Trevone Boykin Delivers Heisman Moment to Keep TCU Unbeaten with Comeback Win
TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, played his way back into the top tier in a 52-45 win at Kansas State.
Boykin has looked impressive all season. It's not like he did anything to drop. But he posted a Heisman-caliber performance on Saturday, completing 20 of 30 passes, 301 passing yards, 124 rushing yards and four total touchdowns in a wild comeback victory.
The Horned Frogs trailed 42-31 with eight minutes remaining, but a pair of Boykin touchdown runs—the second of which went for 69 yards—put them back in front late.
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When Kansas State struck back with a field goal, tying the game with one minute and 47 seconds left to play, Boykin responded less than 40 seconds later with the game-winning 55-yard touchdown pass to Josh Doctson:
Prior to the Horned Frogs' comeback, the Heisman race looked something like this:
- LSU running back Leonard Fournette
- Massive chasm
- Everybody else
Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee wrote an article titled "The 2015 Heisman Trophy Is Leonard Fournette's to Lose" after LSU's early-afternoon win, and it's not like he lacked good reason. That premise held water at the time and continued to for three hours afterward.
But then Boykin quickly made it moot.
Despite TCU's defensive problems—the result of massive player turnover and injury attrition—the senior has willed his team to six straight wins. He led wild, improbable comebacks over Texas Tech and Kansas State, and TCU's 50-7 rout of Texas looks even better now that the Longhorns beat Oklahoma.
Having Doctson, a top candidate to win the Biletnikoff Award, on the perimeter has helped. So has shifty running back Aaron Green. But for the most part, Boykin has made plays on his own—with his legs, his arm and his instincts—to keep TCU in the playoff discussion.
He's also on pace to finish with 4,206 passing yards, 366 rushing yards and 50 total touchdowns. Here's how that compares with the past two Heisman winners:
| Trevone Boykin ('15) | 63.7 | 4,206 - 42 - 10 | 366 - 8 |
| Marcus Mariota ('14) | 68.6 | 3,470 - 36 - 2 | 636 - 11 |
| Jameis Winston ('13) | 68.8 | 3,490 - 35 - 8 | 134 - 3 |
Boykin has a lower completion percentage but higher volume stats than Marcus Mariota in 2014 and Jameis Winston in 2013.
TCU only played three nonconference games, one of which came on the road against a strong Minnesota defense, so it's not like these numbers should regress during Big 12 play, either. The way this conference looks, Boykin should actually reach (if not exceed) those projections.
What separated Mariota and Winston from the pack in their respective winning years was that they played for national title participants. As long as Boykin keeps the Horned Frogs rolling, which he's proven capable of doing so far, he's an obvious favorite.
If the Horned Frogs stumble, dropping a few games and careening toward a "New Year's Six" bowl instead of a playoff game, then Boykin is less likely to win but not eliminated. He hasn't posted the stats of Johnny Manziel in 2012 or Robert Griffin III in 2010, but he's close, and his defense might force his hand in the back half of the schedule.
With Boykin and Fournette so far ahead of the rest of the field, Boykin also benefits from limited competition. What if Fournette gets hurt? What if LSU goes up in flames? What if teams stack the box and dare QB Brandon Harris to make plays?
Who else might Boykin not beat?
TCU's depleted defense might improve, but it will only improve by so much. That will keep the pressure on the offense. The Horned Frogs have scored 70, 56, 55, 50 and 52 points in their last five respective games, and that trend shows no sign of stopping.
"I’m not trying to be the No. 1 team in the nation, I’m just trying to be an undefeated team," head coach Gary Patterson said after the game, per Carlos Mendez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I can’t control the voters. I’m tired of hearing about style points. … We’re just trying to win."
Boykin's proven pretty good at winning, and in three months, that statement might apply to more than just games.
Fournette has an official co-favorite.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
