TCU vs. Texas Tech: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs survived a huge scare in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday, getting a miracle finish on a late touchdown catch by Aaron Green in the back of the end zone with less than 30 seconds to play to down the Texas Tech Red Raiders in a 55-52 offensive shootout. 

On 4th-and-goal from the 4-yard line, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin fired a pass to Josh Doctson. Doctson deflected the ball, and Green was in perfect position to secure the game-winning score.

This is what the wild piece of insanity looked like, per the Big 12 Conference on Twitter: 

Per B/R's Bryan Fischer, the Horned Frogs put on an offensive clinic in the victory:

Of course, Texas Tech wasn't shabby, either. All told, these two teams combined for 107 points and 1,357 yards of total offense. 

The Red Raiders had a chance to win at the end, as a 15-yard penalty gave them an untimed play from the 50-yard line. Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes was able to get a pass off before being sacked, and the ball made it to the TCU 10-yard line after a series of laterals before Jakeem Grant was tackled out of bounds to end it. 

Here's how close Texas Tech was to pulling off one of the most insane, miraculous wins in school history, per Fox Sports:

That wacky conclusion prompted many responses, though none as apt as this one from Bonnie Bernstein of CampusInsiders.com:

Even though the Horned Frogs will be thrilled to get away from a Big 12 conference road game with a win, head coach Gary Patterson can't be happy with what he's seen from his team so far this season, especially on the road.

In the season opener at Minnesota, TCU had to hang on for a 23-17 win. Saturday's contest was different, though the end result was enough to keep the Horned Frogs squarely in the College Football Playoff mix. 

Boykin was tremendous, with 485 passing yards and four touchdowns, and he's flashing the Heisman Trophy form that many predicted before the season started. This is the second consecutive week in which he's broken the 400-yard barrier.

Boykin did most of his damage in the first half, as noted by ESPN College Football on Twitter:

Boykin's favorite target in the game was Doctson, who went all kinds of crazy on Texas Tech's secondary with 18 catches for 267 yards, three touchdowns and the game-saving deflection. His reception total also put him in good company with another former TCU wide receiver, per Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News:

The senior wideout also provided one of the game's best highlights on this one-handed 52-yard touchdown reception, per the Big 12 Conference on Twitter:

Texas Tech came into the game looking for revenge after last year's 82-27 thrashing in Fort Worth. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury made sure his players remembered that loss leading up to this weekend, telling Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News it's not the kind of thing you can sweep under the rug. 

“I don’t think you forget losses like that. As a player I didn’t,” Kingsbury said. “It’s a conference game, which should be motivation enough. They haven’t forgotten how that felt last year.”

Give credit to the Red Raiders, who have been impressive this season, even with a 3-1 record after Saturday's loss. They continued to battle until the end, but TCU's firepower was too much to overcome. 

Texas Tech running back DeAndre Washington did a lot of the heavy lifting, finishing with 188 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries. It took some time for the passing game to open up, but Mahomes was tremendous down the stretch, finishing with 392 yards and two touchdowns. 

Justin Stockton showed off his speed on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes that he caught around the TCU 45-yard line to help give Texas Tech a 52-48 lead late in the fourth quarter. 

If Mahomes continues to do the kind of damage he did Saturday against one of the nation's best teams on one leg, Texas Tech will be fine moving forward. 

Unfortunately, there was too much time on the clock for TCU to offer a response. The Horned Frogs haven't looked great for most of the season, but they are doing what's necessary to win. 

There are games every year that define what a team is going to be. TCU just passed a significant hurdle and will be able to move into conference play with great confidence. The team also knows what it has to work on to be a true title contender.