Texas Christian 56 - 37 Southern Methodist (Final)

OK, so I'll be honest -- I didn't think this was going to be much of a game.  Texas Christian beat Southern Methodist by 56 points last year, and Southern Methodist lost to Baylor 56-21 just a few weeks ago.  We had a new Doctor Who episode last night, and we've also been using Netflix to watch Sing It On.  So when I saw that Texas Christian had an early 21-10 lead, I figured the Horned Frogs were on their way to another blowout.

Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I checked the score later -- only to see that the Frogs' lead was only 42-37 with about 7 minutes to go in the game. To see what had happened, check out this list of scoring plays:

First Quarter:
SMU -- Xavier Jones 2 yd run (Chad Hedlund kick) (SMU leads 7-0)
TCU -- KaVontae Turpin 61 yd pass from Travone Boykin (Jaden Oberkrom kick) (7-7)
SMU -- Hedlund 22 yd FG (SMU leads 10-0)
TCU -- Aaron Green 1 yd run (Oberkrom kick) (TCU leads 14-10)

Second Quarter:
TCU -- Josh Doctson 29 yd pass from Boykin (Oberkrom kick) (TCU leads 21-10)
TCU -- Boykin 20 yd run (Oberkrom kick) (TCU leads 28-10)
SMU -- Courtland Sutton 1 yd pass from Matt Davis (Hedlund kick) (TCU leads 28-17)

Third Quarter:
TCU -- Kolby Listenbee 31 yd pass from Boykin (Oberkrom kick) (TCU leads 35-17)
TCU -- Dominic Merka 19 yd pass from Boykin (Oberkrom kick) (TCU leads 42-17)
SMU -- Davis 4 yd run (Hedlund kick) (TCU leads 42-24)
SMU -- Davis 1 yd run (Hedlund kick) (TCU leads 42-31)
SMU -- Hedlund 21 yd FG (TCU leads 42-34)

Fourth Quarter:
SMU -- Hedlund 32 yd FG (TCU leads 42-37)

Now if you've been following Texas Christian as closely as we have, this defensive breakdown -- where the Frogs give up 20 second-half points in a row -- is worryingly similar to the defensive collapse that cost Texas Christian in their only loss last year.  In last season's matchup against Baylor, the Frogs were up 58-37 with 11 minutes to go -- only to give up 24 points and lose 61-58.  I thought that Texas Christian's defense had gotten much better since then -- the Frogs' defense was awesome in a 42-3 win in the Peach Bowl, and it looked good in the first two games of this season.  But good defensive teams don't give up 20 points in a row to Southern Methodist.

Realizing that the Big Gold Trophy was actually up for grabs, I dashed upstairs to watch the rest of the game.  Here's what I saw:

1.  With 6:32 left, Travone Boykin threw his fifth touchdown pass of the night -- a 42-yarder to Josh Doctson.  That put Texas Christian up 49-37.

2.  Texas Christian's defense stopped Southern Methodist on 4th and 2 at the Frog 47.

3.  Texas Christian, which was mainly trying to run out the clock, ended up tacking on one more touchdown thanks to a 1 yd run by Aaron Green.  Final Score:  TCU 56, SMU 37.

The Frogs now lead the all-time series with SMU 48-40-7.  Texas Christian has won 14 of the last 16 in this series.

Southern Methodist is now 12-15-5 in UCFC play.  Texas Christian is now 40-19-6.

Non-conference play is over for the Horned Frogs.  Next up, they travel to Lubbock, Tex. for a match with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.  Somehow Texas Tech managed to avoid playing for the Big Gold Trophy last year, but they will have their chance next Saturday.