TCU vs. Kansas State: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

For the second time in three weeks, TCU pulled out a victory in the game's final minutes on Saturday night with a 52-45 win against Kansas State.  

Trailing 35-17 at halftime, TCU managed to outscore Kansas State 35-10 in the second half, with the game-winner coming with 1:10 left in the game—a 55-yard touchdown pass from Trevone Boykin to Josh Doctson to break a 45-45 tie. 

TCU provided the replay of the game-winner:

The duo of Boykin and Doctson dominated TCU's stat sheet. Boykin threw for 301 yards and added another 124 on the ground, while Doctson reeled in eight receptions for 155 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

ESPN College Football showed his first touchdown of the night:

It is the first time since 1988 that TCU defeated Kansas State in Kansas. But a victory looked very unlikely after two quarters.

Kansas State's rushing game was unstoppable as it carved through TCU's defense. Led by quarterback Joe Huebener, Kansas State scored five rushing touchdowns in the first half. Hubener had three of them to go with 97 yards. 

The Big 12 Conference showed his first three touchdowns:

In fact, Hubener outperformed Boykin in the first three quarters. But Boykin turned it on when it mattered the most. 

The Wildcats showed fantastic resiliency, withstanding an early TCU attack that might have staggered many other teams. On the first play from scrimmage, running back Aaron Green took a handoff 86 yards to the house, giving the Horned Frogs an immediate lead. 

The Big 12 Conference had the replay:

The teams traded touchdowns on the next two drives, maintaining TCU's seven-point lead. But then Kansas State took over the game. 

Outscoring TCU 28-3 to close out the first half, Kansas State was improbably going into halftime with a 35-17 lead. Holding a lead at the half is usually a good sign for Kansas State. But recently, it hasn't been so easy as ESPN's Danny Kanell pointed out:

Starting the third quarter, Hubener's arm was getting him into trouble, throwing a pick-six to Derrick Kindred. Instead of using the run game to dictate the game like they did in the first half, Kansas State was trying to throw the ball with the lead. 

Hubener was just 13 of 33 on the day for 157 yards. That wasn't impressing the Dallas Morning News' Shehan Jeyarajah:

After punting the ball away, Kansas State saw its lead shrink to four after Green's second touchdown of the game. 

The Wildcats were given reprieve after reprieve due to TCU's offensive struggles, allowing them to get back to basics on the ground. Hubener nabbed his fourth touchdown of the game, with 12:21 left—another sneak from the goal line that put the Wildcats back up 11. 

Boykin took matters into his own hands, rushing for a pair of touchdowns in the final nine minutes. The last was a 69-yard dash that helped give TCU a three-point lead with six minutes left. ESPN College Football provided the replay of Boykin's second touchdown:

Kansas State managed to muster up enough to drive down into field-goal range, where Jack Cantele nailed a 37-yard field goal to tie the score, with 1:47 left. 

TCU's brushes with upsets are not helping their standing in the rankings. If the Horned Frogs want to keep their spot within the Top Four, they are going to have to make easier work of teams that are out of the rankings, regardless of what conference they are in. 

A performance like this could see them slightly dropping in next week's polls.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.