Tuesday Links O'War: August 19th, 2014

Here are your Tuesday Links O'War

The Race is (still) on.

TCU notes: Boykin, Joeckel will both play QB in season opener via the Star Telegram: 

"Patterson said the coaches wanted to pick one following the second scrimmage, but instead have opted to use both, in part to keep season-opening opponent Samford in the dark"

Patterson downplayed the idea of special packages for each quarterback, but agreed it’s no secret which quarterback is a classic thrower and which is a superior runner.

"They’ll run the same offense, but there are some running plays that the other guy does better," he said. "Every run play has a pass off of it, so a taller guy has a chance of handling the pass part of it better than the run part of it sometimes.

Position battle update: TCU QB: via Max Olson

Olson hits the nail on the head. And then some. I think we all expected Joeckel to come in and take over without any question. But now that the race is neck-and-neck, the money may be on Boykin. Coming in June, Joeckel's a stranger to this team. Boykin has their trust and has been working 80s-montage style with Cumbie and in his off-season workouts (he's lost 15 pounds and is in the best shape of his life) to win this race.

The only problem with that is, if this race is dead even, is TCU better off going with Joeckel knowing that Boykin can still be a dynamic receiver? Wouldn't you prefer to have both on the field? Boykin is playing QB throughout camp with every intention of winning that job, but no doubt that idea was crossed Patterson's mind.

We all expected Joeckel to win this in the end, but I'm betting on Boykin. There seems to be real enthusiasm about how he responded to competition this summer. Realistically, though, TCU's best course of action might be to use both QBs in their opener against Samford and then re-evaluate during the two weeks they have to prep for Minnesota.

Phil Steele on TCU being a surprise team

Steele predicts TCU at 9-3.

TCU is my most improved team in the country, even without Devonte Fields, the Big 12's preseason defensive player of the year, who was released from the university in early August. The Horned Frogs, who get 15 starters back, were better than their 4-8 record last season, losing four games by three points or fewer. I still think TCU can reach double-digit wins (counting the bowl) in '14, and I see them as an underdog only against OU, at Baylor and at Texas, but by a TD or less in each.

Other

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