Jaden Oberkrom nailed a 3- yard field goal with four seconds left to give the No. 7 TCU Horned Frogs a 31-30 win over No. 20 West Virginia. The Horned Frogs will get out of Morgantown with their College Football Playoff hopes intact, and the Mountaineers will wonder what happened after they had two separate two-touchdown leads.
TCU vs. West Virginia final score: 3 things we learned from the Frogs’ 31-30 escape
The Horned Frogs came out on top of a frenetic shootout.
The game started at the pace we expected, but it was West Virginia that dictated terms. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter before TCU answered back, but that was really it for the first half. Some ugly weather conditions turned the game into a sloppy mess, and neither team looked capable of really putting a stamp on things.
The second half was a different story, though. The sloppiness remained, but both teams started scoring. The two teams combined for seven turnovers (including five West Virginia fumbles inside their own territory), and those started turning into touchdowns. The Mountaineers built a 27-14 lead in the third quarter, but TCU kept chopping away and was finally able to steal the win at the gun. B.J. Catalon was a hammer for the Frogs in the second half in particular, scoring two touchdowns and going over 100 yards rushing.
Three things we learned
1. TCU is a for-real title contender. It wasn’t pretty, but TCU was able to take care of business on the road against a very good West Virginia team. They have a tough game ahead against Kansas State on Nov. 8th, but with this win in their back pocket, it’s another line on their resume for the College Football Playoff selection committee. Bet against the Frogs at your own peril.
2. The old Trevone Boykin reared his head. Boykin has been fantastic so far this season, but he was considerably less than fantastic against the Mountaineers. He was inaccurate (12-30 for 166 yards, a touchdown and a pick) and never seemed to get comfortable, and without the consistent passing threat, the TCU offense doesn't have nearly the same explosiveness. His progress this year was not imagined, but this game serves as a reminder that Boykin is still far from a finished product as a quarterback.
3. West Virginia played with balance. Of all the things you could say about West Virginia over the past few seasons under Dana Holgorsen, "balance" was not the first word that came to mind. That's exactly what they were against the Horned Frogs, though. The offense is known for its explosive air attack, but Dreamius Smith and the ground crew went for 195 yards on 54 carries, which is a staggering number for a Dana Holgorsen team. The defense put in a good effort as well keeping TCU under 400 total yards, but unfortunately for them, it wasn't enough to win.
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