MMQB: Pony Struggles, TCU Ranks, Texada's ACL, Tech Up Next

TCU is 3-0 after a less-than-impressive 56-37 victory over the SMU Mustangs. Here's what we should all take away from this game, as we put a lid on the TCU-SMU coverage.

The Good

Trevone Boykin's stellar day was shadowed by a poor defensive showing from the Frogs. He amassed 504 yards of offense and six touchdowns. His 454 passing yards was good for his second best performance of his career (behind 460 passing yards vs. Iowa State in 2014, and ahead of 433 passing yards against Texas Tech in 2014). We also witnessed the first #BoykinFlip of the 2015 season (keep your feet on the ground, young man) and a stellar 20-yard touchdown scramble.

Aaron Green also got in on the action, as he ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Green looked much more like his 2014 self, making guys miss, and turning average gains into big ones.

Meanwhile, let us never forget this Josh Doctson catch.

JOSH. DOCTSON. What a #Touchdown grab by the senior to extend @TCUFootball's lead to 49-37. http://t.co/e3k8Nkdoql

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 20, 2015

Meanwhile, the Frogs moved up a spot in the Coaches Poll to No. 2, thanks to a loss by Alabama. They maintained their No. 3 spot in the AP Poll, although they now share that slot with Ole Miss.

The Bad

Ranthony Texada is the latest Frog defender to go down for the season after suffering a torn ACL, and at some point we have to start asking what the revised reasonable expectations are for this defense. Even while Texada was in the game, SMU was completing passes almost at will. SMU wound up totaling over 500 yards of offense and racking up 37 points, including 20 on four consecutive drives in the second half.

Michael Downing is completely overmatched at weak safety, which is not a knock on him as a human being, rather just a recognition that he is athletically outmatched. Meanwhile, Torrance Mosley and Corry O'Meally both struggled in coverage, being flagged multiple times for pass interference.

Nick Orr needs to be placed at either corner or safety, because he's struggling to do both right now. That's also not a knock on his ability or intelligence, as almost anyone would be overwhelmed by being flip flopped around like that. I would assume that his switching back and forth during the SMU game was out of necessity, and hopefully he'll be allowed to settle in to one position (probably corner) from here on out.

The question remains, who could step up? Guys like Arico Evans, Ridwan Issahaku and Deshawn Raymond may need to get a larger opportunity to contribute on defense for this ship to remain upright.

The Bad To Your Bones

In the newest feature of the MMQB, we present this week's "Bad To Your Bones" award to KaVontae Turpin. Turpin amassed a team leading 190 all-purpose yards, including 105 kick return yards and 79 receiving yards. Gary Patterson compared the shifty true freshman to Jeremy Kerley after the game, which only confirms what fans have been saying about the kid for a few weeks.

The Next Game: Texas Tech

This game looks a lot more daunting than it did before the season. The Red Raiders sit at 3-0, coming off a nice win in Fayetteville over Arkansas. After the game, Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury launched into Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema.

It seems the Razorbacks cannot catch a break, and all the blame leads back to Bielema (and several huge injuries, sound familiar?).

Can TCU still win in Lubbock next week? Absolutely. It certainly seems like this game will be a shootout, rather than a one sided affair, but there's no reason to think the Frogs can't come out of this week 4-0. It will be tougher than expected, but the Frogs have overcome adversity before, and they can do it again.