TCU Upends Oklahoma
{fshare id=5601}
FORT WORTH, Texas — Quarterback Trevone Boykin made plays with his feet and his arm, befuddling Oklahoma’s defense for long stretches Saturday and leading No. 25 TCU to a 37-33 upset win over the No. 4 Sooners 37-33 at Amon Carter Stadium.
“We’re not too pumped or too hyped because we feel like we can play with teams like this,” Boykin said. “People were just doubting us. Today, we proved that we could play with anybody in the Big 12.”
For much of TCU’s first two seasons in the Big 12, the defense kept the Horned Frogs in games while the offense often let games slip away in the end.
“With our group last year, they fought and came back,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “You don’t lose to five teams by less than 11 points total without fighting back. This group here learned how to fight back.”
That’s why Patterson brought in co-offensive coordinators Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meacham to install the Air Raid offense with a twist — Boykin’s running ability.
Boykin got the Horned Frogs there, tying the score at 31 with his 29-yard touchdown pass to wide-open Deante’ Gray midway through the third quarter.
Then TCU’s defense took over.
Linebacker Paul Dawson picked off Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight in the
flat in the opening minute of the fourth quarter and took it back 41 yards for a touchdown to put the Horned Frogs ahead.
A few minutes later, just after Boykin’s fumble gave the Sooners the ball at the TCU 21, the defense came up with another big play.
This time, it was safety Chris Hackett picking off Knight.
The Sooners had two more chances in the final minutes but came up short each time.
On third-and-2 from the TCU 23, safety Derrick Kindred pushed Knight back as he stretched toward the first down marker, forcing the Sooners to go for it on fourth down.
The Horned Frogs (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) held freshman running back Samaje Perine short of the first down on the next play, giving them the ball on downs.
The Sooners got the ball back in the final minute, but Knight’s Hail Mary attempt went out of bounds in the end zone, sealing TCU’s first-ever win over the Sooners (4-1, 1-1) at home.
The Sooners went away from the running game for stretches of the second half, but Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said play calling wasn’t the issue.
“There is no magical play calling,” Stoops said. “The bottom line is it’s execution and they performed better than we did.”
Boykin threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 77 yards.
Knight passed for 309 yards and a touchdown but had two critical interceptions.
TCU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in about nine minutes with Boykin making plays with his arm instead of his feet.
The Horned Frogs also had a bit of good fortune on the first drive.
Boykin’s pass was tipped near the line of scrimmage, but receiver Josh Doctson adjusted and came down with the catch, going 21 yards.
Six plays later, Boykin fumbled into the end zone on third-and-goal at the 1, but tight end Cliff Murphy was there to fall on the ball for the touchdown.
“That allowed us to handle it,” Patterson said of the early lead. “Every time it got tied, as far as I’m concerned, the game was 0-0 and that’s what I told them. Don’t even look up there (at the scoreboard). You just have to keep playing and go make plays. That’s how you beat good football teams.”
The Sooners came back with two big plays from junior wide receiver Sterling Shepard.
Right after running back B.J. Catalon put TCU up two touchdowns on a 7-yard run, Knight found Shepard for a 53-yard gain to set up the Sooners’ first score.
A little more than three minutes after Perine’s 1-yard touchdown gave the Sooners a 14-7 lead, Shepherd tied the score on a 75-yard touchdown reception.
Oklahoma’s secondary had been a strong point for the most part in the Sooners’ first four games, but Oklahoma struggled to cover the Horned Frogs in their new-look Air Raid offense.
Catalon caught a wide-open 39-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter that put TCU up 21-14, and the Sooners had several more coverage breakdowns.
“They had run a play we hadn’t seen before, but poor execution on our parts,” Sooners cornerback Zack Sanchez said. “We’ve got to be tighter on those things and get those things fixed so that type of thing doesn’t happen in the future.”
