TCU Football

The No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs dominated the ninth-ranked Ole Miss Rebels 42-3 in the 2014 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Wednesday.

TCU (12-1) blasted Ole Miss (9-4), earning a 42-point advantage before a fourth-quarter field goal nixed a potential shutout.

Positional Unit	1st-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	F	F
Run Offense	F	F
Pass Defense	D	D+
Run Defense	D+	C-
Special Teams	C-	C
Coaching	F	F

Pass Offense: Bo Wallace telegraphed a pair of interceptions during the first quarter and was constantly pressured, resulting in the worst "Bad Bo" day of his college career. The senior ended his final game 10-of-23 for 109 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions.

Run Offense: Ole Miss failed to sustain a rushing attack, leaving all the pressure on Wallace—and that didn't work out well. The Rebels managed a mere 14 yards on 37 attempts, which was unsurprisingly a season-worst total and average.

Ole Miss has zero offensive identity. Can't run between the tackles, can't block, Bo makes one read and bails. It's bad.

— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) December 31, 2014

Pass Defense: Put simply, the vaunted Landsharks struggled. They weren't helped by Wallace's interceptions surrendering field position, but three 25-plus-yard passing touchdowns were the secondary's fault. Keith Lewis, Cody Prewitt and Senquez Golson managed an interception each.

Run Defense: Although Ole Miss wasn't gashed on the ground, it couldn't really stop TCU, either. On first down, the Rebels allowed a meager 2.8 yards per attempt. On the other snaps, however, the Frogs racked up 5.5 YPA.

Special Teams: Will Gleeson averaged 43.1 yards per punt and blasted a 65-yarder, but eight kicks against a lethal TCU team means the offense probably isn't getting it done. Gary Wunderlich missed a 52-yard field goal before connecting on a 27-yard attempt.

Coaching: Hugh Freeze was outclassed by Gary Patterson in all three phases. Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack struggled to find an answer for the Horned Frogs' combination of pace and speed.

Positional Unit	1st-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	B+	B+
Run Offense	A-	B+
Pass Defense	A	A
Run Defense	A	A
Special Teams	A-	B+
Coaching	A	A

Pass Offense: Trevone Boykin completed 22 of 31 passes for 188 yards and three scores. However, he launched a few unnecessary passes and could've been intercepted more than five times, though the junior finished with three. Wide receiver Kolby Listenbee opened the scoring with a 31-yard double pass.

Run Offense: Since Boykin was so effective through the air, TCU didn't need much from the running game. Aaron Green tallied 67 yards and one touchdown and Boykin added 65 yards, complementing a strong performance from the wideouts.

Pass Defense: Without Laquon Treadwell, the Ole Miss receivers were again lost. However, the TCU pass rush didn't allow Wallace to find a rhythm or be comfortable in the pocket, disrupting the senior quarterback to the tune of five sacks, three picks and numerous hits.

Run Defense: The Frogs forced Ole Miss into minus-four yards during the first half, which is impressive even with sacks factoring in. Chris Hackett, Derrick Kindred and James McFarland each recorded an interception, while Marcus Mallet forced and recovered a fumble.

Do that Land Shark all you want, Frogs. You've earned it today.

— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) December 31, 2014

Special Teams: Jaden Oberkrom buried six extra points but pushed a 41-yard field goal wide. The kick-coverage unit limited Ole Miss kick returns to 21.0 yards per return, and Ranthony Texada ripped off a 65-yarder following halftime.

Coaching: Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham's aggressiveness was commendable, despite one trick play resulting in a turnover. Most importantly, though, he kept attacking Ole Miss. The TCU defense, led by coordinator Dick Bumpus, had its best performance of the season.

Follow Bleacher Report college football writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.

TCU reportedly reached an agreement with longtime head football coach Gary Patterson on a long-term contract extension over the weekend.    

Kate Hairopoulos of The Dallas Morning News confirmed the new deal with athletic director Chris Del Conte. He wouldn't provide many details, though:

TCU coach Gary Patterson got a new deal Sunday. AD Chris Del Conte would only say Patterson is taken care of "through the decade."

