TCU's Dismantling of Kansas State Proves the Horned Frogs Belong in the Playoff

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 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. 

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

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.