In this deliciously wild and disordered college football season, the SEC and the Pac-12 have taken on the quality of a barroom brawl. In one moment, teams are doing the punching; the next instant, they’re on the receiving end of a big blow. Florida and Utah have, to this point, risen above the chaos in those leagues, but they are the exceptions which prove the rule through six weeks of competition.
In the Big 12, it’s different.
Baylor’s ripping foes to shreds. West Virginia continues to disappoint. Texas is a flawed team, but one which has its moments. Iowa State and Kansas are… well… let’s have a moment of silence for them. Texas Tech can score, and yes, Texas Tech can score… because let’s not mention how bad the Red Raiders’ defense still is under Kliff Kingsbury.
Oklahoma is still relatively soft and — without question — a shell of its former, sturdier self under Bob Stoops. Kansas State is still Kansas State — plucky, resourceful in the face of limitations, coached well by Bill Snyder, and just not quite good enough to win the Big 12, even as the program continues to impress.
This leaves only two teams in the league, two teams that aren’t dominating or getting dominated… but have somehow managed to remain unbeaten.
TCU and Oklahoma State have, it seems, been scrambling since opening night (Thursday, September 3). Both teams were shaky in their respective openers, the Horned Frogs against Minnesota and the Cowboys at Central Michigan. Those forays to the Upper Midwest produced victories, but they did not go smoothly at all.
It’s hard to deny the notion that the template for each team’s season was established in those games. Here we are, over a month later, and the Frogs and Pokes are still getting by… and no more.
It’s a life lived in constant danger, as has been the case with other teams across the country, but there’s ultimately something to admire about the feats TCU and Oklahoma State are producing each week. The Horned Frogs aren’t mowing down opponents as they did for much of 2014, with a far healthier team than the one they have this year (and will have to continue to live with for the remainder of the season). In 2014, TCU had a defense which could relieve pressure from the offense for stretches of time. This season, the margin for error is conspicuously smalle for Trevone Boykin… which is why his performance on Saturday night against Kansas State was so special.
This is another reason why Boykin is a player to be treasured in 2015:
Boykin explodes for 60+ yd TD run #TCU #TCUFootball https://t.co/BHyCKJg6mz
— The Comeback NCAA (@TheComebackNCAA) October 11, 2015
The essential point to make with both Boykin and teammate Josh Doctson is that as aesthetically (and athletically) impressive as they in fact are, their dynamic and balletic plays are being made precisely when their team is counting on them to deliver the goods. They’re not just highlight-reel merchants; Boykin and Doctson are causing vine-makers and GIF creators to do extra work at the very moments when game outcomes hang in the balance.
TCU will need more of this in the weeks ahead, but it’s worth noting just how much heavy lifting the Horned Frogs’ two best offensive players have done to this point. It’s extremely likely that at least one of the two — Boykin or Doctson — will be in New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist in December.
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TCU has given its fans a few heart attacks this season, and in this specific respect, Oklahoma State is no different in relationship to its own fan base. The Cardiac Cowboys have also set up camp on the precipice of defeat this season, yet have never fallen off the ledge. What distinguishes Oklahoma State from TCU isn’t a continued embrace of narrow wins, but the manner in which they’re being achieved.
TCU, ever since its flood of defensive injuries, has been forced into shootout mode. The Frogs led SMU, 42-37, before pulling away late to win that particular game. The Frogs have then won Big 12 road games by scores of 55-52 (Texas Tech) and, on Saturday, by a 52-45 count (Kansas State). There’s no mystery about the Frogs’ platter of strengths and weaknesses.
For Oklahoma State, it’s not as linear a dynamic.
Mike Gundy doesn’t have an offense on par with his crown jewel, the 2011 team which frankly deserved to play LSU for the national title in New Orleans. This is not an overwhelmingly good offense — it bogged down for prolonged stretches against Texas and especially against West Virginia this past Saturday. This is an offense without a consistent home-run hitter, a clear point of contrast to TCU and its troika of Boykin, Doctson, and running back Aaron Green.
However, what Oklahoma State can’t offer on offense, it provides with its defense. That side of the ball scored a touchdown in the victory over West Virginia, ultimately sealing the triumph by shutting out the Mountaineers in overtime after facing a first and goal. Oklahoma State’s defense also slammed the door in the fourth quarter against Texas. Keep in mind that while the Longhorns might have donated that game with a botched punt, Oklahoma State had to:
A) get the defensive stop which made the punt necessary;
B) make that stop deep enough in Texas territory that when the punt was in fact shanked, OSU could start in easy field goal range and didn’t have to do a single thing on offense to set up the win.
The Cowboys, like their counterparts at TCU, erased a double-digit deficit and beat Kansas State after trailing the Wildcats at halftime. KSU is now 0-2 in its last two games when leading at halftime, following a 49-game winning streak under such circumstances. Yet, beyond that point of commonality, you can see that Oklahoma State isn’t taking a one-way path to the winner’s circle. It’s not so much about a few guys doing the preponderance of the work at crunch time; a different collection of heroes is emerging every week for Mike Gundy’s team.
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There are different ways to win a game, and there are different ways in which to be a winner.
TCU and Oklahoma State both face backloaded schedules which will test them even more than the first six weeks of the season have managed to do… which is saying a lot. However, if both teams can survive the tests which lie ahead in October — TCU hosting West Virginia on Oct. 29, OSU visiting Texas Tech on Oct. 31 — something special will happen:
On Nov. 7, these two teams could meet in Stillwater with unbeaten records.
We’d all wonder which team would put its survival skills to better use.