— Kate Hairopoulos (@khairopoulos) December 16, 2014

News of the extension comes one day after Patterson won the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, as noted by the school. It's his second time earning the honor after previously taking home the trophy in 2009.

Gary Patterson has been named the 2014 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award as voted on by the @TheFWAA! pic.twitter.com/781gHYR6hF

— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) December 15, 2014

Patterson arrived to TCU as a defensive coordinator in 1998. He took over as head coach two years later and, in an era where the coaching carousel spins rapidly each offseason, has seemed content to continue adding to the foundation he's built in Fort Worth.

He's won nearly 75 percent of his games (131-45) over that 15-year span. Equally impressive is the fact the Horned Frogs have qualified for a bowl game in all but two of those seasons. The team has gone 7-5 in those marquee games.

Next up for Patterson and TCU is a Peach Bowl clash with Ole Miss on Dec. 31. It was the program's consolation prize after narrowly missing out on the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Two teams with much bigger goals heading into the final month of the season are relegated to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta as the TCU Horned Frogs meet the Ole Miss Rebels.

The Horned Frogs did just about everything they could to make the four-team College Football Playoff field but dropped out of the No. 3 spot when the Florida State Seminoles and Ohio State Buckeyes both won their conference title games.

TCU is 7-0 straight up and 6-1 against the spread as a favorite this year.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl point spread: Horned Frogs opened as three-point favorites; the total was 56.5. (Line updates and matchup report)

Odds Shark computer prediction: 50.3-41.1 Horned Frogs

Why the Rebels can cover the spread

The Rebels have gone 9-1 SU and 8-1-1 ATS in their past 10 bowl games and faced arguably better competition throughout the year in the SEC than TCU played in the Big 12. Of course, their season was highlighted by a 23-17 home victory against the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide as 4.5-point underdogs, as they remain the only team to defeat the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff field.

Ole Miss also finished out the campaign with a 31-17 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs as 2.5-point dogs in the Egg Bowl, proving that this team still has some gas left in the tank and can play well when motivated despite losing three of four games in conference play before that.

Why the Horned Frogs can cover the spread

The Horned Frogs can approach this game in one of two ways obviously: as a highly motivated team looking to prove it should have been in the College Football Playoff or as a disappointed squad simply looking to ride out the year and put in minimal effort against the Rebels.

The former is much more likely than the latter due to head coach Gary Patterson, who has prepared his players as well as anybody in the country. TCU has won six of its last eight bowl games and went 10-2 ATS in winning 11 of 12 games this season, with the lone loss this season coming on the road against the Baylor Bears.

The Horned Frogs fell to the Bears 61-58 but still covered as seven-point underdogs.

Smart pick

This is a classic matchup of a team that got snubbed in TCU playing against another from a superior conference. The problem is, Ole Miss sputtered down the stretch in SEC play and probably will not be able to keep up with the offensively gifted Horned Frogs, who have scored 30 points or more in every game this season.

The Rebels were able to get up for a matchup with rival Mississippi State in their last game, but trying to trade points with TCU could be the team’s most difficult challenge of the year. The Horned Frogs have proved that they can rack up points and cover against almost everybody on their schedule, and it would have been interesting to see how they fared in the College Football Playoff.

Instead, look for TCU to make one final statement here.

Trends

• Mississippi is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
• TCU is 12-2 ATS in its last 14 games

Note: All spread and odds data powered by Odds Shark. Follow us on Twitter for injury updates and line move updates.

Gary Patterson's TCU Horned Frogs were left out of the College Football Playoff, but the top-notch head coach was honored with a prestigious award Wednesday.

According to Yahoo Sports' Dr. Saturday, the 54-year-old native of Rozel, Kansas, has been named the Home Depot Coach of the Year:

TCU's Gary Patterson wins Home Depot Coach of the Year while FSU's Nick O'Leary wins John Mackey Award for best TE.

