Halloween may be over, but someone here is still in disguise. This Saturday, #5 TCU travels to Stillwater, Oklahoma to play #12 Oklahoma State. Both the Horned Frogs and the Cowboys are undefeated on the season and both are vying for a spot in the CFB playoff. Despite the separation in their current AP rankings, Vegas likes this to be a close game with TCU opening up as a mere five point favorites. In the end, one team is going to further their claims at playoff legitimacy while the other is going to be exposed for the imposter they are.
Both team have explosive offenses and it shouldn’t shock anyone if the total points at the end cross the 100 point mark. If there’s a meaningful game so far this season that is almost certain to be a shootout, this one is it. But it may take more than just offensive fireworks to win this one. Here’s a breakdown of each team’s strengths:
OKST Has a Two-Headed Monster
The concept of running an offense with two QBs is not a new idea. Plenty of teams try it, especially early in the season. However, the number of team that can successfully deploy such a system is a much shorter list.
The Cowboys had been utilizing Mason Rudolph as their starting QB with fifth-year senior J.W. Walsh as red zone only weapon. That changed last week when Rudolph struggled in the first half, OKST turned exclusively to “J-Dub” in the 2nd half to get them back into it. It worked as the Cowboys came back to win 70-53 over Texas Tech. Now conventional wisdom is that Head Coach Mike Gundy is likely to continue a more even split between the QBs this week.
“How much of your game plan is for J-Dub?” Gundy asked rhetorically to the media after last week’s game. That’ll be a question TCU Coach Gary Patterson will have to address this week. Walsh accounted for nearly 250 yards of offense and 3 touchdowns in the second half alone last week. While last week provided an extensive look at Walsh, it was no fluke. So far this season, he’s been responsible for 96 points in 58 offensive plays. Wow! All he does is lead his team to the end zone.
But sophomore Mason Rudolph is no slouch either. Coming into Saturday, he ranks 12th in the nation in passing averaging more than 300 yards per game. He’s completed 63.9% of his passes and thrown for nearly 2,500 yards on the season. His best game of the season came on October 3rd against Kansas State. In a close game (OSU won 36-34), Rudolph passed for 437 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is a legitimate passer that will keep the TCU secondary on their toes.
“Sure,” Gundy said. “We’ve had a couple plays that we’ve used them in (practice), you’ve seen us. We worked on it in preseason. We use it every now and then and at sometime that could show up, just depending on the team we’re playing, what the structure is of their defense, strengths and weaknesses.
Coach Gundy might just throw an additional wrinkle into the mix — he could play both QBs at the same time. Having Walsh and Rudolph share the backfield is something OSU has practiced but not something they’ve shown to an opposing defense. TCU might just get that honor this week.
The Best Wide Receiver in the Country
So much has been made about TCU’s star quarterback. Trevone Boykin deserves the press he gets and is having a great season. But what’s lost to the casual observer is that Boykin isn’t doing it alone. Josh Doctson just might be the best wide receiver in the country.
Start with his numbers: 71 catches, 1,250 yards, 17.6 yards per catch, and 14 touchdowns. He is currently ranked 4th in catches, 1st in yards, and 2nd in touchdowns.
But where the senior from Mansfield, Texas really excels is with the eye test. Watch him play and you see a special receiver … a guy who makes his team better. His gifted athleticism is on display in every TCU game and even his head coach had to step back in wonderment.
“When you get a chance to have a special one, you need to take a step back and enjoy it,” Patterson said. “They don’t always come around. As a coach, you get glimpses when you’re around really good players. In my years of coaching, I’ve probably been as bad about that as anybody, always worried about the next game, always worried about doing the right thing or getting going again. You don’t step back and go, ‘Did you just see him do that?'”
While TCU does have some other offensive weapons, they’re not loaded to the level of say Baylor. Which means Doctson is a guy who every defensive coordinator has been mindful of since the start of the season. He had over 1,000 yards receiving last season, so Doctson did not have the element of surprise in his favor.
Despite facing the best cornerback on the opposing defense, plenty of double coverage, bumps off the line, and roving safeties, Doctson is still finding ways to get open. And his QB isn’t hesitating to throw the ball to him either.
As gracious and humble as his QB has been about individual awards, Doctson is quick to note he and Boykin do have something special.
“I would definitely say chemistry has a lot to do with it,” Doctson said. “The game is simple to us, I guess you could say. We just know the routes. I kind of know what he’s going to give me before he gives it to me. It just kind of clicks like that.”
While his name has been tossed around casually as dark horse Heisman candidate, Doctson doesn’t seem to interested. “Awards? I’d rather have an undefeated season, go to the college playoffs or whatever. The other receivers, the other quarterbacks, they can have the awards. I’ve just never really been a trophy guy, I guess. I think that’s just the walk-on in me, staying grounded, playing with grit, playing TCU football. Pretty much that’s been my dream my whole life — to play here. So that’s the biggest award I could receive.”
Why TCU Will Win
This is one of the best offensive units in the country being led by the best receiver and probably the best QB. Nobody has really been able to slow them down, let alone stop them, yet this season. The last time OKST saw a talented, pass-first offense? This past Saturday when they gave up more than 50 points to Texas Tech. Boykin, Doctson and the rest of the TCU offense should be able to do likewise against the Cowboys.
Why OKST Will Win
If there’s a team ranked by the AP that should have a chip on their shoulder, it’s the Cowboys. Not only was their undefeated record not enough to get them into the College Football Rankings top 10, the first rankings has AAC’s Memphis ahead of them by one spot at #13. Mike Gundy can say whatever he wants to the press but that’s got to be some fodder to fire up his squad for this week. It was take an inspired effort to beat TCU, but maybe OKST is ready to deliver that in front of their home crowd.
The BOLD Prediction
The Cowboys have had a good run but their pretenders … they get exposed this week. TCU 42, OKST 28