TCU pulls off historic comeback to beat Oregon in 2016 Alamo Bowl

TCU was already without the suspended Trevone Boykin against Oregon in the Alamo Bowl Saturday night. Then, after TCU was down 31-0 at halftime, it was without the shirt that Gary Patterson was wearing to begin the game.

Patterson said he swapped tops in order to, per the ESPN broadcast, “change the energy.” Given that the Horned Frogs then came back to win in triple overtime (with, yes, Oregon suffering two huge injuries), it’s hard to blame him.

Oregon’s 2015 season ended in San Antonio at the Alamo Bowl, with quarterback Vernon Adams wearing a headset on the sidelines, as Adams watched his team blow a 31-0 halftime lead that he built against TCU. That was a perhaps a fitting way for a strange, up-and-down Ducks season to end, but it was not a fitting finish for Adams, who left the game after a big hit late in the second half.

Adams came to Oregon as a graduate transfer from FCS Eastern Washington. The fact that an FCS quarterback made waves at a top-tier FBS program is unusual, but Adams’ year has been crazy even beyond his decision. He was banned from Eastern Washington’s facilities, then didn’t actually graduate until he passed a math test in mid-August. He arrived at Oregon with two weeks to prepare and learn the Ducks’ playbook, but he still earned the starting quarterback job. Then, in his first game, he broke his pinky, causing him to miss three games and barely play in another.

You either watched it on Saturday night, or you gave up on the game, went to a movie, and found out when you got out: TCU spotted Oregon a 31-0 halftime lead, flipped the script and forced overtime, then won after three overtime periods, 47-41. It was as crazy as it sounded.

There’s a point in seemingly every basketball blowout loss when your opponent, likely at home and already winning, nails some ridiculous 30-foot bank shot as the shot clock expires. That is the moment when you know your team officially has no chance. Fate has plans for you.

Oregon appeared set to run away with the Alamo Bowl, bursting out to a 31-0 lead over TCU. The script seemed pre-written. A Horned Frogs team with its backup QB was simply outmatched against an Oregon team whose biggest losses were when their QB was hurt. We’d seen a lot of bad bowl blowouts this year, and this was just the latest.

But after halftime, the Horned Frogs bounced back. They turned their deficit into a thrilling 47-41 victory in triple overtime. It matches the largest comeback ever in a bowl game, tying Texas Tech over Minnesota in the 2006 Insight Bowl. Since that game, the past 1,463 teams trailing by 31 points or more had lost. Until Saturday night.

The second half of the Alamo Bowl has been crazy, with TCU making an insane comeback with 28 unanswered points.

For this unfortunate Ducks fan, he ended up seated in the middle of a sea of TCU fans, and the guy sticks out like a sore thumb.

It’s hard for fans to be quiet when your team is making a 2nd half comeback thanks, in part, to Gary Patterson’s change of shirt.

This TCU lady is one of those fans, and her fellow TCU fans quickly reminded her that **whispers** you gotta stay quiet when your offense is on the field.

Oregon is whooping TCU in the Alamo Bowl. They have four touchdowns for a 28-0 lead. TCU has five first downs. Oregon has 342 yards. TCU has 135. It’s bad.

Late in the second quarter, TCU actually got a stop on third down, forcing an Oregon punt deep in their own territory. TCU linebacker Garrett Kaufman actually broke through and blocked the kick ... and Oregon’s DeForest Buckner snatched it out of the air and ran eight yards on 4th-and-7 for a first down.

Oregon is bringing its slick uniforms to bowl season, preferring to go more modern than to stick with the “classic” look all four Nike teams wore in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks will be wearing all-whites against TCU in the Alamo Bowl. From the Oregon Twitter account:

Full uniform:

The Alamo Bowl will feature possibly the most exciting matchup of the entire 2015 bowl season, as No. 15 Oregon and No. 11 TCU get together to set off some fireworks. The Horned Frogs and Ducks have two of the nation’s most explosive offenses, and the likelihood of a shootout is very high in the Alamodome.

TV: 6:45 p.m. ET Jan. 2, ESPN

TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, in San Antonio for his team’s Jan. 2 Alamo Bowl against Oregon, was arrested early Thursday. Security video released by TMZ Saturday (H/T Sporting News) appears to show Boykin being thrown out of a bar and fighting with bouncers before being arrested.

From News 4 San Antonio:

Three months is a pretty long time, long enough to change the narratives a few times over. Such is the power of time, and such is the power of an exciting quarterback.

Still, the twists and turns in Oregon’s 2015 campaign have been uniquely frequent.

Herm Edwards sounded off on Trevone Boykin’s arrest Thursday morning and he was not pleased. Edwards was speaking to the top high school players in the country at practice ahead of the All-America game when he lit into the TCU quarterback, saying that he let his team down, the university down and his parents down.

Edwards’ fiery words are trying to help these kids avoid making bad choices and they come from a good place, but it’s a little hasty to go after Boykin so directly. TCU has made the decision to suspend Boykin (along with teammate Preston Miller) for violating team rules, but thus far we only have the police account of what happened on Wednesday night.

Oregon is leading the way in college football design again, but this time, it’s going beyond the uniforms. The Ducks’ bowl opponent is joining in, too.

Thanks to Nike, Oregon and TCU will both have unique Alamo Bowl end zones.

TCU opened as a 1.5-point favorite, but the line quickly moved toward even. Currently, the game is a pick’ em, according to Oddsshark. Oregon is undefeated against the spread away from Autzen Stadium this season. Oregon fans might not want to help move the line too much in the Ducks’ favor: TCU has beaten the spread in both games this season in which it was an underdog.

Oregon could be playing without offensive coordinator Scott Frost, who left to become head coach at Central Florida this offseason. No word on whether Frost will be with the team for the Alamo Bowl has been made yet. TCU could also be without co-coordinator Sonny Cumbie, who may take the open offensive coordinator spot with the Texas Longhorns. Despite the potential loss of both coordinators, Vegas is convinced there will be plenty of points. The over/under has been set at 74 points, the highest of any game this bowl season.

_{Confused? Check out the advanced-stats glossary here.}

_{Statistical profiles index.}

We at SB Nation love bowls for one simple reason: they’re college football games. If there were fewer bowl games, there would be fewer college football games before the eight-month offseason void. We welcome bowls of all shapes, sizes, locales, and levels of importance. You don’t have to watch Colorado State vs. Nevada (and you might not be able to), but we damn sure will.

Still, there are very watchable bowls, and there are less-watchable bowls. I’m here to help you differentiate.

The Valero Alamo Bowl is one of the few games held between New Year’s Day and the National Championship Game after spending most of its history being played in December. Instead, it will be on Jan. 2 and will feature another matchup of the Big 12 and Pac-12.

After three straight years on the losing end, the Pac-12 is back to .500 in the history of the Alamo Bowl, with back-to-back wins in the last two years. The conference will look to make it three-in-a-row in another game against the Big 12, which has had a conference tie-in with the Alamo Bowl for two decades.

Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost will leave for UCF. He’s the first hire by new UCF AD Danny White, who arrived from Buffalo after drawing record-setting Division III head coach Lance Leipold.

He brings Oregon’s high-powered offense, which has smashed records for years. This year, despite losing Heisman winner Marcus Mariota to the first round of the NFL, it returned to being one of the country’s best after overcoming injuries to quarterback Vernon Adams, ranking No. 8 in S&P+.