TCU vs. Oklahoma State: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The No. 14 Oklahoma State Cowboys likely spoiled the No. 8 TCU Horned Frogs' hopes of a national championship Saturday with a convincing 49-29 win at Boone Pickens Stadium.

It was a two-man show featuring Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington, who proved to be an unstoppable pair.

Rudolph threw four touchdowns in the first half on his way to a 352-yard, five-touchdown day. Three of those scores went to Washington, who made big things happen every time he touched the ball. Washington hauled in five catches for 184 yards.

TCU quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Trevone Boykin made the first mistake of the day when Jordan Burton picked him off within the game's first two-and-a-half minutes. Oklahoma State made the Horned Frogs pay for it.

After just missing a wide-open receiver on a deep ball for a surefire touchdown, Rudolph tried again on the following play and hit Washington for a 48-yard touchdown and a Cowboys lead. 

Fox Sports shared the replay:

Long touchdowns are nothing new for Washington, as Tulsa World's Mark Cooper pointed out:

Boykin went on to make more mistakes throughout the day, going 35-of-57 for 445 yards and four interceptions.

Aided by two defensive penalties in the secondary, TCU found a quick answer to Washington's strike with Boykin's one-yard rush. It was the 22nd consecutive game in which the Horned Frogs scored a first-quarter touchdown, currently the longest streak in the nation and a conference record, according to the Fox telecast. 

The ensuing extra point, though, was blocked, and Oklahoma State had a 7-6 lead. 

But it was deja vu for TCU on the next drive as Rudolph went deep again to Washington, this time for 50 yards, helping extend Oklahoma State's lead to 14-6.

No, it wasn't a replay of the first touchdown, as ESPN College Football showed:

WFAA's Mike Leslie had some advice for the TCU defense:

It turns out that the Horned Frogs couldn't stop anyone in the first half—not just Washington, as Rudolph continued to have a field day.

He hit Jeff Carr for a 12-yard touchdown pass to open the second quarter. ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that this was a new low for TCU's defense:

Rudolph then bombed one to Marcell Ateman for 82 yards to help put Oklahoma State up 28-9 and hand TCU its largest deficit of the season.

It was Oklahoma State's easiest touchdown of the half, as Ateman just wandered behind the secondary and was wide-open for Rudolph, as the Big 12 Conference showed:

Things went from bad to worse for TCU, which saw its leading wide receiver, Josh Doctson, go down with a wrist injury after his sixth reception of the day.

Freelance journalist David Ubben knew it didn't look good for the receiver:

Doctson did not return to the game.

The teams traded a pair of one-yard touchdowns to open the second half. Boykin's second thrown interception of the game set up Oklahoma State's fifth touchdown, a one-yard rush by J.W. Walsh, which Boykin followed by picking up his second score. 

But Boykin threw his third interception of the day on TCU's following drive. Then came another big play from Rudolph and Washington.

This time, it was a 74-yard touchdown, Rudolph's third of the day in his coming-out party. The Big 12 Conference shared the replay:

It was not a bad performance for a wide receiver who flew under almost every big school's radar, as OrangeBloods.com's Geoff Ketchum pointed out:

The Horned Frogs attempted to mount a comeback, but time was against them, as they had 15 minutes to make up 26 points.

Boykin finally threw his first touchdown of the game to start the fourth quarter, a 32-yard pass to Kolby Listenbee. It was his 24th straight game with a touchdown pass, the longest active streak in the FBS, according to the Fox telecast.

With two minutes and 29 seconds remaining, Aaron Green made it a two-possession game with a one-yard touchdown rush, but TCU was unable to convert the two-point conversion.

Oklahoma State's defense put the icing on the cake after Chad Whitener picked Boykin off for a second time, returning it for a touchdown. Boykin had never thrown four interceptions in a game before he encountered Oklahoma State on Saturday. It was an emphatic way to end the night and announce to the nation that the Cowboys are a team that must be taken seriously moving forward.

Postgame Reaction

While one Big 12 team falls out of the national championship race, another takes its place as Oklahoma State made a great case to move into the Top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings. 

For a team that started the season unranked, it's been quite the rise for the Cowboys as head coach Mike Gundy summed it up after the win via Kyle Fredrickson of the Oklahoman:

"Good" might be an understatement after the display put on by Rudolph and Washington. An offense that is able to churn out maximum results with quick-strike capabilities is a dangerous unit to line up against, even for the most stout defenses in the nation. 

Gundy spoke of his decisions to keep going deep, per Fredrickson:

TCU will now resort to playing its way into a major bowl game as an at-large with its national championship hopes likely gone. Head coach Gary Patterson looks to have admitted that, as he told Travis L. Brown of the Star-Telegram:

The Frogs will finish their season against Kansas, No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 6 Baylor. 

Oklahoma State will also take on Oklahoma and Baylor after it plays Iowa State. The game against Oklahoma will be one of the most important in the in-state rivalry's history, while the second-to-last contest of the season against Baylor could have playoff implications. 

With their defense's ability to force turnovers, one would have to like Oklahoma State's chances to win out and make some playoff noise. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.