Aaron Green hauled in an incredible tip into the back of the end zone to help the TCU Horned Frogs survive against Texas Tech. Green made it look like it was all planned for TCU as they barely survived the thriller and according to him was just following orders.
"You never know with the ball, somebody might fumble, or anything like that," the senior running back said. "So I knew there was a chance. Josh Doctson catches almost everything, but there's a chance. I knew he might not have caught it because it was a little high and the guy was behind him. So I just did what I was told and I followed the ball. I saw it the whole way, and I caught it."
Trevone Boykin threw for 485 yards and 4 touchdowns in the outing, and Aaron Green rushed for over 160 yards, but the real star was wide receiver Josh Doctson. "He made the play," Doctson said. "He saved us, so we're 4-0." Doctson caught 18 passes for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns. Doctson was Boykin's favorite target on the night, consistently moving the chains and had a long catch of 52 yards. Brandon Chatman of ESPN shared a stat from TCU: WR Josh Doctson is the first Horned Frog with 10 receptions in a game since Trevone Boykin against West Virginia in 2013.
"I've gone from one baby aspirin to two," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "I may go extra-strength Tylenol. Jiminy Christmas."
Patrick Mahomes passed for 392 yards and 2 touchdowns. Washington had 188 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns and Grant added 126 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. Mahomes was injured in the first quarter but continued playing and had a hell of a game when it was all said and done. "He wasn't his normal self, I think you could see that," Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said of Mahomes' injury. "But he hung in there, had a gutsy performance."
TCU now stands at 4-0, barely. Texas Tech tried to pull out the unthinkable but just fell short. TCU will play Texas next week in what normally would be a big game, but Texas has really been lacking lately. TCU's defense is a question mark agaisnt Texas but they should do well.
We've seen top teams struggle this year. USC lost to Stanford recently, Ohio State had offensive struggles. The playing field seems much more even than ever before. Ohio State is the clear favorite, TCU looks solid still, but games like this make you wonder: Is TCU the real deal? How can they handle against powerful teams they may face in the playoffs? We won't know answers to these questions now, but TCU as it stands is 4-0.