The No. 25 TCU Horned Frogs didn’t do the Big 12 Conference any favors for the Big 12 Conference with a 37-33 victory over the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners. But TCU head coach Gary Patterson and his squad won’t care after one of the biggest wins in the program’s history.
For the first time since the school became a member of the Big 12 Conference, TCU asserted itself as one of the league’s premier programs. The Horned Frogs are now 1-0 in conference play and ready to make a run.
The problem with the victory is members of the Big 12 Conference are already beating up on each other. The Sooners were considered one of the top candidates to make the inaugural College Football Playoff. TCU, on the other hand, wasn’t ranked in the Top 25 prior to the start of the season and has a major hill to climb to be considered in the same vein.
Due to a lack of depth among the teams and no conference championship, the general belief was a top Big 12 team would have to remain undefeated to even be considered for the playoff. TCU is now 4-0, but the Horned Frogs don’t get a break next week. They travel to No. 7 Baylor to determine which team truly is the cream of the crop in the conference.
Texas-OU will be a nice little warmup game to get Big 12 fans ready for TCU-Baylor next weekend.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) October 4, 2014
If TCU continues to win, it will climb the ranks and eventually enter the national conversation. But the Horned Frogs still have a very difficult schedule with Baylor, Oklahoma State and Kansas State yet to be played.
Those are concerns for tomorrow, though. The Horned Frogs can enjoy a major victory tonight.
TCU’s stingy defense made plays when it was needed most and became the deciding factor against the Sooners. Senior linebacker Paul Dawson made the game’s deciding play when he intercepted Oklahoma’s Trevor Knight and scampered 41 yards for a touchdown. TCU’s defense surrendered 461 yards, but it made crucial stops time and again.
Plus, TCU can enter next week with a newfound confidence in quarterback Trevone Boykin. The junior signal-caller was sensational with 395 total yards and a pair of touchdown passes.
The Big 12 Conference is there for the taking for TCU. The league just hopes one of its teams remains undefeated.