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 10, 2014

Patterson led the Horned Frogs to a 11-1 record, which was good enough to make them co-Big 12 champions along with Baylor. TCU's one loss was a 61-58 defeat at the hands of the Bears, though, which was ultimately the reason why it finished the regular season No. 6 in the CFP poll.

While Patterson was obviously disappointed the Frogs were on the outside looking in of the Top Four, he was praised by many, including Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin, for the manner in which he handled the situation:

TCU coach Gary Patterson impressive during ESPN interview. Textbook example of how to publicly handle disappointing situation.

— Scott Stricklin (@ScottStricklin) December 7, 2014

No individual award will take away the sting of missing out on an opportunity to play for the national title, but Patterson is receiving some well-deserved recognition.

Per TCU football's Twitter account, he was also named the Big 12 Coach of the Year:

Congrats to @TCUCoachP on being named the @AP @Big12Conference Coach of the Year! pic.twitter.com/luvUnCjLaE

— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) December 9, 2014

According to ESPN College Football, ESPN's Brett McMurphy gathered votes from 96 FBS coaches for their coach of the year choices. Patterson received 45 percent of the vote to prove that his peers agreed with the decision:

Who's the coach of the year? TCU's Gary Patterson received 45% of the vote from 96 of 128 FBS coaches #1QFOR128 pic.twitter.com/7xRvNZxfpj

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 7, 2014

Patterson has done some great things during his 15 seasons at TCU, but 2014 has been arguably his finest coaching job.

Even though the Horned Frogs didn't quite reach their goal, Patterson has undoubtedly established them has potential championship contenders for many years to come.

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The closing statement has been heard in Fort Worth. Now, after clinching a share of the Big 12 crown with a 55-3 victory over Iowa State, the No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs await the final verdict.

Given how the College Football Playoff committee has operated each week, Gary Patterson's team should start preparing itself for good news.

Earlier this week, the 12-person board elected to have the Horned Frogs leap over an undefeated Florida State squad in the rankings—an unforeseen move that also showed how TCU has become the committee's darling.

Playoff chairman Jeff Long cited FSU's struggles with lesser opponents. After all, the 'Noles needed second-half rallies during their last three contests to outlast teams with a combined 19-16 record.

Laura Keeley of the Raleigh News & Observer objected, supplying a voice of reason amid the surprising shift.

What did TCU do with Kansas?!? RT @schadjoe Jeff Long says FSU is very close to TCU but they’ve struggled w unranked opponents.

— Laura Keeley (@laurakeeley) December 3, 2014

With that being said, while the 34-30 win over Kansas raised a few questioning eyebrows, it was really the only time TCU had a lapse against an inferior foe. The Horned Frogs hammered Oklahoma State by 33, Texas Tech by 55 and Texas by 38.

Plus, Patterson and Co. earned a trio of victories over the Big 12's top teams, defeating No. 4 Oklahoma 37-33, No. 20 West Virginia 31-30 in Morgantown and No. 7 Kansas State 41-20. TCU's success in those conference battles impressed the committee more than a three-point loss to Baylor hurt the Frogs.

And then, Iowa State happened. The No. 3 team's closing statement wasn't particularly convincing early on.

The Horned Frogs, favored by five touchdowns, per OddsShark, stumbled into a 17-3 halftime lead, with seven points resulting from a perfectly executed double pass.

In Florida State's defense, each first-half struggle was opposite a program that has qualified for bowl season. None of Miami, Boston College and Florida is especially dangerous, but each is not terrible, either.

TCU, on the other hand, hobbled by Kansas—the second-weakest Big 12 foe—and Iowa State through 30 minutes. The lackluster performance in the latter game nearly sparked a debate: Are the Frogs simply a big-game team that encounters difficulty bringing the same intensity level to matchups they're expected to dominate?

The second half against the Cyclones, however, answered that question. Scratch that, a 31-point third quarter reminded the nation what TCU was capable of doing.

Plenty of #gamecontrol from TCU in the second half. Strong performance after a sloppy first half.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 6, 2014

With more than 12 minutes remaining in the final frame, the Horned Frogs held a dominating 55-3 lead and provided little reason to be downgraded in the polls.

