Kansas State vs. TCU: Score and Twitter Reaction

TCU continued its impressive season with a dominant 41-20 win over Kansas State in a matchup of Top 10 teams Saturday night.

The Horned Frogs' Aaron Green—filling in at running back for the injured B.J. Catalon—was outstanding throughout the game, finishing with 171 rushing yards  on 18 carries and a touchdown. Quarterback Trevone Boykin continued his Heisman campaign with 219 passing yards, 123 rushing yards and four total touchdowns.

Tyler Lockett was one of the few bright spots for Kansas State, as the receiver hauled in 11 catches for 196 yards and a score in the loss. Unfortunately, the rest of his team struggled to do anything offensively in an otherwise disappointing day.

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated noted the effect this game could have on the college football landscape: 

TCU came out hot and did a great job moving the football in the first quarter, getting two quick touchdowns to go up 14-0 in a dominant start, as described by Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports:

Bryan Fischer of NFL.com was impressed by Boykin's passing ability in the early going:

Kansas State finally answered, however, when Jake Waters threw a beautiful 70-yard touchdown pass to Lockett in the last minute of the first period. David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest described both sides of the play that cut the lead to 14-7:

Still, that play pretty much represented the only offense in the first half for the Wildcats. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports broke down how well the TCU defense performed early on:

The Horned Frogs added a field goal in the second quarter to take a 17-7 lead into halftime.

At the start of the second half, Boykin again showed what he was capable of by leading a 60-yard drive that ended with him doing a flip into the end zone for the score.

Brent Yarina of BTN.com noted what the play could mean for the talented player come awards season:

Kansas State answered with a solid drive of its own, as Waters found Curry Sexton in the end zone from 15 yards out for a touchdown. That score cut the lead to 24-14.

The score didn't stay that way for long, though. Green responded with a 65-yard touchdown run for TCU, a play that impressed Newy Scruggs of NBC Sports Radio:

A field goal at the start of the fourth quarter put the Horned Frogs up 34-14 as they proved to simply be too much for Kansas State.

After another Boykin rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter extended the lead to 41-14, Wildcats backup quarterback Joe Hubener ran one in to cut the lead to the eventual final of 41-20.

There was a lot of hype surrounding a game with two elite teams and a lot on the line. However, TCU head coach Gary Patterson did not want to create any bulletin board material. 

"We talk with our pads,’’ Patterson said earlier in the week, via Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News. “That’s the way good programs do it. We don’t need to go the other way. We need to understand there are things that go along with what we’re given.’’

This ended up being an excellent strategy, as the team focused on the task at hand and pulled out an easy win against a very good opponent in K-State.

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With the victory, TCU is now in good position to play its way into the College Football Playoff. The one-loss squad now has another marquee win on its resume and should keep moving up in the rankings while the SEC schools beat each other up.

On the other hand, Kansas State is likely eliminated from national title contention with a second loss on the year. This could still end up being a great year for the Wildcats based on preseason expectations, but the players and fans have to be disappointed knowing there could have been much more.

The Horned Frogs will have a relatively easy road match against Kansas next Saturday, followed by games at Texas and then at home against Iowa State. The Wildcats will have a week off before facing West Virginia on the road on Nov. 20. A home game against Kansas and a trip to Baylor also loom on the schedule.

What happens in each of these games will end up deciding which team takes home the Big 12 title.

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