TCU vs. Kansas: How Horned Frogs' Win Reshapes Playoff Picture

For so much of No. 4 TCU's trip to Kansas on Saturday, the score turned heads around the country as the Horned Frogs' College Football Playoff hopes grew more and more remote. 

Shockingly enough, TCU trailed to one of the Big 12's worst teams by 10 points multiple times in the second half. But Trevone Boykin and Co. stepped up to the task late and pulled out a 34-30 victory.

Despite improving to 9-1 and 6-1 in conference play, the Horned Frogs gave critics plenty of reason to worry about TCU's championship aspirations. A win is a win, and TCU again added to its lofty total in that department—but style points are at at a premium at this point in the season, and the Horned Frogs certainly lost some on Saturday.

The pressure was on TCU after being put in the top four of the CFP rankings for the first time entering Week 12, and it showed as they struggled mightily against an opponent that the Big 12 elite have all throttled.

TCU remained very much in the mix for one of those four spots after avoiding a terrible upset, but teams like Arizona State, Alabama and even Baylor have the opportunity to jump the Horned Frogs even without them faltering on their own.

But the question surrounding TCU heading into Week 13 revolves around just how much this ugly victory will haunt them, as per ESPN's Brett McMurphy:

With some of those elite SEC and Pac-12 teams having better chances for quality wins down the stretch, TCU must get back to winning in impressive fashion to stay in the top four. Here's a look at the current CFP projections after the TCU game:

Rank	Team
1	Florida State (9-0, 6-0 ACC)
2	Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC)
3	Oregon (8-1, 4-1 Pac-12)
4	TCU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12)

Saturday's result wasn't convincing like so many of TCU's games thus far, but continuing to win should be the Horned Frogs' chief concern. 

Gary Patterson's squad still remains ahead of Baylor, the only team to top them this season, and the Bears have upcoming games against Oklahoma State and Kansas State that prove tougher than TCU's remaining road. It wouldn't be wrong to assume Baylor will have a harder time winning out.

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Without a loss from Baylor in one of those final games, however, the Bears will win the Big 12—which doesn't have a championship game—over TCU thanks to the tiebreaker. With that said, nothing would help TCU's chances more than a Baylor loss down the stretch.

It doesn't help TCU, either, that Baylor dominated this very same Kansas team, per Sporting News' Matt Hayes:

Another result that could doom the Horned Frogs was Alabama's win over Mississippi State. Should the Bulldogs win out and finish with one loss, it's more than likely that they would jump TCU due to more quality wins.

But first things first—TCU likely has to be the top Big 12 team to stay in the CFP conversation, and that means holding off Baylor.

If the Bears can pick up some style points in their final three games and hold off TCU for the conference title, the Horned Frogs might be left on the outside looking in. But with Oregon and Arizona State destined to play in the Pac-12 title and the SEC continuing to knock each other off, TCU remains very much in the hunt.

TCU will be keeping a close eye on its rivals from Waco, but convincing wins over Texas and Iowa State to close out the season would give the Horned Frogs a convincing case for one of the top four CFP spots.

But barely squeaking out a win against a team that Baylor absolutely throttled isn't a great look.