How exactly can the committee drop TCU behind FSU—and ultimately out of the playoff—following such an impressive day? It propelled the Frogs over an undefeated Florida State team prior to the final outing, so it's borderline unreasonable to think Baylor can jump both TCU and the 'Noles.

Additionally, the question of whether Baylor deserves the spot continues to linger, though that answer may appear completely obvious following the Bears' matchup with Kansas State. Nevertheless, Baylor's head-to-head win seems to carry little relevance at this point.

“We just believe (TCU is) an improving football team,” Long said. “We believe TCU’s a better football team at this point in time.”

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 6, 2014

Ultimately, the Frogs must let that chip fall where it may. In coachspeak, TCU controlled what it could control, which was its on-field performance during the regular-season finale.

It's clear that right now, the Horned Frogs are playing better football than Baylor, and the four-team playoff is intended to showcase the best football.

TCU has seemingly proved itself worthy of a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff, considering the committee's recent track record. The Frogs just need to hear the final verdict, and it will likely be a positive one for the co-Big 12 champions.

Follow Bleacher Report college football writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.

Even with a proven head coach and returning talent, TCU football was not expected to make this much noise. Not this fast. And yet, with only three games left in their season, the Horned Frogs have a real shot at taking the national title home this year.

If @tcufootball wins out, this might stay in @cityoffortworth @tcusid @tcu360 pic.twitter.com/3MDekqV5S1

— David Kent (@dkfotog) November 12, 2014

Texas Christian University had a very bumpy entry into power-five competition, as noted by Mark Ross in Athlon Sport's spring football preview.

So why have things turned around so quickly, and how are they a threat to win it all? Here are the main factors contributing to a potentially deep postseason run for the Purple and White:

TCU Can Win Pretty or Ugly

Squeak by in a tight contest? Yep—those types of games are on their resume. 

Defeat an offensive squad in a shoot-out? Sure, they can do that, too. We all witnessed how TCU overwhelmed Kansas State in Amon G. Carter Stadium, as chronicled by B/R featured columnist Sean Frye. The 82-27 destruction of Texas Tech (which set a school record for most points ever scored in a game) already proved TCU's explosive capabilities.

What sets the Horned Frogs apart from many contenders is the 31-30 victory over a wily West Virginia on the road.

#TCU is No. 4 in the latest #CFBPlayoff rankings. #AmpItUp pic.twitter.com/ctyDCOfjw1

— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) November 12, 2014

After making a statement by upsetting Oklahoma, then barely falling to Baylor 61-58 in a glorified Waco track meet, the Horned Frogs could have overlooked the Mountaineers and stumbled in Morgantown. The resolve TCU has shown to this point in a better-than-expected Big 12 validates a No. 4 ranking by the CFP Committee.

Horned Frogs Offense Now Strength of Team

Since the beginning of the new millennium (when Gary Patterson took over as head coach), TCU's calling card has mostly been defense. Outside of LaDainian Tomlinson and Andy Dalton, the Horned Frogs have been historically categorized by sound fundamentals and scrappy play—the quintessential underdog out of the Mountain West Conference.

For the past few years amongst Goliaths in the Big 12, the David approach has simply not worked. This is why Doug Meacham from Houston and Sonny Cumbie from Texas Tech were brought in during the offseason to rejuvenate a stagnant offense.

We are going to make history this season 9-1 #tcufootball #JustWaitOnIt

— Trevorris Johnson (@Tre_Johnson24) November 12, 2014

The results have been monumental.

According to sports-reference.com, last year Texas Christian only had one rusher total over 500 yards, and their leading receiver in touchdowns amassed just five scoring catches.

By the time TCU finishes feasting on the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, backs Aaron Green and B.J. Catalon and quarterback Trevone Boykin should all have over 500 yards on the ground. To date, the Horned Frogs also have two wideouts with seven touchdown catches on the season in Deante' Gray and Josh Doctson. 

Boykin is New York Bound

The development of signal-caller Trevone Boykin has been a wonderful thing to behold. The former wideout/running back has flourished under the quick-tempo spread attack implemented by the new regime.

