TCU spoils West Virginia's night
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - TCU kicker Jaden Oberkrom played spoiler Saturday night, as he booted a 37-yard field goal as time expired to lift the 10th-ranked Horned Frogs to a 31-30 victory at Milan Puskar Stadium.
No. 20 West Virginia (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) was held scoreless in the final 14:56 of the fourth quarter and let a nine-point lead slip away in the final eight minutes.
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson's unit bailed out the West Virginia offense time and time, as quarterback Clint Trickett and the offense turned over the ball five times in their own end.
TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, a Heisman Trophy hopeful, threw a school-record seven touchdowns last week as the Frogs (7-1, 4-1) posted 82 points, a Big 12 record, against Texas Tech.
Boykin was a step slow and a split-second late with his decisions Saturday. He completed just 12 of 30 passes for 166 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The Frogs did their heavy lifting on the ground, as they combined for 223 rushing yards on 42 carries. Running back B.J. Catalon rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
Temperatures dipped into the low-40s around game time, and West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett took the field for the opening drive wearing bright yellow gloves. They didn't seem to affect him early, as he completed his first three passes and found receiver Mario Alford for a 23-yard touchdown toss to take the early lead.
Kicker Josh Lambert booted field goals of 21 and 44 yards the next two possessions to put the Mountaineers up, 13-0 - a score line that spelled TCU's largest deficit of the season.
TCU's didn't record a first down for the first 12 minutes of the ballgame but broke through late in the first quarter when Boykin beat a blitz by dumping a screen pass off to Deante' Gray, who scurried 47 yards for the touchdown.
Trickett threw an ugly interception downfield in the second quarter, prompting him to rip off the gloves and brave the cold, but Boykin responded in kind with an equally ugly pick to kill a healthy drive. Neither team scored in the quarter, so West Virginia took a 13-7 lead into halftime.
West Virginia's quick-change defense held TCU scoreless after the Mountaineers' three turnovers in the first half, but the fourth mistake was costly, as Boykin commanded the short field after a fumble in the third quarter and escaped the maelstrom of the West Virginia defense for a 2-yard touchdown run.
Running back Dreamius Smith held the answer, though, sprinting through the heart of the Frogs defense for a 50-yard gain on the ensuing drive. Four plays later, he galloped into the end zone to steal back a 20-14 lead.
West Virginia's defense was fourth in Division I with 16 fumble recoveries last fall but had yet to scoop one up this season. The Mountaineers finally shed that distinction on the first play after the kickoff, as cornerback Terrell Chestnut stripped a receiver and raced 35 yards up the sideline for the touchdown.
West Virginia couldn't hold the momentum. The back and forth continued when Trickett tossed another bad interception in his own territory and TCU's B.J. Catalon scored on a 23-yard run to pull within 9 points.
Two drives later, Catalon scampered in again to trim the Mountaineers' lead to 30-28 with 7:33 left in the game.
TCU got the ball back shortly thereafter and faced a 4th-and-3 from the West Virginia 43 with 4 minutes remaining. Frogs coach Gary Patterson elected to keep his offense on the field, and Boykin's pass was incomplete.
The Frogs took over again on its own 24-yard line with 2:04 left. A 40-yard pass and five rushes set TCU up at the West Virginia 20, where Oberkrom kicked the winner.
Stephen J. Nesbitt: snesbitt@post-gazette.com and Twitter @stephenjnesbitt.
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