The first game of the 2015 season between two Big 12 teams from Texas turned into a shootout. And when the smoke cleared, it was No. 3 TCU that staggered out of its battle with Texas Tech with a 55-52 win.
TCU vs. Texas Tech final score, with 3 things to know from the Horned Frogs’ 55-52 win
The Horned Frogs got a tip-drill touchdown to hold off the Red Raiders.
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
The teams traded points until the late stages of the fourth quarter, with TCU holding a 33-28 halftime lead and the Red Raiders scoring in double digits in each of the game’s four quarters. But the defenses showed up in the final moments, with both teams getting stops to give their offenses a shot to win it on the field.
The Horned Frogs would eventually have the last shot, and drove all the way to the Texas Tech 4-yard-line for a decisive fourth down. At first, Trevone Boykin's throw to Josh Doctson appeared to have failed TCU.
But Doctson's attempt to catch the ball actually tipped it to Aaron Green, who tapped his foot in at the back of the end zone to save the day for the Horned Frogs.
And that’s how TCU stayed undefeated and kept its status as a front-runner to make the College Football Playoff.
Three things to know
1. Points are fun, and they happen when TCU plays Texas teams. Last season, TCU scored 58 points on Baylor, 82 points on Texas Tech and 48 points on Texas. This year, the Horned Frogs dropped 55 on the Red Raiders.
That’s a rolling average of 61.5 points per game over their last four games against in-conference Lone Star State foes. That’s not bad, and you should probably set your DVR for the Horned Frogs’ meetings with Baylor and Texas later this season.
2. Josh Doctson's biggest catch was the one he didn't make. The TCU wide receiver was dominant on this Saturday, making a record 18 receptions for 267 yards and three touchdowns. But it was his ability to sky over the defense and get a hand on Boykin's last pass that made it possible for Green to make just his second catch of the evening.
Doctson is probably fine with not having 19 catches at this point.
3. Defense? Who needs defense? This was a classic of offense, but not a game in which either defensive coordinator earned much of the thousands of dollars he is no doubt paid. And that was with both Boykin and Texas Tech QB Pat Mahomes missing on at least 20 passes each.
But when a game crosses the century mark, swings on a tip-drill TD, and ends on a wild multi-lateral Hail Mary on an untimed down, well, we’ll forgive it.
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