Because play calls have been made simpler and therefore easier to relay and repeat at the line of scrimmage, Boykin's natural instincts and athleticism take over on a much more consistent basis. This has led to spectacular plays such as the leaping score against Kansas State that caught the attention of the NFL, as listed by Mike Huguenin.

Trevone Boykin is the catalyst for the now high-powered Horned Frog offensive attack. Rangy receivers and a slew of speedy backs round out the unit, but he is their leader and main playmaker. With 23 touchdowns and over 2,600 yards through the air, the Dallas native has performed well enough in big moments not only to have his team prime for a playoff berth, but also to have solidified his position as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

TCU has one more serious test left in Texas on Thanksgiving Night. By getting past the Longhorns, the Horned Frogs will be in the driver's seat to snatch a Sugar Bowl bid, meaning that they would be just a few quarters away from taking the big prize home.

Get ready to pucker up, big boys—it just might be time to acknowledge a new prince at the party.

Unless otherwise noted, all additional statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com. 

Ariel Bedford, a freelancer from Florida, is a contributor with Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @mpcmi.

TCU is coming off a big win over Kansas State and still has a shot at both the Big 12 title and a spot in the upcoming College Football Playoff. But the Horned Frogs must now hit the road and play as a favorite, a spot in which they're just 1-6 against the spread in their last seven tries. TCU visits Kansas Saturday afternoon.

Point spread: Horned Frogs opened as 24.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 39.4-17.7 Horned Frogs

Why the TCU Horned Frogs can cover the spread

The Frogs are 8-1 both straight up and ATS this season, after kicking Kansas State last week 41-20, covering as six-point favorites. TCU piled up 553 yards of offense against the Wildcats, 334 on the ground, and held the ball for over 35 minutes.

So since blowing that late lead and losing at Baylor, the Frogs are 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS, outgaining their last four foes by 233 yards per game and outrushing them by 168 yards per contest.

TCU has beaten Kansas each of the last two seasons, holding the Jayhawks to 12 points and 61 yards rushing per game.

Why the Kansas Jayhawks can cover the spread

The Jayhawks dumped coach Charlie Weis after that 23-0 loss to Texas back in September but are actually 3-2 ATS since then; they just picked up their first Big 12 victory of the season, beating Iowa State last week 34-14 as two-point home dogs. Kansas jumped out to a 24-0 lead and held on from there, accumulating 514 yards of offense, including 228 yards on the ground, as both freshman Corey Avery and senior Tony Pierson hit the century mark.

And quarterback Michael Cummings threw a touchdown pass, improving his touchdown-to-interception ratio to 5/1 over his last three games. Finally, while the Jayhawks have lost to TCU each of the last two seasons, they covered both those spreads, staying within 20-6 as 18-point dogs and 27-17 as 24-point dogs.

Smart Pick

TCU is rolling, putting up huge numbers on offense as it plays to impress the playoff committee. But Kansas hasn't been terrible of late, and might actually come into this game with some momentum after last week's victory.

Also, the Jayhawks have given the Frogs tough games the last two years. So the smart money here resides with the home dog.

Betting Trends

• TCU is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games on the road
• The total has gone under in five of Kansas' last six games at home

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark; all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.

There is no doubt anymore. 

The TCU Horned Frogs, after manhandling the Kansas State Wildcats 41-20 on Saturday night, deserve to be among the top four teams in college football. 

TCU dominated Bill Snyder and the always-tough-to-beat Wildcats. They got up early, scoring two touchdowns on their first two possessions, and they never looked back. 

Trevone Boykin, clearly a leading Heisman candidate now, put on a show in Fort Worth. He was responsible for four total touchdowns—including three on the ground—and 342 total yards, 123 of which came on 17 carries. 

Boykin was arguably not even the most electric player for the Horned Frogs on the night, though. 

That title may very well go to running back Aaron Green, who saw extended time with B.J. Catalon ruled out with an injury. 

