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Three Up, Three... Up?: TCU Slams the Door on the Horns

After completely annihilating the Horns in Fort Worth, there's not a down to be had in Funky Town. So let's celebrate some of the best performances of the day instead.

By Melissa B. Triebwasser
Tom Pennington/Getty Images

A week after a game that had the majority of Frog Nation needing heart medication, TCU made sure there would be no nerves frayed on their home field, effectively ending the game against the Longhorns before the first quarter came to a close. It was as happy a Homecoming as you could hope for, so I'm not here to rain on your parade. If I have any complaints after that 50-7 destruction, it's the garbage time touchdown allowed, the crime against humanity that was that uniform combination (but hey, you want to beat teams 50-7, wear whatever the hell you want), and the emptying of the stadium in the second half - though there was something almost poetic about the fact that the game was so out of hand, against TEXAS, that people felt they could walk out. But, that's beside the point - let's get to the fun stuff.

UP: TREVONE BOYKIN - Yep, he good. The senior quarterback had a tidy day at the office, throwing for an efficient 332 yards and five touchdowns in just three quarters of work, becoming the Frog's all time leader in passing touchdowns in the process.

He did all that without two of his best weapons (Listenbee, who was on the sideline but never saw the field, and Slanina who is out for the season), as well as one of their replacements (Porter who is still recovering from an injury suffered early in the game against Texas Tech). While other players in the country get more hype, TCU's #2 continues to put up ridiculous numbers. Deuce is in the top ten nationally in passing yardage (1802), yards per attempt (9.6), and passer rating (174.0). He also leads in the nation in passing touchdowns with 19. While he hasn't run the ball as explosively as he did in the past, it's simply because he hasn't needed to - and because he is so much more patient in the pocket and looking to put the ball in the hands of the multitudes of playmakers he has at his disposal. Maybe we are on borrowed time with all the injuries, maybe we are playing with house money and it will eventually be too much to overcome, but as long as this guy is behind center, the Frogs will always have a shot.

UP: JOSH DOCTSON - After his ridiculous day in Lubbock, Doc's seven catches for 129 yards and two scores felt almost ho-hum. But it's a testament to his greatness that when everyone in the stadium - coaches, players, fans - all know the ball is going to #9 on a fade route to the end zone early in the first quarter; and sure enough, the play is a fade route to Doctson in the end zone, and he still makes the play... he's just beyond special. Doc set the all time receiving touchdown record for the Frogs with his second score of the day, and the previous record-holder (Super Bowl winner Josh Boyce) was in the house to see it.

Assuming he continues on the pace of scoring 1.5 touchdowns a game, Doc will have a chance to put that record far out of reach of being broken - and will have done it in only three seasons. He is arguably the best wide receiver in TCU history, and might be the best in college football today. With 722 yards on the season to go along with his eight scores, he has more yards and more yards per game than any other major conference player, and trails only Baylor's Corey Coleman in scoring - and he has done that while playing three Power Five teams.

UP: TRAVIN HOWARD AND MONTREL WILSON - Talk about rising to the challenge. After getting torched by Tech a week ago, the TCU defense as a whole played much better, led by their two freshmen linebackers. The pair of converted safeties had 21 tackles - at the half - along with a sack and two TFLs. They, combined with the improvement on the defensive line, kept the Texas running game in check, as well as corralling the dangerous Jerrod Heard in the pocket and not allowing him to make plays with his feet. The QB who Oklahoma State said was "the best athlete we will see all year" was limited to 72 yards passing and rushing COMBINED by an inspired TCU D, led by the young guys in the middle of the field. Things won't get any easier for the Frogs on the road under the lights in Manhattan next week, regardless of who the Cats line up behind center, but the improvement shown against Texas will go a long way towards a newfound confidence as Big 12 play continues.

UP: JADEN OBERKROM AND ETHAN PERRY - After struggling in his last game, the Frogs steady Legatron got going again against the Horns, knocking both of his field goal attempts through the uprights and limiting Texas' Kris Boyd's damage to halftime tweeting. Perry on the other hand, was near perfect on the day - pinning the Horns inside the 20 on five of his six punts, and averaging 42 yards a kick. With the dangerous Daje Jonhson on the receiving end, Perry never allowed him to challenge the young kick coverage team of TCU - as Johnson had one return for zero yards. It was an excellent day on special teams for all of the involved players.

KAVONTAE TURPIN OH NO HE DIDN'T UP OF THE WEEK - The award we named for #TurpinTime goes to the man himself, as the true freshman swiss army knife was once again all over the field for the offense. In addition to his 26 yard kick return, Turp was pretty good in all phases of the game - going off for four touchdown receptions on six catches for 138 yards. Two of Turp's TCU record tying - and Big 12 freshman record breaking - four touchdowns went for 49 yards or longer, including this easy one that included a nifty juke on his way to the end zone

But I think there is as much value to what KT does for TCU off the field as what he does on it, as this is clearly a team first, positive, fun-loving kid who adores the game of football and will do anything for his teammates. I mean, just listen to the GP presser when he talks about his true freshman wide receiver that has apparently never had a bad day. While he did fumble a punt for the first time this season, he more than made up for that minor miscue with a handful of ridiculous plays later. He is a special talent, and more importantly, seems like a special person, too.

Yeah, it's Texas, and yeah, their offense isn't good - but this was as complete game we have seen from the Frogs in 2015. To win it all, you have to be able to win ugly, but you have to be able to dominate your opponents in all phases of the game, too. That's what TCU did on Saturday. They were better on offense. They were better on defense. They were better on Special Teams. And they were better than they were a week ago. Feel free to get nit-picky in the comments, but for now, on to Kansas State!

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