MMQB: TCU moves Mountaineers; Cowboys up next

The Frogs moved to 8-0 on the season with a 40-10 win over West Virginia on Thursday, with Trevone Boykin making highlight reel move after highlight reel move to impress the nation and gain some ground on Heisman frontrunner Leonard Fournette. It was a solid win for TCU, but most importantly, everyone was watching.

The Good

Trevone Boykin is ridiculous. Equally ridiculous is the thought that Fournette is the clear favorite for the Heisman Trophy. It should be a two-man race to the finish, and anything less is a travesty.

Last week the MMQB was dedicated to pointing out why Trevone should be the Heisman frontrunner, comparing his stats at this point to the stats of the past four Heisman-winning QBs. Here's an updated table for your viewing pleasure.

Statistics Through 8 Games
Year	Player	Pass Yards	Pass TDs	Rush Yards	Rush TDs	Total YPG	400+ passing yards	500+ total yards	4 total TDs*	5 total TDs*	Total TDs
2015	Boykin	2,927	28	524	6	431.3	3	3	7	5	34
2014	Mariota	2,283	24	325	5	326.0	0	0	5	2	29
2013	Winston	2,502	24	153	3	331.8	1	0	4	2	27
2012	Manziel	2,216	16	793	13	376.1	1	2	5	4	29
2011	Griffin III	2,781	26	375	4	394.5	3	0	4	3	30
*single game

And here are their stats at the end of the season.

Complete Season Statistics
Year	Player	Pass Yards	Pass TDs	Rush Yards	Rush TDs	Total YPG	400+ passing yards	500+ total yards	4 total TDs*	5 total TDs*	Total TDs
2015	Boykin+	4,756	45	851	9	425.5	5	5	11	8	55
2014	Mariota (14 gms)	4,454	42	770	15	373.1	0	0	10	4	57
2013	Winston (13 gms)	4,057	40	219	4	328.9	1	0	6	2	44
2012	Manziel (13 gms)	3,706	26	1,410	21	393.5	1	3	8	6	47
2011	Griffin III (13 gms)	4,293	37	699	10	384.0	4	1	7	3	37
*single game
+ projection for 13 games based on current stats

Both Fournette and Boykin have their biggest challenge to this point of the 2015 season coming up, with LSU set to play Alabama, and TCU heading to Stillwater to play Oklahoma State.

TCU's defense was also much better on Thursday night, holding West Virginia to 327 yards of offense, their lowest output since September 21, 2013, when they were shut out 37-0 by Maryland. Yes, West Virginia dropped several big passes that could have been touchdowns, but this defensive showing was about more than dropped passes. They held the Mountaineers to 166 yards in the second half while forcing three punts, a turnover on downs, and an interception. It was a quality performance for a young defense that's improving week-to-week.

And of course, we can't get through "the good" without getting to Josh Doctson, who set the TCU single-season receptions record with seven first-half catches. He finished with 11 for 183 yards and two touchdowns, his sixth consecutive 100+ yard, 2 touchdown performance, placing him in rare air.

Josh Doctson joins Michael Crabtree as the only FBS receivers in the past 20 seasons with 6 straight games of 100 receiving yds and 2 TD.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 30, 2015

The Bad

More injuries. TCU's starting left tackle, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, was rolled up on in the midst of Trevone Boykin's one sack taken on Thursday night. He had his right leg examined on the sideline, and did not return to the game. Joseph Noteboom came on to replace him and played okay, but Big V is a huge presence on the offensive line, and would be greatly missed this Saturday against an Oklahoma State squad tied for second in the country with 30 sacks on the season.

Montrel Wilson suffered a shoulder injury while attempting to make a tackle and missed the majority of the game, with Ty Summers coming in as his replacement. Fortunately, his injury wasn't serious, and he is expected to play on Saturday.

Derrick Kindred was also banged up on Thursday, tweaking a shoulder on a hard landing after going up for a potential interception. Fans didn't take kindly to David Sills, a freshman QB turned WR, taking out Kindred while he was in the air. The play was not flagged for a penalty.

The Record

TCU is now 8-0 on the season, marking the 10th time a TCU team has won at least eight games under Gary Patterson. In that same amount of time, TCU has won at least 10 games nine times, eleven games eight times, twelve games three times, and thirteen games once.

The Next Opponent: Oklahoma State

The Cowboys (8-0, 5-0) are flying pretty under the radar for the No. 12/10 team in the country. I still don't know what to make of them after a 70-53 win in Lubbock. Their opponents are a combined 25-39 on the season, with only three wins coming against teams that currently have a winning record (Central Michigan, Central Arkansas, Texas Tech). When we compare common opponents, we get this:

Opponent	TCU	OSU
Texas	W 50-7 (vs.)	W 30-27 (@)
West Virginia	W 40-10 (vs.)	W 33-26 (@)
Kansas State	W 52-45 (@)	W 36-34 (vs.)
Texas Tech	W 55-52 (@)	W 70-53 (@)

Both teams have played Texas Tech close in Lubbock (OSU's final touchdown came on a pick-six with less than ten seconds remaining in the game). They both played close games against Kansas State, albeit TCU was in Manhattan while Oklahoma State was in Stillwater. TCU blew the doors off of Texas, and ran away from West Virginia, while Oklahoma State needed every second to fend off the Horns and 'Eers.

Oklahoma State utilizes both quarterbacks, Mason Rudolph and J.W. Walsh, and they seem to be okay with it. Rudolph is the pure passer and the starter, with Walsh making appearances in red zone situations, and when Oklahoma State wants to mix it up on the ground. Walsh finished the game against Tech, helping seal the comeback with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

The Frogs will be hard-pressed to come out of Stillwater unscathed, but if this turns into a shootout I like TCU's chances.

The Staff Standings

Rank	Name	This Week	All Time	% Correct	Closest Score
1	Andrew Felts	9-1	82-19	81.2%	12
T-2	Mason Jamboogie	8-2	81-20	80.1%	10
T-2	RustyFrog	9-1	81-20	80.1%	7
T-2	Marshall Weber	8-2	81-20	80.1%	5
5	HToadSwayze	7-3	79-21	78.2%	10
T-6	Melissa Triebwasser	7-3	78-23	77.2%	11
T-6	Jamie Plunkett	8-2	78-23	77.2%	7
8	Simone Elices	7-3	72-29	71.2%	8
T-12	Samantha Calimbahin	9-1	71-30	70.2%	10
T-12	Warrior Horned Frog	8-2	71-30	70.2%	8
T-12	Hawkeyed Frog	6-4	71-30	70.2%	7
T-12	Scott Boase	8-2	71-30	70.2%	2

Here are the games we'll be picking this week.

Big 12

Kansas State (3-4) vs. No. 2 Baylor (7-0) (Thursday)

West Virginia (3-4) vs. Texas Tech (5-4)

No. 14 Oklahoma (7-1) vs. Iowa State (3-5)

Texas (3-5) vs. Kansas (0-8)

No. 5 TCU (8-0) @ No. 12 Oklahoma State (8-0)

Around the Country

No. 3 Clemson (8-0) vs. No. 17 Florida State (7-1)

Pittsburgh (6-2) vs. No. 8 Notre Dame (7-1)

No. 15 Memphis (8-0) vs. Navy (6-1)

No. 7 Alabama (7-1) vs. No. 4 LSU (7-0)