West Virginia vs. TCU: Game Grades, Analysis for Mountaineers and Horned Frogs

The No. 5 TCU Horned Frogs improved to 8-0 (5-0) on the season Thursday with a 40-10 win over Big 12 rival West Virginia Mountaineers (3-4, 0-4). 

Quarterback Trevone Boykin passed for 388 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 84 yards and another score. Wide receiver Josh Doctson chipped in with 11 receptions for 183 yards and two scores.

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Second-Half Grade
Pass Offense	C-	D
Run Offense	C	B-
Pass Defense	F	D+
Run Defense	C+	C
Special Teams	B+	B
Coaching	B-	C

Pass Offense: Skyler Howard didn't have a lot of help from his receivers. Way too many drops. He did throw too many balls blindly into coverage—Howard completed less than 50 percent of his passes. Overall, not very good. 

Run Offense: Wendell Smallwood ran for 113 yards, and overall the Mountaineers rushed for 167 yards. Don't believe what you see. Most of those yards came with the game out of hand.

Pass Defense: Four pass-interference penalties sums up WVU's night. No one could cover Doctson. The Mountaineers also dropped an easy interception in the first half. 

Run Defense: WVU allowed over 200 yards rushing. The defense couldn't keep Boykin in the pocket and missed tackles once he escaped. Too many yards after contact were allowed by West Virginia's defense. 

Special Teams: Josh Lambert hit a 51-yard field goal to make it 17-10 in the second quarter. Nick O'Toole averaged 46 yards per punt. 

Coaching: It's tough to knock the coaches for some of the things that happened on defense. Boykin is a special talent, while the Mountaineers are extremely banged up in the secondary. Head coach Dana Holgorsen should've ran the ball more in the first half.

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Second-Half Grade
Pass Offense	A	B+
Run Offense	B-	B+
Pass Defense	B+	B+
Run Defense	B+	B-
Special Teams	A	B+
Coaching	B+	A

Pass Offense: Boykin did whatever he wanted all night. Many of his passing yards came after he escaped pressure and kept his eyes downfield. An outstanding performance that will keep him in the Heisman Trophy race. 

Run Offense: Boykin had several highlight-reel runs in the Horned Frogs' showing of over 200 yards rushing. TCU used the passing game to set up the run. 

Pass Defense: TCU picked off one pass and harassed Howard all night. Some WVU receivers were open, but fortunately for TCU, its receivers couldn't catch the football. 

Run Defense: While the Frogs allowed 167 yards rushing, it is deceiving. Over 100 yards came when the game was decided. TCU did a good job of stuffing the run game in the first half, forcing West Virginia out of its game plan. 

Special Teams: Kicker Jaden Oberkrom connected on all four field goal attempts, including a career-high 57-yarder. TCU did not allow anything in the return game. 

Coaching: TCU is a well-coached football team. Head coach Gary Patterson trusts his coaches, and the offensive staff did a wonderful job of attacking West Virginia's secondary down the field. Give credit to Patterson, too, for trusting his kicker could hit from 57 yards out.