He finished the day with 171 yards on 18 carries including a 65-yard touchdown. As a team, TCU rushed for 334 yards. 

That came against a K-State defense, which up to this week ranked 10th in the nation in rush defense, giving up just 100.9 yards per game. 

K-State was also giving up just 18 points per game. They allowed over twice that to the Horned Frogs. 

The Horned Frogs' defense also showed up in the only matchup featuring two top-10 teams on Saturday. While Jake Waters did finish with 291 yards and two touchdowns, the Wildcats were limited to just 5-of-14 on third-down conversions. 

K-State also only managed just 34 rushing yards on 19 attempts, a 1.8 yards per carry average. 

The thought process in the Big 12 is that, to beat K-State, you have to be perfect. You have to play mistake-free ball to beat a Snyder-coached team. 

TCU was flawless and looked like one of the nation's best teams just one week removed from a sloppy win in Morgantown. 

Now the road to the Big 12 title and the playoffs is paved with gold. 

The better team absolutely won tonight. TCU is in great shape to earn a playoff spot.

— Mark A.Kern II (@Markkern111) November 9, 2014

The Horned Frogs have two straight road games coming up—Kansas and Texas—and then finish up the year by hosting Iowa State. Those three teams are widely regarded as the three worst teams in the Big 12. 

It's almost unthinkable to think that TCU won't run through those games with ease. The Texas matchup is the only non-gimme, especially with how the Longhorns beat WVU this week. But TCU is the far better team. 

The biggest concern is the only Big 12 team they've lost to, the Baylor Bears. 

Baylor smashed Oklahoma this week and also controls its destiny to a share of the Big 12 title. But they still have to host K-State to end the season, a game in which TCU will be rooting for K-State to pull out the victory. 

If both TCU and Baylor run the table, then it's a toss-up for which one-loss Big 12 champion deserves a bid to the playoffs, and the Bears have the head-to-head advantage. But they also lost to WVU, and that loss looks a lot worse after the Mountaineers just fell to the Longhorns. 

Patterson on Baylor vs. TCU debate: "The games they have left, I don't think should mean any more than the games we've played."

— David Ubben (@davidubben) November 9, 2014

TCU's win over Minnesota is also starting to look a lot better. 

Gary Patterson, when asked about Baylor having the head-to-head edge: "I know Minnesota is 7-2…”

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 9, 2014

Ultimately, Saturday proved that not all the talent lies in the SEC—Fort Worth is ready to hang with the big boys come January. The Horned Frogs are ready for the playoffs. 

While he has been an outside contender for a Heisman Trophy for much of the season, Trevone Boykin might have shot himself to the top of the list with an outstanding performance against Kansas State.

The TCU quarterback did everything you could ask for Saturday, passing for 219 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 123 yards and three more scores. His most notable play came on this run where he would not be denied a trip to the end zone:

Bryan Fischer of NFL.com was immediately thinking about the quarterback as a Heisman finalist:

That Boykin touchdown flip will be shown in New York me thinks.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) November 9, 2014

At the very least, that will be a play that will be shown over and over again throughout the upcoming weeks and months. If you didn't know who Boykin was before this, you will now.

Of course, he was fantastic on more than just one play. He tore apart a defense that had allowed just 18.6 points per game coming into the week, including just a single touchdown over the last two contests. Even Auburn was limited to just 20 points by this top defense.

However, Boykin made big plays with both his arm and his legs to once again put up video-game numbers. Travis L. Brown of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted head coach Gary Patterson discussing the importance of the game:

“This will be the game he’ll be judged on," Patterson said of Boykin. #TCU

— 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕤 𝕃. 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟 (@Travis_L_Brown) November 4, 2014

Obviously, he lived up to the expectations, something that has been a theme throughout the 2014 season. The junior has led TCU to become one of the most explosive offenses in the country, a unit that averages over 40 points per game and has topped at least 30 every week.

The Horned Frogs even scored 58 in their only loss this season.

Max Olson of ESPN.com explained how the athleticism of the former receiver separates him from the rest of college football:

This time last year, Trevone Boykin might've been TCU's best WR. Few QBs are as fun to watch as this dude.

