 points in the first two periods, and paved the way for Boykin and a few of his friends to complete a nightmare-killing comeback win.

Boykin, running back Aaron Green and wide receiver Josh Doctson, or the ‘Horned Triplets,’ were completely unstoppable, at least when they weren’t stopping themselves.

Boykin amassed 301 yards in the air, which included two touchdowns and as many interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 124 yards on 11 carries and two more touchdowns.

Running back Aaron Green was second in rushing right behind Boykin with 121 yards on 11 carries. Green had two touchdowns and a long of 86 yards on the night.

Doctson, the 6’3” and 190lbs mismatch lined up wide each week, was his typically unstoppable self in hauling in eight catches for 155 yards and two more touchdowns for the powerful Horned Frogs offense. His final catch was a 55-yard catch and run for a his second score that broke a 45-45 tie and provided the winning margin with just over a minute left in the game.

TCU last won in Manhattan all the way back in 1985, so it’s not like there was any kind of comfort zone during this potential nightmare of a game. The Horned Frogs maintain their 13-game winning streak and can tie a school record for consecutive victories next week as TCU travels to Iowa State to face the Cyclones (2-3).

According to ESPN Heisman Watch, Boykin was the second rated football player in the country behind LSU running back Leonard Fournette.

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Published on 10/11/2015 at 12:01 PM
Last updated at 10/11/2015 at 06:11 AM

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