The Texas Longhorns hosted one of their in-state rivals, Texas Christian, on Thanksgiving. Texas has played extremely well in their last 3 games and TCU is holding onto hope that they will be one of the four teams invited to the inaugural playoff party.
Trevone Boykin who was one of the Heisman hopefuls in the beginning and middle of the season had a rough night. This could have been a night where he could have showcased his strengths and vaulted himself to being invited to the party and at least be in the conversation for consideration. However, he failed to do so. He finished the night with the following stats:
Passing: 20 of 34 for 232 yards. He recorded 2 TD’s and 1 INT.
Rushing: 12 carries for 50 yards for a 4.2 yard average.
Trevone had one real target in the game and that was Josh Doctson. He had 7 receptions for 114 yards and 1 TD.
Tyrone Swoopes tried to propel the Longhorns over the Horned Frogs, but he could just not do it. However, he had a pretty productive night even against TCU’s stingy defense. Swoopes finished the night with the following numbers:
Passing: 20 of 34 for 200 yards. He added 1 TD. However, he had 4 INT’s.
Rushing: 15 carries for 61 yards for a 4.1 yards average. However, he also had a fumble that was returned for a TD.
The overall yardage was not a decisive advantage for the Horned Frogs. When you look at the stats, you would not expect a big victory. Here is the breakdown for the game:
Texas TCU
Rushing 91 138
Passing 200 232
Total Yards 291 370
In the end Swoopes’ FIVE turnovers and Quandre Diggs fumbled punt led to 31 points and that was the difference in the game.
The Big Question
With this win, could this surge TCU into serious conversation for one of the 4 playoff spots. Could this win also actually bump the reigning champs out of the playoffs even if they continue to win; especially if their wins are lackluster which has been the case all year.
There are “5 Power Conferences”, so one conference has to be left out. Two if the SEC grabs two. But, for the sake of this argument; we will “slide” Miss State down. You can make the argument that Alabama (SEC), Oregon (Pac 12), Ohio State (Big Ten) and TCU (Big 12) will deserve the 4 spots over Florida State even if they are the only perfect team from the Power Five. Now, that would be something else. For this to even be a possibility, Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon would have to win out and that will be no easy task.
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