— Max Olson (@max_olson) November 9, 2014

He puts up huge statistics, makes outstanding plays and is leading a national title contender. This sounds a lot like a Heisman candidate to me.

Even with a loss, TCU is now in shockingly good position to play its way into the College Football Playoff. Entering the week at No. 6 in the nation, the team thoroughly destroyed No. 7 Kansas State to prove it should really be considered one of the best in the country.

With SEC teams continuing to beat up each other, the Horned Frogs can virtually control their own destiny. Although a road game against Texas on Thursday night could be difficult, the other two games on the schedule are against Big 12 bottom-feeders Kansas and Iowa State. As long as TCU plays to its ability, it should be able to win out.

Getting a bid to the playoff should solidify Boykin's status as one of the best players in college football if not the absolute best. In a year when few other offensive stars are putting up big statistics for top teams, there is no reason the TCU star should not get serious consideration for the biggest individual award in the sport.

Marcus Mariota and Dak Prescott are likely the top two contenders at quarterback while a few running backs like Melvin Gordon and Ameer Abdullah have been impressive as well. However, Boykin's latest performance should separate him from the field.

If he keeps this up, he will be raising the trophy at season's end.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.

Led by the freewheeling exploits of star quarterback Trevone Boykin, TCU notched an important 41-20 victory over Big 12 rival Kansas State on Saturday. The win leaves both teams with 5-1 conference records and keeps the Horned Frogs' College Football Playoff hopes alive.

If nothing else, this season has proven the Horned Frogs belong in the Big 12. Head coach Gary Patterson said prior to the Kansas State game that this team is prepared for bigger and better things.

“Obviously proved to all of those people that said TCU couldn’t win in the Big 12,” he said, via Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "There is still a lot of work to do. We are just touching the iceberg. I told you guys that — 'bout like when I told you someday we'd go to a BCS bowl. You kinda looked at me strange."

As the Big 12 is one of the better conferences in the nation, this bodes well for TCU's chances should it win out. This is a highly likely proposition, as the Horned Frogs' last three opponents—Texas, Kansas and Iowa State—have a combined 10-18 record this season.

The lack of a Big 12 title game could work against the Horned Frogs. It prevents them from another chance to prove their worth as one of the best teams in college football. On the other hand, winning the Big 12 title outright or on tiebreakers and getting a week off preserves their win-loss record, and other teams from the major conferences could slip up and push them through.

TCU's only loss on the season was a 61-58 thriller against Baylor, who is also 5-1 in Big 12 play. The Bears do own the head-to-head tiebreaker over TCU, which means the Horned Frogs will be hoping that Kansas State can come through and beat Baylor on Dec. 6. 

There is a chance the Horned Frogs could move into the College Football Playoff spot without necessarily winning the Big 12 title. TCU was ranked sixth in the College Football Playoff rankings coming into this week, while Baylor was 12th. 

Having the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation lends a certain amount of prestige, but the College Football Playoff committee will be inclined to go with title winners. TCU's schedule is nothing to sneeze at either, as they've gone 4-1 against ranked opponents this season.

Grantland's Matt Hinton noted it will be a tough call between these two teams:

If TCU holds on tonight, the discussion re: TCU-Baylor is going to be very interesting.

— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) November 9, 2014

Assuming Baylor slips up, the Horned Frogs should get the final playoff spot alongside Florida State, Oregon (if it wins the Pac-12) and whichever team makes it out of the SEC West alive—which looks to be the Mississippi State Bulldogs at this point.

It's highly unlikely that two SEC teams will make the CFP after Auburn's loss to Texas A&M. However, Alabama is still a possibility to make the cut if it wins the SEC title and the Bulldogs' only loss on the season comes against the Crimson Tide.

Ohio State is still lurking and looks to be in control of the Big Ten, but the sullied reputation of the conference leaves them without any bona fide signature wins on the season.

TCU is still in the playoff hunt with the win, but it might not control its own destiny with so many other worthy one-loss teams from across the nation.