Postgame Analysis: TCU 30, Minnesota 7

HawkeyedFrog: It wasn't pretty, but you know what?  I'm okay with that.  The TCU defense was absolutely lights out in this one, reading plays, stripping the ball and stuffing Minnesota over and over again.  When everyone in the stadium knew that the Gophers were going to try and establish the run, the Frogs never let it happen and held the Gophers under 100 yards rushing on 39 attempts, and doing a wonderful job of getting off the field in letting Minnesota convert just 3 of 16 third down opportunities.  Then there were the turnovers the Frogs forced- five of them resulting  continually getting a helmet on a guy then having the second tackler go for the ball and tipping balls up into the air, to the point where there could have easily been two or three more from the gophers without me batting an eye.  Although the entire defense deserves recognition a few names bear calling out- Davion Pierson showed that he was a definite snub from the preseason All-Big 12 team, continually dashing into the backfield and dominating the Minnesota running game, Chucky Hunter was so dominant they had to run away from him, and he still ended up with a forced fumble, Derrick Kindred was amazing at safety tipping multiple balls and delivering big hits, and Ranthony Texada didn't have his name called all game- the highest praise for a freshman cornerback.

On offense things weren't quite as rosy, as Boykin missed some throws and had some absolutely boneheaded plays which scuttled a red zone opportunity and cost the Frogs about half the yardage from their biggest play of the day.  Still, he put the ball where it needed to be often enough, and after he got away from focusing on Listenbee early he did an effective job of spreading the ball around and keeping the ball moving.  I would've wanted to see TCU run the ball more, particularly after shifting formation to take advantage of confusion in the Gopher front, but since this one was in hand seemingly from the beginning it's hard to fault the coaching staff for wanting to get Boykin more game reps making reads.  Special shoutout to Josh Doctson who made an amazing one handed catch for his second touchdown and B.J. Catalon who, though underused on the ground, actually came through with a good performance catching the ball as well.  And finally, I will praise it for as long as it happens- shoutout to Cameron Echols-Luper for not only not muffing a punt, but actually managing a decent return as well- now he just needs to learn to make a fair catch instead of getting blasted.

Jamie Plunkett: Man this defense is seriously for real. And how about Josh Doctson? Beast. Some sweet videos coming in Overreaction Sunday this week, courtesy of the D and Doctson. Here are some notes from the always-great Mark Cohen.

Team Notes

*TCU has opened the season with a 2-0 record for the eighth time in the last 12 campaigns.

*The Horned Frogs won for the ninth time in their last 10 games following an open date.

*TCU improved to 4-1 versus Big Ten opponents with Gary Patterson as head coach.

*The Horned Frogs improved to 89-3 under Patterson when allowing 17 points or less.

*TCU had a touchdown drive on its opening possession for the second straight game. The Horned Frogs went 18 yards on three plays in 35 seconds after a 46-yardpunt return by Cameron Echols-Luper.

*TCU is now 63-14 at Amon G. Carter Stadium with Patterson as head coach.

*TCU evened its all-time series with Minnesota at 1-1. The Golden Gophers took a9-7 decision over the Horned Frogs in the only previous meeting in 1974.

*TCU and Minnesota will open next season on Thursday, Sept. 3, in Minneapolis.

*TCU’s team captains were Trevone Boykin, Sam Carter, Joey Hunt and Davion Pierson.

*TCU wore a purple helmet, purple jersey and black pants.

Individual Notes

*Trevone Boykin had a team-high 92 yards rushing, leaving him eight yards short of his second career 100-yard game on the ground. He completed 27-of-46 passes for 258 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

*Boykin led TCU in rushing for the sixth time in his career.

*Josh Doctson’s first two touchdown catches of the season were first-half scoring grabs of 13 and 7 yards from Trevone Boykin. He now has six touchdown catches at TCU and 11 in his collegiate career. He had five scoring grabs, including one against TCU, for Wyoming in 2011.

*Doctson, who finished with a team-best six catches for 64 yards, had the secondtwo-touchdown game of his career. He had two scoring receptions for Wyoming against Colorado State in 2011.

*B.J. Catalon’s 1-yard second-quarter scoring run was his second of the season and eighth of his career.

*Cameron Echols-Luper’s 46-yard punt return, after a 3-and-out by Minnesota on its opening drive, marked the second-longest of his career. He had a 51-yard effort versus SMU last season.

*Jaden Oberkrom was 3-of-3 on field goals with makes from 46, 45 and 37 yards. He is now 5-of-5 on the season. Dating back to last year, he’s made his last seven field goals and 15 of the past 17 with the only misses being from 54 and 62 yards.

*Oberkrom made all three of his extra-point attempts to extend his PAT streak to 88 in a row, marking a TCU career record and the third-longest current streak nationally.

*Paul Dawson had a team-best 15 tackles, including four for loss, for his sixth career game in double figures. All six of those efforts have come in the last nine contests. He also had a second-quarter forced fumble as well as the recovery to go with a pass breakup and quarterback hurry.

*Sam Carter had his first interception of the season. His 10 picks over the lastthree seasons are the most in the Big 12.

*Derrick Kindred recorded his first interception of the season and third of his career. He added eight tackles and a third-quarter fumble recovery.

*Davion Pierson had a career-high 1 1/2 sacks as part of four tackles.

*Chris Hackett had his first interception of the season and the sixth of his career.

The rest of the Frogs O' War staff will be dropping by to add in their analysis as well, so keep checking in and watch this space!